I loved Scott Rolen as a Jay. I always thought he played his ass off and made all the right plays with a scowl on his face. Only after he was traded that I heard how surly he was with the press, how much he hated living in Toronto and how he was just generally a malcontent. And for whatever reason, I love him all the more. He was a miserable son of a bitch, but instead of going off somewhere to sulk, he played his ass off until he was traded.

When I heard about Colby Rasmus and his conflicts with Tony LaRussa, and that St. Louis went cold on Rasmus when they discovered he was quiet, sullen and a bit standoffish. Someone compared him to JD Drew. Now, JD Drew is a sullen jerk and that, combined with the fact that he plays for the Red Sox, means I kind of don't like him. That being said, I wouldn't kick him off my team. I probably wouldn't date or hang out with him, but he can play for my baseball team.

Hearing the various reactions to Yunel Escobar outrage over getting plunked by Luke Hochevar made me roll my eyes. "He's too arrogant." "He's making it all about him. It's not intentional" Remember, folks, that Hochevar had yet to give up a hit and this plunk was the crack in the facade. Maybe jawing at the pitcher just a bit pulls him off his game just enough to break his concentration. Hochevar then pitched inside to Bautista, which apparently woke Bautista up and whacked a monster shot to the seats. The look he gave Hochevar told me that he didn't appreciate either the plunking of Escobar or the inside pitch.

Speaking off Bautista, he had issues with the strike zone on Friday, got annoyed, then furious and got tossed out of the game for taking his bat to the Blackberry sign on the back of the dugout. The funny thing was that Henderson Alvarez had a short discussion with Bautista right before he took the bat to the wall. And then threw equipment on the field and yelled a bit more after he was tossed. Again, people were saying "Jose is so immature." I saw the pitches on Pitch fx, and yes, they were strikes, but they were borderline low strikes and Bautista doesn't have the benefit of Pitch fx. Most hitters of his calibre get the benefit of those kinds of calls. It's one of the perks of having fallible and slightly biased umpires.

Lawrie, playing at full throttle, even when he is celebrating, and doesn't care what the haters think. His energy pushes his team forward and probably annoys the crap out of his opponents.

I think Jerk Ball is what is going to take this team to the next level. Think of all the successful teams that have featured sullen jerks, guys you probably hate because they are good and loud about it and a healthy dose of Latino swag.

This, by the way, is what one thinks about when one's team is down 6-0 and the soon to be DFA'd pitcher is giving up 6 runs in the 9th.