He Takes a Lot, But He Gives a Lot

It’s hard to remember the spring training of my youth, when crowds were sparse and nobody particularly seemed to care about how the games turned out. Now, we’ve got national columnists fretting over the use of the DH, and pitchers decking base runners at home plate.

Yes, our old friend Boo-Hoolian Tavarez was at it again this week. But his teammates were quick to defend him:

“It takes a lot” to anger Tavarez, [Josh] Beckett said. “Obviously, you say the right thing to him or do the right thing to him, he’s going to snap. He’s a gentle soul as far as any of that stuff goes.”

Boston third baseman Mike Lowell added, “He’s not going to back down to anyone. He’s a competitor, a good teammate.”

Just watch your step if you’re on the other team. Oh, and ask the good people of San Francisco just how gentle Boo-hoolian’s soul is…

At any rate, Trot Nixon had a novel theory as to why tempers were flaring during a meaningless game:

“This is a prime example of why Bud Selig needs to take a look at teams playing each other 19... times a year,” Nixon said Tuesday.

“The run-ins that we've had in the past four years have been with the Yankees, with Tampa and maybe a couple with Baltimore,” Nixon added.

He suggested going back to a balanced schedule, which was used in the AL from 1977-2000.

Brawls “probably could be prevented by that one thing, but it might not either,” Nixon said. “If enough people say something about it (Selig) will or his advisers will” consider a change.

Or maybe people can stop thinking that baseball games justify fisticuffs. That might prevent brawls, too.