There has been a recent rash of bench cleaning, "bad blood" feuds on the diamonds.
First, the Rays and Red Sox apparently do not like each other. It seems that each series is marred by some incident which leads to accusations, fist pumping, shouting and shoving.
Second, the Orioles and A's got into a weird confrontation where a Baltimore player threw his bat at the A's third sacker, inciting a riot on the field.
We all know that there are a hundred of "unwritten" baseball rules of conduct. But this is turning more into a "macho ego" thing than some sort of baseball honor code. It may be from the influx of Latin players who have a different cultural definition of "respect." It also may be from added pressure on major league players to perform well since more and more teams are not leery of calling up hot prospects at any time. It also could mean that there are more crazy idiot players in the league.
The game has had its past "characters," from certified nut jobs to roid ragers to headhunter relievers to mean spirited drunks. But it seems that this year things have started to escalate to a new level.
Who is supposed to manage a hot head player who may cost his team (getting tossed or suspended or even hurt in a fight)? One would think it would be the manager who is responsible for managing his players. Some may think that the player "leaders" on the team should police the squad through a clubhouse hierarchy. A few may even believe that the players themselves should control themselves in those situations.
In any event, the idiots seem to be on the march.
