Hitting the next batter because you got rocked is not fight. I don't care if Kerry Wood did the same thing earlier. The fact is this pitching staff has never protected its batters, so I have a hard time believing Roy decided to start doing it Sunday given the circumstances. It was weak. I also don't believe Bagwell should have said anything about it publicly. It should have been kept in the club house.
BAGWELL IS THE CHUMP HERE !!!!! YOU DONT SAY STUFF LIKE THAT ABOUT UR TEAMMATES ... IF I WAS OSWALT I'LL TELL BAGWELL THAT HIS OLD A$$ NEEDS TO RETIREEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bags is the one that disappointed me. Thats just not right. Dammit...this season is just pissing me off more and more.
For the 5 of you that voted that he is a punk, what do you think after his performance last night? He came out of the pen to shut down the heart of the Phils lineup in the 8th. While Carlos certainly deserved the win, Roy was the key to the game. He didn't have to offer himself even though a suspension is likely.
I'm astounded Bagwell would break out with those comments about Oswalt. I've long been under the impression that the 'Stros pitchers were p*****s in regards to which team gets plunked and how their pitchers look out for the hitters. Finally, an Astro pitcher fights back and look what happens... I'm really getting tired of Bagwell and the Astros in general. What a ****ing waste of a season considering Drayton and Hunsicker signed some significant help in the regard of trades and free agents.
I agree with Bagwell on this issue completely. That move didn't take cajones or wasn't sticking up for your teammates, it's called getting yourself kicked out of a meaningful game in the dog days of August. There was no debating Roy's intent and that crap was bushleague. For you people to support Roy on this issue is a crock. I'm not saying don't stick up for your teammates, but that wasn't what Roy did. He got rocked on an 0-2 pitch he grooved to Ramirez to give the Cubs the cushion they needed and the very next pitch ends up in Barrett's back. If you want to criticize bagwell for his on field production, fine, but not on this issue because he is in the right here 100%. The astros have a bandaid bullpen this season and after Roy got tossed, the chances of them winning the game and the series from division rival and wild card frontrunner Chicago decreased ten fold at least. I still support both players after this incident but there is no way my respect for Oswalt increased after that bushleague incident. And I played baseball for 8 years and spent another 4 as an assistant on my varsity high school team so I have a solid idea what is appropriate and what isn't on the diamond, I would say.
Then you should know that badmouthing your teammate to the media is a no-no, regardless of the situation.
No, he shouldn't have, but someone was more than likely going to say it in that lockerroom. It wasn't hard to figure out whether it was intentional in my book and you just lost a series to the team you are trying to catch in the WC race. Odds were someone would question the pitch, unfortunately it was one of the team leaders. Plus maybe pissing off Oswalt is a good thing since i'm sick and tired of his get ahead in the count and come down the middle routine. 4 of the 5 runs came on grooved fastballs to walker and ramirez(one 3-0, and one 0-2) This is a pitcher with the talent to be on a whole different level than he is now but he is holding himself back with his inconsistency. I took more umbrage with people defending Oswalt and actually gaining respect for him anyways in this thread. This was a clearly different situation than trying to stick up for a teammate after being plunked. Look at how Oswalt didn't want any part of the ensuing bench clearing and the circumstances surrounding the pitch. It doesn't take a genius to put it all together. But yes Bagwell should have kept it in house, so he's wrong there, but he's right about Roy's intent, and Oswalt does not deserve praise for doing what he did.
Oswalt just needs to do better at "throwing at" hitters. It was awfully coincidental that Wood went waaaaay inside on Lane immediately after Lamb's HR. Should Oswalt have hit Barret in the back - No. Should Oswalt have knocked Barret or someone else down - Yes. Or, perhaps he should have knocked Kent down for dropping the throw that would have kept that inning scoreless. It was also implied a couple of weeks ago that Oswalt let his teammates down by not going after someone in a game in which the Astros had 4 batters hit.
Bagwell needs to shut his pie hole. He could have told Roy that in person, and not in the media. Bags was great, now he is an anchor on this team, and he is dragging it down. We have to get rid of Bags and Biggio and let some other leaders emerge, they had their day, didn't get it done...time to move on to someone else and let them try. Good careers, good guys.....just not good enough. DD
Phil Garner says Wood has hit 11 Astros. Oswalt has hit 3 cubs and as garner said, that math doesn't add up.
Ditto Berkman too. If these asses can't stick up for their teammates at all times, then they need to be somewhere else. If I was Roy Oswalt, I'd be telling the management the same exact thing.
