Insufferable
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by user Ron Sen, MD
Baseball has a variety of rules...and their violations. I am not talking about running inside the markers outside of the first base path, throwing your glove at the ball, corked bats, or standing outside of the back line of the batters box. While these all constitute transgressions and some even get you in trouble with the clowns who run baseball, they are not my focus. "Rules" usually come in two types, respect for the game and individual play.
Respecting the game rules include playing hard, not stealing or bunting when your team has an overwhelming lead, not bunting to break up a no hitter, not 'admiring' your home run, in general, not showing up the other team. In a sense, they have a Biblical flavor, amidst "thou shalt not" and "do unto others and you would have them do unto you."
Occasionally, your personality or history might exempt you from the rules. For example, a Dennis Eckersley fist pump after a save, Al Hrabosky, Mark Fidrych, or even Julian Tavarez all had a certain lunacy, your crazy Uncle Joe's style, that you pass off and say, 'Well, that's Uncle Joe.' I'm not talking about the Joey Gathright beatdown for Tavarez, just his normal borderline stuff, like rolling the ball to first base, as though he idolized Dick Weber.
Then baseball has the 'common sense' rules, don't throw fat 0 and 2 pitches, throw to the correct base, hit the cutoff man, don't run to third on the grounder to the left side in front of you, and so on. Kids may not learn these anymore, because pickup games occur less frequently than professional wrestling atrocities.
Last night's rules violation by Julio Lugo constituted an egregious flaunting of baseball protocol. DO NOT MAKE THE FIRST OR THE LAST OUT AT THIRD BASE. With Lugo pinch running at second base, he provided extra speed to help score in the bottom on the eighth if Kevin Youkilis got a hit. He not only got easily thrown out stealing at third base with two outs, he didn't slide, and generally acted as though he had just arrived from another galaxy. Terry Francona did well NOT to have a meltdown in the dugout. But that's why the players must love Francona.
Did Lugo lose the game for the Red Sox? No. Should we tar and feather him? Absolutely not. But Sox fans expect full physical and mental effort, whether you're making a king's ransom or the major league minimum (also a princely sum). For a guy who literally hasn't had a hit in weeks, Lugo really screwed up above and beyond the call of duty. Come on, Julio, we want you to succeed, throw us a frickin' bone, already.
