Long live the bean ball

This West Coast stuff is awful.

Waking up the next morning, assuming the Yanks won is a far cry from recent seasons, but still garbage. I usually manage to watch a few innings of every game, but with my schedule, I just can't stay up that late.

So, instead of some pithy game chat, I thought I'd write a little about in-game justice. Recently, The Bulletin ran a column decrying the art of the bean ball. It was written by a neurologist who worked with the Yankees in some capacity or other. But I wonder if he ever actually played sports.

See, what's lost in the chatter about drilling a batter, is there actually is a very real need to pitch inside, to pitch effectively inside and yes, to occasionally doink the guy in the batter's box. I'm not advocating targeting a guy's head, but I am saying hitting someone is a necessary part of baseball.

If you consider the ball is a weapon in the pitcher's hand, what exactly is the bat? Or the line drive back up the middle? Pitcher's are taught to land square, be ready to field their position. Some simply don't, and they pay for it. Sometimes a ball is traveling too fast to be fielded cleanly or even blocked.

Does MLB put padding on the pitcher? A screen? Move the mound back? No. It's an assumed risk by every player that's just part of the game. Sometimes you catch the ball, sometimes to ball concusses you.

I'm fully in favor of teams policing themselves, of pitchers retaliating on behalf of a teammate who may have been hit for one reason or another.

Sometimes a guy just needs to be hit to send a message. Consider how close to the plate and how far out over the plate Barry Bonds stood. And he wore a plastic sleeve on his lead arm more appropriate for the gladiatorial pits of Rome. You pitch inside, he leans in takes his base. You pitch away, he launches a steroid fueled bomb in McCovey Cove.

David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez victimized Yankees' pitchers for years because no one EVER pushed them off the plate. And this after years of Pedro Martinez head-hunting anyone in pinstripes. Roger Clemens threw one pitch shoulder high and on the inner half and Ramirez acted as if a grenade had been tossed his way. You crack Ramirez on the back, on the knee, and suddenly he's not hitting flaming line drives up the rightfield gap. But, now, I suppose, that's water under the bridge.

Two things need to happen: Pitchers must be taught the need and the art of throwing inside, and batters must be forbidden from wearing any protective gear larger then an index card. I'm all for a modest elbow guard or hand pad, but the armor some of these guys are wearing changes the game. You don't see a hockey goalie toting a tower shield and butterfly net. There has to limits and the have to be enforced.

Too few pitchers intimidate batters anymore. And those guys were the ones to watch. The term "effectively wild" applies to, say Nolan Ryan, who could paint the outside corner at 97 mph, but also scorch your pants, just because you got a little too close. And then, for good measure, if you came at him, he'd turn your face into a speed bag.

How about everyone take some responsibility and understand how the game is played. Pitchers, establish that inside corner. Batters, you get brushed back, stay in there and get a hit. If you get on, go wipe out a middle infielder. I guarantee the second basemen would have a thing or two to say to his pitcher.

And so, I repeat, long live the bean ball. It's always been a part of baseball, I hope it remains a part of baseball.

Now, let's talk about the facemask on the batting helmet ...