The Fight That No One Really Saw

Did you watch the Nationals vs. Marlins game on Wednesday? Probably not. Don't worry - no one else saw the game, either. In fact, there were just over 18,000 people in attendance at the game, and I suspect that is 18,000 in paid attendance, not in actual attendance. And, it's a well-known fact that the Marlins have had issues with their fan showing up.

If you build it, no one will come

Anyway, you probably saw the highlights, or as Nyjer Morgan's mom calls them "Lowlights" and "Embarrassments" and "I raised my son better than that". Chris Volstad was out of his mind that night. He hit three batters, including Morgan which lead up to the incident on Wednesday night where Morgan rushed the mound. An all out benches-clearing brawl ensued.

"I call this one 'Takin' it from Behind'."

Droppin' Gloves

Hugs!

Poor Form

Nyjer Morgan's ability to accurately hit a face is about the same as his ability to hit a baseball this year. Bad aim, Nyjer. Meanwhile, here's a bad idea if you're 6'0" 175lbs: charge the mound where a 6'8" 230lbs. pitcher is waiting for you. He's got 60'6" of preparation. 

Let's be serious for a second, though. Chris Volstad was acting like douchebag that night. You can't just hit 3 guys and expect Nyjer Morgan to stand by idly. If anything, you should be surprised that Nyjer Morgan waited that long to defend his teammates. 

"He whips one behind me and we gotta go," explained Morgan in an interview. I have to say, I totally agree with Morgan on this. When someone whips a fastball at me, I have nothing left to do but throw a poorly aimed fist at their neck. 

Morgan was suspended for 8 games and charged a $15,000 fine. Volstad was suspended for 6 games and charged a $4,000 fine. 

Back to what's really important, though- no one even saw what happened until it was over. How many people do you think actually  watched this game? For sure it was not 18,000. I would never, ever believe that by looking at the stands. Seriously Marlins fans, get your shit together. I shouldn't be so harsh. I recall going to Twins games in September of 2005 and seeing something similar to this: 

No one showed up for the party

The thing about baseball is that you have to play like there are 50,000 people in the stands. That's what Nyjer Morgan did, and that's why I sort of love him. He put on a show. Don't misunderstand me, because I don't condone riot-like violence. I do, however, condone organized violence. I think it's safe to say that no one was going to really get hurt. Morgan just wanted to get his point across, and he did. His point was clearly, "If you fucking hit me, I will fucking pretend that I can hit you."

Nationals manager Jim Riggleman  stated clearly that he's not terribly concerned with Morgan's behavior. In fact, he seems to be fairly supportive of what happened on Wednesday. 

"They told me, 'Naw, it's over,' " Riggleman said in the quiet of his clubhouse office. "Well, when they throw at him a second time, then it's not over."

Hi Mom!

Don't Hate! Appreciate.

I think everyone can learn a lesson about what happened on September 1, 2010. I'm not entirely sure what that lesson would be, but I bet it's a good one.

On a mostly unrelated note, Nyjer Morgan has been known to refer to himself as Tony Plush, which he considers to be a "gentleman's name".