Milwaukee Brewers slugger Eric Thames is all the rave right now in baseball after returning to the big leagues from the Korean Baseball Championship (KBO) where he not only revived his career but set records while doing so. After being selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft where he saw little success in his limited time while bouncing around between the Jays and the Minor Leagues from 2011 to 2012 before being traded to the Seattle Mariners, Thames elected to play overseas by signing with the NC Dinos in 2014. The move would not only summon a new found power in Thames' swing, it would make him a cult hero as his hot hitting and base stealing helped gain him instant stardom. During his three seasons in the KBO, Thames averaged over 41 home runs and became the first player in league history to hit for the cycle twice in one season as well as become the league's first ever member of the 40-40 club by stealing 40 bases and hitting 40 home runs on his way to an MVP Award in 2015.
Thames was so admired in the KBO that he was given the nickname "God" by Korean baseball fans and was seen in cartoons. He even had his own theme song that the Dinos and their fans would play whenever Thames would hit a home run. It wouldn't be long before his old stomping grounds in the MLB began to take notice of Thames' success which resulted in the Milwaukee Brewers taking a flyer on him by offering the 30-year old Thames a $16 Million, multi-year contract despite not seeing him play in person and relying strictly on video and game play footage. The lofty expectations for the Brewers newest slugger would be noticed right out the gates as the move prompted the ball club to designate first baseman Chris Carter for assignment even after he led the league in home runs with 41. With deeper ballparks and all around better talent in the MLB than what Thames grew accustomed to in the KBO, Thames hasn't skipped a beat in his first 15 games of the season with Milwaukee who's off to a 9-8 start. Currently leading the league in home runs (8), slugging percentage (.981) extra-base hits (14) and total-bases (52) as well as being atop the National League with a .415 batting average, Thames has fit in quite nicely and appears to be worth every dime the Brew Crew dished out to acquire him in the small sample size we've seen thus far.
Having hit a home run in five straight games this year and becoming the first Brewer to achieve that feat since Jeromy Burnitz in 1997, not even Thames can explain what changed in his approach. Regardless, he's enjoying every minute of it and is relishing at the fact that he can go unnoticed in public (at least for now) unlike his time spent in Korea. I think we can all expect Thames to return to earth sooner than later, but here's to hoping this wave continues.
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Turning the page from June to July for the San Francisco Giants, only one win had separated the G-Men from the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers for tops in the league. But it wouldn't be long before Bruce Bochy saw his ball club climb atop the baseball ranks to capture baseball's top spot following a 7-2 start to the month before putting on the brakes in time for the All-Star break. Aside from Buster Posey and Johnny Cueto who started in the Mid-Summer Classic and Brandon Belt and Madison Bumgarner who made the trip to San Diego as reserves for the NL All-Star team, the rest of the Giants enjoyed their brief break from the game. Maybe a little too much as they appeared to still be on vacation after the All-Star festivities had concluded.
After cruising into the All-Star break with the best record in all of baseball (57-33) for only the second time since the franchise moved out west in 1958, and bested only by a 59-30 mark in 1993, San Francisco would hit a wall and begin to sputter by losing their first six games after the break, being swept on the road by both the Padres and Red Sox. The funk wouldn't end there, however, as they dropped two of three in the Bronx to the Yankees before returning home to lose two of three against the lowly Cincinnati Reds. Another pair of losses to the NL East-leading Washington Nationals would see the Giants' grasp on the NL Western division dwindle down to just a single game over the arch-rival Dodgers after a game in which the G-Men hit into the first ever 3-3-5 triple-play in baseball history and the Nationals' first triple-play since moving from Montreal to Washington in 2006. In need of a spark, the Giants welcomed back their emotional leader -- Hunter Pence (hamstring) off of the disabled-list as well as second baseman Joe Panik who had been battling a concussion, while also adding a bat by trading for Minnesota All-Star Eduardo Nunez. Leading the American League in steals with 26, the Giants went out and nabbed Nunez to fill the void at third base left by the injured Matt Duffy (Achilles) who's been out since mid-June. Nunez, 29 years old, comes in hitting .300 with 12 home runs and 47 RBI and serves as a utility man, playing just about anywhere along the infield.
The newest Giant would make a great first impression, as Nunez connected for a 2-run double in the fourth inning to tie the game in his first start with San Francisco. The Giants would utilize some small ball the rest of the way to seal the much needed win with a 5-3 victory. Though it would take them more than two weeks, the Giants would finally string together their first winning streak of the second half by taking the final two games against the Nats to split the four-game set and finish the month of July with their first pair of consecutive wins since the break. Before their second-half skid, the Giants had taken series victories against the Diamondbacks and Rockies by taking two of three against both clubs before sweeping Arizona at home to end the half. But while their July schedule was looked upon as rather easy, the month of August figures to be anything but, as they hit the road for a 9-game road trip to kickoff the month. After a three-game visit to Philadelphia to face the rebuilding but scrappy Phillies, the Giants will take on the Nationals once more before concluding their trip in Miami to square off with the wild card hopeful Marlins. And when returning to AT&T Park, San Francisco's first homestand won't be any easier as they welcome the Orioles, Pirates and Mets into town. A brief three-game stop in southern California to renew rivalries with the Dodgers will end the stretch of formidable opponents with the Braves and D-Backs rounding out the end of August.
While you would think the Giants would have the edge in a favorable match-up to begin the month of August by facing the Phillies with Bumgarner on the mound, not so fast as the Giants have actually lost six of the last eight games started by MadBum, including a loss at home to these same Phillies back in late-June. This after they had won his previous ten starts. Bumgarner has logged consecutive strong outings after a disappointing start the first game after the All-Star break, but has suffered from a lack of run support. The Giants hope to get him back on track at the hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park as they currently lead the division by two games ahead of the Dodgers and stand at 61-44 on the year after posting an 11-13 record in July.
The Giants also had one of the more busier afternoon's during the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline on Monday, trading for two lefty arms to address their need for pitching. Even days before the deadline was looming, the Giants had been rumored to be among the teams interested in Rays starting pitcher Matt Moore, but with a starting infielder likely who Tampa Bay wanted in return, San Francisco wasn't expected to pull the trigger on the pitcher who was brought up to be the future of the Rays organization. But with third baseman Matt Duffy battling an injury for over a month now and Nunez on the team, the Giants saw Duffy as expendable and turned those doubts into reality just minutes before the deadline by shipping him to Tampa along with a pair of prospects, including the highly-rated Lucious Fox (infielder). While some Giants fans would disagree, Duffy might not have been the toughest piece to part with, however, as the Giants also dealt their top pitching prospect in Phil Bickford, the club's No.1 draft pick a year ago. Bickford was packaged with catcher Andrew Susac to Milwaukee in exchange for high-volume strikeout reliever Will Smith.
Having been in need of an arm to solidify the bullpen practically all season long, the Giants finally acquired the late-inning relief help they've so desperately needed, but paid a hefty price in doing so. Expected to be added into the mix to pitch the later innings right away, Smith went 1-3 with a 3.68 ERA in Milwaukee this year, striking out 22 batters in 22 innings while missing the first two months of the season due to a knee injury. As for Moore, it's unsure who the lefty starter will replace in the starting rotation out of Matt Cain and Jake Peavy. Boasting a record of 7-7 and an ERA of 4.08 in 21 starts this season, Moore has been pitching lights-out as of late as is riding a hot streak in his last six starts, pitching to the tone of a 1.99 ERA since June 29. With both Moore and Smith 27 years of age and under club control through 2019, both players will have more than just this season to prove the Giants made the right move in giving up top talent at the Minor League level.
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In fear of losing their All-Star slugger Prince Fielder to free agency this upcoming offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers went out and made a trade that they think will help their chances of winning it all this season just hours after watching Fielder take home All-Star MVP honors. In need of some help to fill the back end of their bullpen, the Brewers acquired Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez, better known as 'K-Rod' along with cash in exchange for two players to be named later. At the start of the season, the Brewers were chosen by many to not only run away with the division, but to contend for a World Series title after acquiring two All-Star caliber arms in Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum.Since then, the Brewers have been one of the best teams in the league at home (33-14), second to only the Philadelphia Phillies (34-15) who also own the best record in the Majors at 57-34. However, they've been unable to separate themselves from the division rival St. Louis Cardinals who they headed into the All-Star break with, tied for first place. While the Brewers have had one of the more potent offenses in the NL for years now with Ryan Braun and Rickie Weeks to accompany Prince Fielder, their relief corps has been an issue, ranking 10th in ERA among National League bullpens. Aware of that stat, Brewers GM Doug Melvin addressed that area by dealing for a 3-time AL Saves leader and 4-time All-Star.
With a dominant closer already established in the bullpen for Brewers manager Ron Roenicke in John Axford, the closer role will be shared as K-Rod will primarily be used as a set-up man. Not only does sharing the role of the closer make sense when considering the job Axford has done (23 saves in 25 save opportunities), but also because having Rodriguez finish 21 more games this season would mean his expensive $17.5 Million option for 2012 comes into play. Though he's been among the games elite closers since 2005, the transition to the set-up role won't be an unfamiliar one as he served as a set-up man for Angels closer Troy Percival from 2003-2004 before getting the full-time closing job in '05. Having converted 23 saves in 26 opportunities with a 3.16 ERA though the first half of the season with the Mets, Rodriguez is 3 years removed from his record-setting 62 saves in 2008 which helped him land a 3-year, $37 Million contract in the Big Apple.
The first thing that comes to mind regarding the Brewers' mid-season acquisition, is the move they made in 2008 to bring C.C. Sabathia over from the Cleveland Indians. The trade for C.C. jump-started Milwaukee down the stretch as Sabathia single-handedly carried the Brew Crew to a Wild Card berth, helping them capture their first Postseason appearance since 1982. Although Rodriguez won't have as much of an impact Sabathia did, he certainly bolsters their bullpen which has been their biggest concern.
The deal could also spark a fire sale for the Mets who are also rumored to shop All-Star's Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran. With both players in the final year of their contracts and expected to test free agency this December, the Mets are looking to shed as much salary as possible. For months, Jose Reyes was rumored by many sources as potentially being traded to the San Francisco Giants. Those talks have cooled down since then, with the stove now heating up on Beltran. With a lackluster offense that's been piggybacked by a dominant pitching staff thus far, either player would be the perfect piece to San Francisco's postseason puzzle in hopes of winning back-to-back World Series titles.While Reyes who's six years younger than Beltran would make more sense for the long-term, Beltran's presence for the remainder of the season could also provide a significant jolt to the Giants' postseason campaign given he had one of the best series' in postseason history in '04 while a member of the Houston Astros. With All-Star's Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum along with blue chip prospects Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner officially all off limits, who exactly could the Giants deal to pry Reyes/Beltran out of New York's hands, Jonathan Sanchez?
This past week the Milwaukee Brewers made their All-Star left fielder a very wealthy man. Prior to being named the National League's Player of the Week earlier today, Ryan Braun signed a lucrative five-year, $105 Million extension with the Brew Crew. Already under team control until 2015, the deal will keep the 3-time recipient of the Silver Slugger Award in a Brewers uni until at least 2020. In only his fifth big league season, the former Rookie of the Year has already cemented himself among the best slugging outfielders in the league and is currently on pace to break numerous Brewers franchise records.But even considering how good of a hitter Braun is, I question the deal for the simple fact that it wasn't necessarily appropriate to dish out that kind of money at this time, given the amount of years remaining on his current contract. And with the All-Star slugging first baseman Prince Fielder set to hit the free agent market come November, I think Milwaukee's general manager Doug Melvin might have misread his team's list of priorities. Nonetheless, Milwaukee's stock to win the division hasn't been this high in years, thanks in large part to the front-office bolstering its pitching rotation in the offseason, with the acquisitions of Shaun Marcum and Zack Greinke who is yet to see action in a Brewers uniform.
Following Braun's new multi-year pact, the Milwaukee faithful greeted him with a standing ovation and gave him a thunderous applause, to which he responded with an impressive performance, finishing the day 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored, a home run and 3 rbi's. However, that wasn't the only thing they gave him. Sitting in the left field bleachers, a fan decked out in Brewers gear was seen holding a poster board that read, "Marry me Ryan," along with her phone number attached. Little did she know the sign would be caught on camera for all of Wisconsin to see.
After their 14-7 victory over the Houston Astros, Braun received word about the fan and her sign and tried calling the number. Unfortunately for him, several hundred fans had the same idea and beat him to the punch, sending her phone on an endless ringing spree. After eventually being forced to turn her phone off, Braun was hoping to leave her a voicemail, but was once again outdone by the Brewers fan base who left her with a full mail box. Braun jokingly replied, "I guess it wasn't meant to be."
As much as I would've loved to hear Braun's response, one person who can't be too thrilled about the whole thing is his girlfriend. But if Braun who is currently among the league leaders in Runs, Home Runs and RBI's can continue his scorching hot start, don't be surprised if the number of groupies flocking to the yard with their phone numbers on signs begins to increase.
Just when you began to buy stock in the Milwaukee Brewers to take the NL Central by storm this season after the team addressed the need of some quality pitching, their rotation takes a hit. Similar to the division foe St. Louis Cardinals who will be without their ace Adam Wainwright due to season ending surgery, the Brew Crew is experiencing early ailments of their own. As we've known for quite some time now, the Brewers' biggest offseason acquisition came after the team traded for Kansas City's ace and former Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke. However, the most recent developments regarding their newest investment can't bode well with the Brewers front office.While playing a game of pickup Basketball, Greinke leaped for a rebound and fell to the hardwood, injuring his ribs in the process. What was first reported as a minor injury, became a bit more concerning when Greinke tried throwing from a mound. After making two Spring Training starts, the discomfort in Greinke's left side continued, resulting in an MRI which later revealed a crack in one rib and a bruise on another. Currently on the team's 15-day disabled list, the 2009 Cy Young Award winner isn't expected to take the mound until the end of the month, delaying his Brewers debut. In place of Greinke who's two years removed from his league leading 2.16 ERA, will be Yovani Gallardo who's stellar 2010 campaign led to his first career All-Star appearance.
The Brewers' pitching woes didn't end there as Shaun Marcum who also came over in the offseason to help give Milwaukee's pitching staff a face lift, experienced tightness in his right shoulder. As for concern, Marcum is downplaying the injury. Last season after inheriting the no. 1 spot in the Blue Jays rotation formerly held by Roy Halladay, Marcum finished with a career year, despite missing the entire 2009 season due to Tommy John Surgery. Though he won't be counted upon to finish with a Cy Young type season like his counterpart, Marcum could very well be just as key to the Brewers success as Greinke. Luckily for the state of Wisconsin, Marcum isn't expected to hit the disabled list. The month or so without Greinke won't doom the Beer Makers completely, but it could've prevented a possible late season surge in the standings like the one the Cincinnati Reds finished the 2010 season on, assuming Milwaukee is atop the division.With their most prized acquisition injuring himself playing pickup basketball of all things, if I'm Brewers skipper Ron Roenicke, I'm wondering what in the world our multi-million dollar pitcher is doing playing basketball. Sure nowhere in Greinke's contract does it list not having the right to play basketball, but unless you're playing horse with the guys, it's common sense to save the pickup games for the offseason. Or even NBA Jam for that matter. Besides, how do you even hurt yourself coming down with a rebound without landing on someones foot? My guess is he was trying to prove Wesley Snipes wrong in the movie 'White Men Can't Jump'. Either that or had Chuck Taylor's on...
With the Adrian Gonzalez deal leading the pack as the biggest transaction this offseason via the trade, the Milwaukee Brewers made a trade just as big, but in the pitching department. Hoping to solidify a lethal starting rotation to keep up with the rest of the good pitching staffs in the NL Central, most notably Cincinnati's when Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez are healthy and St. Louis' which features rookie standout Jaime Garcia and an All-Star cast of Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright, the Brewers have made a handful of acquisitions resulting in an offseason that's been been nothing short of active. Headlining their busy campaign in hopes of contending for a division title in 2011, the Brewers made a splash by dealing for Kansas City Royals ace Zack Greinke.Greinke, the recipient of the 2009 AL Cy Young Award, was on many teams' radar this offseason, and was even targeted by such teams as the Yankees and Angles after both failed to land Cliff Lee. Instead, KC played it smart sending their talented hurler to the Midwest. By doing so, not only did they manage to trade him to a small market team like their own, but they also traded him out of the American League, and still received the talented prospects they were hoping for in exchange. With hitting being their strong point for many years now, the Brewers have never really had a dominant pitching staff to compliment their talented hitters which include the likes of Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and Cory Hart. However, Milwaukee plans to put an end to that in 2011.
The Brewers who've been seeking a legitimate ace since Ben Sheets, are hoping Greinke is the answer. Since the mid-season trade in which C.C. Sabathia was dealt from Cleveland to Milwaukee in '08 and single-handedly carried the Brew Crew to the Postseason behind a remarkable 11-2 record and an outstanding ERA of 1.65, the ball club's pitching woes have only increased. Sure the Brewers have had a decent arm in Yovani Gallardo who made a trip to the All-Star Game in 2010, but they've been yet to find that piece of the pitching puzzle to help get them over the hump. Joining Greinke to help address this issue, will be Shaun Marcum who was acquired two weeks before Greinke. At age 29, Marcum (13-8) shined bright in a powerhouse AL East division as Toronto's front man last year when former Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay was packaged to Philly.The trio of Greinke, Marcum, and Gallardo all seen Opening Day starts last season for their respective teams, giving Milwaukee some stability to go along with Randy Wolf and Chris Narveson who quietly won 25 games last season between the two. The makeover to their starting rotation might not put them in Phillies or Giants territory just yet, but it should be enough to put them in a situation for a similar pennant race that saw the Reds dethrone the Cardinals as division champs this past season.
Today's Special: 4 Home runs served on a platter with french fried potatoes - One of Baseball's rarities took place this week and believe it or not, it wasn't a no-hitter. Given there's been five of those this season alone, this feat might have been a bit more interesting. With 1-out in the 4th inning and the heart of the order due up to bat, the Arizona Diamondbacks hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back jacks against the hosting Milwaukee Brewers. Starting pitcher Dave Bush fell victim to the barrage of homers which came off the bats of Arizona's 4-7 hitters. First baseman Adam LaRoche started the trend of long balls, followed by catcher Miguel Montero, third baseman Mark Reynolds, and finished with shortstop Stephen Drew.
The quadruple home runs in consecutive at-bats was a franchise first for the D-Backs and is only the 7th time in Major League history four batters have belted long balls consecutively. Making this an even more rare occurrence, is the fact that they all came off the same pitcher in the same inning, which has happened even less times in the sports 100+ year history (3). Also worth mentioning is that the Brewers had some back-to-back fun of their own earlier in the game when Prince Fielder and Casey McGehee both went deep in the 2nd inning. However, that was the only scoring on Milwaukee's behalf as Arizona eventually won the game, 8-2. Ironically, the last time the feat occurred in the National League in September of 2006, Stephen Drew's older brother J.D. Drew who at the time was a Los Angeles Dodger, was part of a back-to-back-to-back-to-back homer fest in the 9th inning against the San Diego Padres.
As a free-agent the following offseason, older brother J.D. inked a 5-year deal with the Boston Red Sox where he would once again participate in back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs, this time against the rival Yankees in 2007. Oddly enough, Drew served as the second player to homer in each instance. As J.D. remains the lone player to take place in the feat more than once, the Drew brothers are the only brothers to have participated in a string of four straight home runs. The last time Arizona hit as many as three homers in a row, was May of 2002 when the Washington Nationals called Montreal their home and donned the name the Expos. Given the D-Backs last place struggles this year, the feat just might be the most exciting thing the ball club has done all season long. Even more exciting than Edwin Jackson's no-hitter if you ask me.
Zito hits Fielder to settle score - Last September when the Giants were in town for a match-up against the Brewers, both teams found themselves in the late-innings of an afternoon matinee. With playoff hopes on the line, Prince Fielder stepped up to bat in the 12th inning of a 1-1 tie game. With the count 0-1, Fielder blasted off the very next pitch thrown by San Francisco's Merkin Valdez, sending the ball into the right-field bleachers and the crowd in a craze. However, the biggest story would come from what the 270lb slugger would do next. While rounding the bases and pulling his jersey out from under his belt, Fielder approached home plate with his peers and fellow teammates waiting for him. Prince then hurdled onto the plate as the rest of the brew crew fell over simultaneously in bowling pin fashion, creating quite the controversy.The choreographed celebration was shown all over the sporting world, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of Giants fans and players alike. Six months later, both teams would meet again, this time in Scottsdale, Arizona for a Spring Training game. With Giants southpaw Barry Zito on the slab, the San Francisco ball club would have it's first shot at revenge. With Fielder at the plate against the Giants for the first time since his game winning home run, Zito let the Brewers slugger know that they didn't forgot nor appreciate his walk-off performance he put on six months prior, by plunking him in the back with the first pitch he seen in Spring Training.I may not be the biggest fan of retaliation, but in the way Fielder celebrated his walk-off shot as if he scored a game-winning touchdown in an NFL end-zone with the likes of Chad Ochocinco or T.O., I think it was every bit necessary. More importantly, I was more than glad the two got it over with during a preseason game and not during the regular season. Fielder, who called the fastball he received in the back "unexpected", took the nice guy approach as he underhanded the ball back to Zito while trotting to first base. "They have to do what they have to do. Whatever," Fielder said when being asked about it. "I didn't see anything coming, but they have to do what they have to do. It's not going to take it away. It's chronicled. ... It is what it is. I hit the home run. Hit me. If that's what you've got to do, then that's what you've got to do."Zito on the other hand, played the role of an oblivious man, responding as if last September's game never took place. Zito claimed it was an accident when being asked in a post game interview if it was an act of revenge. "No, we were just going with fastballs [inside] right there," Zito said. "It got away. The ball was running off." It's obvious the bean ball was thrown to send Fielder a message, but commenting as if it was on purpose would be the same as ratting yourself out it any other case and could have resulted in a fine and or suspension. Both are something the MLB has been known for dishing out when players or managers admit to beaning players of opposing teams.I respect Zito for being the one who took the chance of possibly being bumrushed by the hefty Fielder, but if Zito needs to focus on anything, it's living up to that 7-year $126 million dollar contract he signed prior to the 2007 season. A signing that has ever since been a mistake to say the least. I'm surprised Fielder didn't turn into a madman and go off on a rampage like he did in L.A. last season when a Guillermo Mota's fastball payed his thigh a visit. Fielder stood at home plate staring Mota down merely asking 'Why?' before storming the Dodger clubhouse once the game had ended. (For more on the Mota-Fielder incident, check out: Not so Prince Charming)Let's hope both teams concur about one thing as Giants skipper Bruce Bochy simply put it, "Let bygones be bygones."
On Tuesday night, The Dodgers and Brewers played game 2 of their 3 game series in L.A. The game got ugly quick, as the Dodgers were up by a score of 17-4. However the score was not the biggest story of the game. In the 7th inning with a man on, Manny Ramirez came up to bat, only to unintentionally get beaned in the arm by a 1-0 fastball. An inning in a half later, and with the game well out of reach, the Dodgers pen called for Guillermo Mota to take the mound. With Brewers slugger Prince Fielder at the plate, Mota retaliated by beaning Fielder in the thigh on a first pitch fastball. Which led to Fielder and Dodgers catcher Russell Martin exchanging words, with Fielder asking "WTF was that?" Mota was immediately ejected from the game.Minutes after the lopsided affair, and with both teams in their locker room, the angry Fielder stormed his way towards the Dodgers clubhouse only to find a security guard in front of closed doors. Fielder demanded to be let in, however the security guard held his ground and refused to let Fielder pass. Teammate Ryan Braun did most of the job, by holding Fielder back from causing any further damage. The rest of the Brewer team later came to help as security called for back up to escort Prince back to the locker room. Mota and Fielder have had history together, both playing with each other on last years Brewer squad. My whole take on the incident is, it was unnecessary in two ways. One for it being a 13 run defecit, and the other for it being in the 9th inning. However, I don't blame Fielder for his reaction. But if he really wanted to do something about it, he should have charged the mound right then and there. Whether it was unacceptable or not, I do give credit for Mota beaning him 'below' the midsection. And as I watched Wednesdays game, all I could hope for, was to see a ball get away from Broxton while Fielder was at bat. Since there hasn't been much tension flaring this season, a heavy weight bout between Broxton and Fielder would have really made up for it.Mota was also in a similar situation during Spring Training a few seasons ago, beaning Mets catcher Mike Piazza. Piazza charged the mound, as Mota ran around the field like a little school girl. If Mota finds Piazza intimidating, I wouldn't wanna know what he thinks of Fielder, considering he's probably the biggest guy in the league. Earlier today both players received fines by Major League Baseball, but were not suspended.Prince Fielder is seen here talking to the home plate umpire after the incident
