Sabean's Wimper

We are opinionated at The Slurve. Sometimes we're right, sometimes we're wrong, and most of the time it could go either way. But rarely do I say something that I had not seen anyone else say, and then watch someone else prove me right, within a week.

Last Tuesday I wrote this about the Buster Posey situation. The thing I wanted readers to take away from it was this type of thing happens all the time, but since it happened to a star catcher, it was a big deal. If it were the backup catcher for the Mariners, or the starter for the Mets, no one would care.

Today Larry Granillo writes a fasinating piece in Baseball Prospectus. The inspiration for Granillo's post was Brian Sabean's comments in regards to the welcome Scott Cousins can expect to receive from the San Francisco Giants:

"If I never hear from Cousins again or he never plays another game in the big leagues, I think we'll all be happy. ... He chose to be a hero in my mind, and if that's his flash of fame, that's as good as it's going to get, pal. We'll have a long memory. Believe me, we've talked to (former catcher Mike) Matheny about how this game works. You can't be that out-and-out overly aggressive. I'll put it as politically as I can state it: There's no love lost and there shouldn't be."

Ignoring how dumb it is for a Major League GM to make a comment like this about a player, especially the GM for the team that Bryan Stow http://www.support4bryanstow.com/ followed, but Granillo points out the utter hypocrisy. In 2006 Prince Fielder (who, need I remind you, is a little bigger than Scott Cousins) collided at the plate with Giants catcher Todd Greene. What was similar about the play was that Fielder made no attempt to slide, and clearly tried to knock Greene over in an attempt to dislodge the ball.

The difference is that Greene, thankfully, wasn't seriously injured, and that Greene wasn't a star. And Sabean, who's been the GM since 1997, didn't say a word. Manager Felipe Alou chalked it up to what it was- baseball.

Cousins didn't try to injure Posey, any more than Fielder didn't try to injure Greene. Fielder and Greene were just luckier. I understand that Sabean isn't a neutral observer, and his emotions are understandable. But he's a major league executive, and he's had a week to think about it. Cousins had a few seconds. Scott Cousins should face no retribution for doing to Posey, what any one of the Giants would have (uncontroversially) done to John Buck. But Brian Sabean should face serious retribution from Major League Baseball for his comments. Knocking over a catcher is baseball. Baseball is tolerated; taking out a contract on a player is not.