Rage against the Matt Hollowell
I didn't catch Dio's outburst last night; for once, I was confident enough that the Sox would win that I went to bed at a reasonable time. I saw it on ESPN this morning, however, and it does look pretty bad. Ortiz is a happy guy, and apparently one of the nicest in the league (recall the last time anyone on the opposing team complained about him?), but when he's angry, it's very easy to imagine him taking someone's throat out with his teeth.
Now, here's why I don't mind.
Out of all the guys who played on the powerhouse Yankee teams in the late 90's, the guy I hated the most was Paul O'Neill. Sure, Jeter (Captain Intangibles, as he's derisively called on the Sons of Sam Horn) and Posada were worthy of my ire, but I plain hated O'Neill. Every time an umpire called a strike against him, he would have something to say about it. He'd always seem to spit the words out, too, grinding his teeth together and making me hate him even more. That bitch.
Now I'm starting to see parallels between him and Dio.
Ugh, it feels wrong even to type that. Lovable Tizzle, comparable to the worst Yanquis of them all? But it's true, in some ways. Dio's got O'Neill's penchant for turning and yapping at the umpires, although I don't hate him when he does it.
What this comes down to is that O'Neill and Dio care.
The ultimate baseball sin, especially in Boston, is to look like you don't give a damn. Dio arguing with and exploding on the umpire last night was a pretty clear indication that that at-bat meant something to him. Call it selfish (which I don't think it was. We don't know whether Dio was mad about striking out personally, or sticking up for his teammates and pitcher as a whole, while using his at-bat as a podium), call it stupid (at best, it costs him three games), but never say that David Americo Ortiz doesn't care.
Never say, also, that I'm putting Ortiz and O'Neill side by side. I still think O'Neill was a tool. Dio's my boy. Anyhow, maybe the Sox needed one of their own to blow a gasket. Once they see how much Ortiz cares, maybe the more lackadaisical ones will follow.
Now, here's why I don't mind.
Out of all the guys who played on the powerhouse Yankee teams in the late 90's, the guy I hated the most was Paul O'Neill. Sure, Jeter (Captain Intangibles, as he's derisively called on the Sons of Sam Horn) and Posada were worthy of my ire, but I plain hated O'Neill. Every time an umpire called a strike against him, he would have something to say about it. He'd always seem to spit the words out, too, grinding his teeth together and making me hate him even more. That bitch.
Now I'm starting to see parallels between him and Dio.
Ugh, it feels wrong even to type that. Lovable Tizzle, comparable to the worst Yanquis of them all? But it's true, in some ways. Dio's got O'Neill's penchant for turning and yapping at the umpires, although I don't hate him when he does it.
What this comes down to is that O'Neill and Dio care.
The ultimate baseball sin, especially in Boston, is to look like you don't give a damn. Dio arguing with and exploding on the umpire last night was a pretty clear indication that that at-bat meant something to him. Call it selfish (which I don't think it was. We don't know whether Dio was mad about striking out personally, or sticking up for his teammates and pitcher as a whole, while using his at-bat as a podium), call it stupid (at best, it costs him three games), but never say that David Americo Ortiz doesn't care.
Never say, also, that I'm putting Ortiz and O'Neill side by side. I still think O'Neill was a tool. Dio's my boy. Anyhow, maybe the Sox needed one of their own to blow a gasket. Once they see how much Ortiz cares, maybe the more lackadaisical ones will follow.
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