Rupe insists pitch to Martin was accidental
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Apr 24, 2011 
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In the Yankees clubhouse, there was no doubt Josh Rupe intentionally hit Russell Martin in the ninth inning last night. In the Orioles clubhouse, Rupe insisted he was simply trying to throw a fastball inside.
“Trust me, that’s the last thing that I want to do,” Rupe said. “I know how it looked, and for me and a lot of these guys on this team, I pitch in. That’s what I do when I’m coming out of the ‘pen. I’ve already given up a home run, and yeah, I was really (ticked) off. But I’m not going to resort to possibly hurting a guy and end his career or anything like that. There’s no reason for me to do that.”
One by one, the Yankees said it was hard to believe Rupe simply made a bad pitch. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he understood, but he also said he was choosing to believe Rupe’s side of the story.
“I’ve known Josh for a long time,” Showalter said. “I think he’d be very straight with me. But I do understand what it looked like, and it didn’t look good.”
Rupe said if he were trying to hit Martin he wouldn’t have hit him in the upper back.
“There’s no way that I would do that and intentionally go at somebody’s head or go way up there,” Rupe said. “I know how to hit a guy when the situation calls for it, and that wasn’t it.”
a Book coming out…wonderful…way to go Jeter
Happy Easter everyone. Let’s get an Easter Yankee win today
If Rupe says it was unintentional then OK but at some point this stuff from the Orioles gets old even if its not on purpose……its the big leagues, do better or expect your hitters to pay the price.
Oh it was just a coincidence that Martin had hit 2 HRs and the batter before the plunking had hit one as well. So classy of Buck to say just the right thing as well. Let’s see if Selig does the right thing this time and gives Buck and this Rupe thug some time away from the game. Oh, I forgot, beaning Yankees is never intentional according to Selig.
Chad — it might make an interesting article to analyze how many times Selig has suspended anyone for hitting a Yankee as compared to other teams and as compared to how many times he’s suspended Yankees for hitting people.
I’m against any player writing a book while acitve …..good or bad, nothing good will come of this
The book is not written by Jeter.
It is an unauthorised biograpy by a reporter.
It is not flattering in how Jeter treated A-Rod.
There is an article in NY Post.
Yankees obviously need to retaliate. Just not Garcia because he doesn’t throw hard enough. Joba would be a good one. Doesn’t even have to be today or even this series. Just as long as it happens.
# BBFan April 24th, 2011 at 8:42 am
The book is not written by Jeter.
It is an unauthorised biograpy by a reporter.
It is not flattering in how Jeter treated A-Rod.
There is an article in NY Post.
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so what your saying is that Jeter had nothing to do with this book …..I was confused thanks setting me straight
# jeffc_76 April 24th, 2011 at 8:45 am
Yankees obviously need to retaliate. Just not Garcia because he doesn’t throw hard enough. Joba would be a good one. Doesn’t even have to be today or even this series. Just as long as it happens.
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with joba coming in the game could be close & a win is more important than hitting a battter, if it’s going to be done, no one on base two outs first inning with two strikes on the batter
I don’t care if it was intentional or not…..the Orioles pitchers stink and are reckless and they need to be shown that they had better keep the ball over the plate or their hitters are going to get thrown at…..
this junk has been going on since last year with Guthrie when he had no idea where the ball was going and then claimed it was unintentional after the game…..well whether its intentional or just because you suck……it still puts guys in danger and in the big leagues you need to do better than that
BTW I’d note that Martin has done a fantastic job behind the plate. He really frames pitches, calls an intelligent game, and gets down and dirty. As one example, when he has someone like Burnett or Joba ahead on the count, he goes right after the hitter with something nasty and on the black, rather than wasting pitches so far outside Lou Piniella wouldn’t be tempted and letting the batter come back in the count, the way Posada would. Adding him reminds me of another C we acquired in 1996, Joe Something-or-other. Anybody else remember him?
We’ve got all season to retaliate. It will get done. This isn’t Torre managing. Girardi will call for it when the time is right.
Eye for an eye. Soft tossing Garcia in the 1st inning lobbing beachballs isn’t getting even. Needs to be 90+ at the head.
Graeme Lloyd would have no problem with getting a batters back side dirty
Never throw at a guys head. 96 from Joba between somebodys shoulder blades would suffice.
I agree…..Martin has been fantastic. The offense he’s providing is a big bonus but the job he’s doing behind the plate is where its at. He’s a really fun player to watch and root for so far…..plays the game really hard.
They threw at our guy’s head, for hitting a HR for all things. Bush league. So throw at one of their heads.
Seems like the only times the Sox get a good pitching performance out a non-Lester starter is when Varitek catches.
Easter Sunday: a Good Time for a brawl
If its true that it wasn’t a purposeful throw at Martin, then the lack of control means he shouldn’t be in the majors. The penalty that these turds face means that they will always deny that it was on purpose.
The Orioles have too many times where they hit and hurt the Yankee’s batters.
Showalter doing all his barking during the game from the dugout, where the umpire had to go over and say something to him, tells me he is lying along with Rupe.
Jeff,
That’s playing with somebodys life…..I doubt even if he was trying to hit Martin that it was that high.
# blake April 24th, 2011 at 9:00 am
Seems like the only times the Sox get a good pitching performance out a non-Lester starter is when Varitek catches.
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catching news from them that they are looking for a catcher and want one before June, not for nothing but that team could go on a major roll…Yankees need to keep winning
Yogi,
I agree….if you have that little control then you shouldn’t be out there at this level…..that’s why whether it was intentional or not that stuff can’t go unchecked.
Eh,
I think the Yanks could go on a major roll as well. Beckett is the key for that team or at least a big one….
blake April 24th, 2011 at 9:06 am
Eh,
I think the Yanks could go on a major roll as well. Beckett is the key for that team or at least a big one…
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Boston is on a 7 out of 8 run with two series coming up with Balt & Sea only reason I’m calling for a run
When is the last time that you’ve heard a pitcher admit to throwing at someone?
Please..
“Adding him reminds me of another C we acquired in 1996, Joe Something-or-other. Anybody else remember him?”
Joel Skinner
Of course every one knows who it is……
Don Drysdale would just smile when asked that question
• Girardi said he wasn’t sure whether Martin would play tomorrow. My guess would be no — strictly a guess — but Girardi said he was going to sleep on it.
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And the reason for this is what?
3 days off this week , not enough.
Molina is Freddy’s personal catcher?
Afraid of a brawl?
Farewell gift for GMo?
# MoRings42 April 24th, 2011 at 9:09 am
When is the last time that you’ve heard a pitcher admit to throwing at someone?
Please..
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none would ever admit it…but you just knew these guys among others pitched with a purpose of pitching inside and knocking batters off the plate
Randy Johnson
Roger Clemens
Nolan Ryan
Don Drysdale
Pedro Martinez
Let the O’s wait for retribution.
Revenge is a dish best served cold.
Ian O’Connor wrote the Jeter unauthorized biography which isn’t suprising. I always thought of him as a hack anyway. The article in the NY Post doesn’t reveal anything we haven’t heard about beforehand. The Jeter/Arod relationship reminded me of what I heard about the Ruth/Gehrig one back in the day. How they were friends at first then became estranged and then reconciled at the end.
Joeman, Ryan? Really?
Reporter: “did you hit him intentionally?”
Rupe: “…um….Okay, you got me. Yes, I pegged his 2 HR-hitting a**. Look, they were up by a dozen. We’re embarassed, and I had to send a message. I was actually aiming for his dome, but missed. That’s how this team rolls.”
What everyone knows, but no one says.
# AldotheApache April 24th, 2011 at 9:27 am
Joeman, Ryan? Really?
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shocker
I was thinking the same thing Crawdaddy. I could’ve written that article, I wonder if I also could’ve written the book.
mick says:
April 24, 2011 at 9:13 am
• Girardi said he wasn’t sure whether Martin would play tomorrow. My guess would be no — strictly a guess — but Girardi said he was going to sleep on it.
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And the reason for this is what?
3 days off this week , not enough.
Molina is Freddy’s personal catcher?
Afraid of a brawl?
Farewell gift for GMo?
————
Day game after a night game.
oy I read that Post article. So glad we get to rehash this all again. Here’s the summary: They were best friends. If you read Jeter’s book that he wrote when he was younger ( maybe 26ish) he gushed about Alex throughout the book. Eventually Alex got a little jealous of Jeter’s fame, and said stupid things. Jeter was hurt, and was too stubborn to forgive him at first. Then they grew up, made up, and seem to be good friends again. Not much different than what happens between many friends in life. I hate that this old news will be a story again
They can call O’Connor’s biography unauthorized but he spent months speaking with Jeter, his friends, family and employees as well as others to write it.
I don’t know that Derek asked O’Connor to write it but him and those closest to him contributed to the content so “unauthorized” may be more semantics or misleading because Derek would “snub” anyone who spoke to O’Connor without his blessing- ask Alex.
This really has nothing to do with anything but I’ve noticed a subtle shift in media perception of Arod that has started sometime in the last couple years.
Its true blake.. since the steroid admission he’s been less of the goat.
I love how Showalter is distancing himself from it too.
Blake – that’s because Alex himself has acknowledged that he changed as a person. And it’s evident that he has.
If Alex continues to play well in an era with drug testing im hoping that folks will ask themselves the question….how much did the PEDs actually help this guy?
for me and a lot of these guys on this team, I pitch in. That’s what I do when I’m coming out of the ‘pen.
So Josh Rupe says that he’s a Showalter guy and pitches “in.”
Last night Rupe threw 23 pitches.
The catcher set up on the inside part of the plate on only 5 of those 23 pitches – 2 of which were to Nunez.
Of those 5 pitches where the catcher was set up inside – Rupe threw to the inside part of the plate on 4 pitches.
Prior to Martin getting hit, Rupe had thrown 13 pitches. The catcher had set up on the inside part of the plate on 2 of those 13 pitches.
Martin was hit on pitch 14. The catcher was set up on the inner half that pitch but not on the extreme inside corner (and the target was down). Rupe didn’t try to really aggressively jam any hitter all night.
Rupe’s claim that he hit Martin just due to his aggressive nature of “pitching in” is just plain false. He’s full of it. All night last night he worked Yankee hitters away most likely because he was scared of giving them anything they could pull out of the park.
The book on Alex Rodriguez is to pitch him in to prevent him from extending his hands. And even then the catcher set up inside on Alex on only one pitch.
Rupe’s entire game plan was to work hitters away, away, away.
Showalter may or may not have ordered Rupe to hit Martin. But either way Buck’s act is tired. He’s trying to build this faux machismo culture down in Baltimore to stamp his “imprint” on the team and it’s just silly and embarrassing because they are terrible and can’t back it up.
Buck’s got one of his relief pitcher’s claiming that he hit a guy who’s taken the O’s deep twice because he’s an aggressive relief pitcher who claims the inside of the plate when in fact that pitcher wanted nothing to do with the inside part of the plate all night.
Just lame, embarrassing excuses which match their level of play despite the managers bluster.
CB,
That’s why somebody needs to step up and show that intentional or not…..that crap isn’t going to be tolerated.
That’s why somebody needs to step up and show that intentional or not…..that crap isn’t going to be tolerated.
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In due time…