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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Andino, Martin have words after Yanks’ win

Maybe only Frank Sinatra can get Martin Andino back together again!

Yankees catcher Russell Martin exchanged heated words with the Orioles’ Robert Andino on Monday, believing that pitch locations were being relayed from second base in the ninth inning of New York’s 6-2 victory at Camden Yards.

Martin danced around the details of the argument, and Yankees manager Joe Girardi dismissed the tiff as “boys were being boys.” One Yankee said that the team indeed thought Andino was tipping where Martin was setting up for closer Mariano Rivera.

“I don’t remember what happened at the end there,” Martin sad. “A little yapping session towards the end. Nothing crazy.”

...Martin said that he’d never had an issue with Andino before Monday evening, and he did not respond with a negative when asked if the events would carry over to Tuesday’s game.

“Maybe it’ll make it more exciting, I don’t know,” Martin said. “I can’t predict the future. It’s fun. It’s baseball—there’s emotions flying and stuff. What else can I say?”

Repoz Posted: April 10, 2012 at 09:29 AM | 14 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: orioles, yankees

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1. The_Ex Posted: April 10, 2012 at 10:04 AM (#4102526)

So let me get this straight...

Every team steals signs and location if they can

But if you do it against Martin you are asking for trouble

Got it

Someone should ask Martin if any of the Yankees ever steal location or signs and if he is asking them to stop it

2. escabeche Posted: April 10, 2012 at 10:43 AM (#4102569)

Maybe somebody should have relayed Matusz's pitch locations to the umpire so he could have called a strike a strike.

3. charityslave is thinking about baseball Posted: April 10, 2012 at 11:01 AM (#4102596)

Awww, was your baby getting squeezed? ;)

Seriously, all I saw was the line score and thought "Well, the spring training K/BB improvement was a mirage". But maybe he gets back on track with a few more calls going his way.

4. Yeaarrgghhhh Posted: April 10, 2012 at 11:14 AM (#4102618)

Matusz's FB command sucked, but the umpire was also lousy. He blew a bunch of calls (against both teams). What I found odd was that Matusz kept throwing a ton of FBs even though he appeared to have good command of his breaking pitches. He's a pitcher who should work backwards anyway, so why not throw more curveballs and change ups?

(And the Andino story is puzzling. If Rivera is on, would stealing the location even matter? It's the same pitch over and over again.)

5. Gotham Dave Posted: April 10, 2012 at 12:10 PM (#4102690)

The umpire had one of those classic six-inch shift strike zones where pitches on the inside corner to lefties are called balls and pitches well off the outside corner are called strikes (the worst, IMO, was a 3-1 pitch to Markakis in the 8th inning), and vice versa for right-handed batters. This is DEATH for left-handed pitchers against righties so it's no surprise that Matusz had more trouble than Nova. Sabathia ran into the same problem in the ALDS last year.

6. jacksone (AKA It's OK...) Posted: April 10, 2012 at 12:44 PM (#4102719)

Wait, I thought it was ok (and expected) to steal signs when you were on second? You just can't do it from the stands or the bullpen. Seriously, is this not the case?

7. Yeaarrgghhhh Posted: April 10, 2012 at 12:49 PM (#4102725)

I thought it wasn't kosher.

If only there was some way of keeping track of these rules. I hear the Sumerians have developed an interesting approach.

8. SoSH U at work Posted: April 10, 2012 at 12:53 PM (#4102732)

Wait, I thought it was ok (and expected) to steal signs when you were on second? You just can't do it from the stands or the bullpen. Seriously, is this not the case?

It's OK in the legal sense (MLB has no problem with it). But if the other team catches you doing it, you run the risk of getting an earful (figuratively or literally).

9. Jose Can Still Seabiscuit Posted: April 10, 2012 at 01:02 PM (#4102744)

It's OK in the legal sense. But if the other team catches you doing it, you run the risk of getting an earful (figuratively or literally).

This is my sense too. When I first saw this story my thought was "OK, call something away and then stick it in his ribs, problem solved."

Was it Bob Wickman a few years ago in a similar situation who just decided "screw it" and balked the guy to third? I think it was against the Twins.

10. aleskel

Posted: April 10, 2012 at 01:53 PM (#4102802)

It's OK in the legal sense. But if the other team catches you doing it, you run the risk of getting an earful (figuratively or literally).

I remember a game from a few years ago that, at one point in the late innings, Jorge Posada walked out to talk to the pitcher and stared down the runner on 2nd, giving him the "no no" finger wag. That's usually how these things go - the catcher says knock it off, the runner tells him where to stick it, and we all move on.

11. MikeTorrez Posted: April 10, 2012 at 04:32 PM (#4103131)

This could be just an intimidation tactic by Martin a la Jose Bautista v. Ivan Nova a couple years ago. Though to be honest, I wouldn't want to pick a fight with Martin, who apparently does a lot of MMA training.

12. Nasty Nate Posted: April 10, 2012 at 04:43 PM (#4103150)

Are you the pitcher?

13. MikeTorrez Posted: April 10, 2012 at 05:14 PM (#4103180)

Yes.

14. MikeTorrez Posted: April 10, 2012 at 05:15 PM (#4103182)

By "yes" I meant no. Sorry.

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Andino, Martin have words after Yanks’ win

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