letter26:

Tony Gwynn Jr’s reaction to hecklers is perfect.

Well played, indeed.

I’m know the Carlos Quentin vs. Zack Greinke battle has been beaten to death at this point, but I noticed something in stills from the game last night that I wanted to share.

The top image is the pitch that buzzed Matt Kemp’s tower in the first inning, and the bottom image is the pitch from Greinke that ended up clearing the benches in the sixth inning.

Note: I have no dog in this fight and generally think that fighting in baseball is foolish.

With all the heat that Quentin has been catching for crowding the plate, diving into pitches and using HBPs as a way to get on base, Kemp really seems to be out-Quentining Quentin here. That’s not an excuse for Quentin flipping the MeatheadMode™ switch and acting like a jackass, but it seemed interesting enough to point out.

If you crowd the plate and/or dive into pitches, you should probably be able to deal with getting brushed back or wearing one every once in a while. I’m not sure I saw intent in either pitch, and don’t think that a guy standing on the dish should be able prevent a pitcher from exercising his right to throw inside.