Ok, so going to the media and calling another team names isn’t exactly the most mature way to handle things, but despite Brandon Phillips playground tactics, well – he’s got a point.
And the ensuing comments and brawl from the Cardinals have gone a long way to proving Phillips’ point.
The Cardinals seem to think that they were named arbiters of all that is good and true about baseball and they have no qualms about reminding everyone of their exalted status on a fairly regular basis.
The Brewers were so uncouth as to untuck their jerseys and everyone from Tony LaRussa to the St. Louis media to the fans made sure we all knew how wrong, distasteful and offensive it was.
Shortly after the Phillips story broke I saw a Tony LaRussa quote saying something that resembled “We play the game right. We’ll go out and play the game the right way. No more comments.”
That’s the thing. You haven’t read one column or article in this post-Phillips melee that has said anything about how wrong he was.
Because the St. Louis Cardinals like to whine. Heck, it was their first reaction. Rumor has it that Tony LaRussa was in the shower when he heard about Phillips’ quote and he stormed out in a towel so he could respond. Shortly thereafter he called Reds owner Walt Jocketty to - you guessed it – complain.
But of course that’s nothing new for Tony and the Cards.
This past April was the second time Chris Carpenter and LaRussa complained that the Reds weren’t “properly” preparing baseballs, leaving them too shiny.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
LaRussa and company have complained about the Brewers and some supposed "excess" celebration to the point that the Brewers took the celebration to the tunnel and the clubhouse after one extra-innings walk-off win in 2009.
The worst part of the Cards' complaining is the inherent hypocrisy.
Have you ever seen this picture of Albert Pujols? Because it's a pretty famous example of Albert watching a home run - something the Cardinals have been critical of the Brewers for doing.
Though the showboating by Pujols has tapered off over the years, he's still got a reputation as a guy who will show up a pitcher if the situation arises. How, then, can the Cardinals complain about other teams?
