RedSox Fans Show That They They Are

[Brett Favre 0]

Actually, some other guy threw a beer at Sheffield. No one "spilled it". He got smacked on the face, intentional or not, and beer was poured on him. Sheffield isn't in the wrong, and shouldn't be suspended. Maybe fined for attempting to shove the fan.

[Precious Roy 0]

It really doesn't look like as big of a deal as they are making it out to be. But of course ESPN is going nuts and blaming the fan and saying that he was taking a swipe at Gary......

 

Agreed, it's not such a big deal, and ESPN will have moved on to other topics by the weekend, but the dude did take a swipe at Sheff. Not super agressive, but he was trying to interfere, and there's no way you can defend him by saying "he was going for the ball" like some people in this thread have. That's bullshit.

[KingPK 0]

Looked like the guy was trying to flick his hat off seeing the sweeping underhanded motion he used. If he wanted to actually really hit the guy, he probably would have actually looked at him and gave him a straight slap. It was just a little "Hee hee, I'll pretend to look this way and slap Sheffield's hat off to be a dick."

 

The guy got ejected, and he's a season ticket holder, so the Sox should just revoke them and move on. The Patriots revoke season tickets for unruly fans fairly often.

[Crimson Platypus 0]

It really doesn't look like as big of a deal as they are making it out to be. But of course ESPN is going nuts and blaming the fan and saying that he was taking a swipe at Gary......

 

Agreed, it's not such a big deal, and ESPN will have moved on to other topics by the weekend, but the dude did take a swipe at Sheff. Not super agressive, but he was trying to interfere, and there's no way you can defend him by saying "he was going for the ball" like some people in this thread have. That's bullshit.

I agree with this. On top of that, to say that Sheff should be fined/suspended is downright ridiculous. I'd wager that 90% of the players in baseball would have done the same thing he did. Intentional or not he got hit, or at least swung at, from his point of view. Drunk Boston Fan has NO BUSINESS ON THE FIELD OF PLAY. When are people going to understand that. Your ticket to the game does NOT give you the right to interfere with the game, nor does it give you the right to ever EVER touch a player before, during, or after a ball game. Drunk Boston Fan should not be allowed back into a MLB stadium EVER AGAIN.

[KingPK 0]

TWO MINUTES into ATH, and Bill Plashke calls the incident "horrific".

 

 

God, I feel like slapping all four of these guys around for an hour each.

[Precious Roy 0]

Oh, and as for the beer that got "dumped" on Sheff, that looked accidental, the guy who was holding it got bumped from behind and looked bummed about it

[Brett Favre 0]

Mariotti with a 10 game suspension. I'm going to have to restrain myself.

 

And Plaschke is pissing me off.

[Boon 0]

It really doesn't look like as big of a deal as they are making it out to be. But of course ESPN is going nuts and blaming the fan and saying that he was taking a swipe at Gary......

 

Agreed, it's not such a big deal, and ESPN will have moved on to other topics by the weekend, but the dude did take a swipe at Sheff. Not super agressive, but he was trying to interfere, and there's no way you can defend him by saying "he was going for the ball" like some people in this thread have. That's bullshit.

I agree with this. On top of that, to say that Sheff should be fined/suspended is downright ridiculous. I'd wager that 90% of the players in baseball would have done the same thing he did. Intentional or not he got hit, or at least swung at, from his point of view. Drunk Boston Fan has NO BUSINESS ON THE FIELD OF PLAY. When are people going to understand that. Your ticket to the game does NOT give you the right to interfere with the game, nor does it give you the right to ever EVER touch a player before, during, or after a ball game. Drunk Boston Fan should not be allowed back into a MLB stadium EVER AGAIN.

Listen- the fan got ejected, his season ticks will probably be revoked and that will be the end of it. He'll pay his dues.

Sheffield should not have gone after the guy, whether it was justified or not. I'm not saying suspend the guy, but for Christ's sake, slap him on the wrist.

You can look at any stadium at any point during the year throughout the season- a ball hit long the wall, people are going to try and reach for it. It happens EVERYWHERE. It's not like he hopped onto the field and slapped Sheffield in the face. Personally, for the millions of dollars that ball players get paid, I like to see them get mixed up with the fans every now and then. Get your money's worth.

This is fucking lame. I don't even watch ESPN, and I'm getting sick of their coverage of this whole thing.

[Brett Favre 0]

The ball was on the ground, there is no way in hell he's getting that ball. Maybe he wasn't trying to punch him, but distract him. However, it's doubtful he was going after the ball that was against the wall (rolling), that's already difficult to see.

[KingPK 0]

The good ol' Sports Guy sums up my feelings pretty nicely today:

 

Imagine if I gave you this scenario on Thursday morning ...

 

Gary Sheffield runs over to the RF corner at Fenway to scoop up a potential double along the wall. A probably-drunken Boston fan in the first row pretends to go for the ball, reaches over and swipes Sheffield right in the mouth. Sheffield reacts by angrily giving the guy a two-handed shove, throwing the ball back to the infield, then turning around and heading toward the guy in the first row.

 

What do you think happens next?

 

A. Sheffield stops himself, shouts a few things at the guy, then security intervenes before anything else happens.

 

B. Sheffield drops the guy with one punch.

 

C. Sheffield punches the guy, enters the stands and clears out everyone in Section One like Swayze demolishing the Double Deuce in "Road House."

 

Now ...

 

I would have bet my baseball card collection on "B" or "C." You couldn't ask for a crazier guy to be involved in this particular situation than Gary Sheffield – this is the same guy who once punched out a pitcher on his own team who complained about his defense. It was like the setup for the Ron Artest Melee all over again. But that's the thing – because the Artest thing happened six months ago, Sheffield had that in the back of his mind ... so he held off. And now we have to deal with a week of over-the-top coverage from reporters and columnists about the ramifications of player-fan violence at games, when the reality is that nothing really happened. I feel cheated – if we have to endure this crap, at least Sheffield could have popped the guy and given us a Hall of Fame TV Night worthy of the Artest Melee.

 

When I was watching the game live, there was no doubt in my mind that the guy did it intentionally. Now people have been arguing about this in message boards and radio stations, debating whether the guy did it maliciously, and whether Sheffield has the right to react. I say "yes" and "yes." Normally, I hate arguing about those Arguments Du' Jour that get blown out of proportion only so people in the sports media who make a living overreacting to stuff like this have something to yelp about for two-three days. But in this case, I have something to say. I'm pro-Sheffield on this one, despite the fact that he plays for the Yankees. Here's my case:

 

1. Anyone who argues that "the Probably Drunk Guy was reaching for the ball and 'accidentally' swiped Sheffield" or "we shouldn't judge him because we don't know his intentions" also believes that the Pistons fan who threw the beer on Ron Artest was "just trying to throw his brew out." Come on. If you accidentally swiped a player reaching for a ball, wouldn't your natural reaction be to jump backwards or make some sort of "Whoops!" face? What Boston fan would be dumb enough to interfere with a potential two-RBI triple that was in play? And by the way, had he scooped the ball up, that whole section would have killed him because Ortiz (the eighth run) would have had to go back to third base..

 

Nope, Probably Drunk Guy was much more calculating – he made it seem like a half-hearted swipe, didn't come within four feet of the ball, and if anything, he probably meant to get more of Sheffield's face than he did (from ESPN's replay of the camera located closer to home plate, you could see that he had no chance at the ball and clearly saw Sheffield coming). And when Sheffield came after him, there wasn't even 1/100th of a look on the guy's face like he felt any semblance of remorse. If anything, he was probably dying for Sheffield to come at him so he could take a punch and immediately call "Attorney Jim Sokolove" from those late-night commercials.

 

2. More importantly, anyone who has ever lived in Boston and attended baseball games, tailgated for Pats games, imbibed at bars, gone to local concerts and anything of that ilk has come across thousands and thousands of guys like the Probably Drunk Guy, your classic Boston "tough guy" with a little attitude to him. Believe me, I love these guys – it's one of the random things I miss most about the city. These are the guys who scream "A-Rod, you suck!" during a moment of silence for Dick Radatz or taunt you good-naturedly as you're going for the eight-ball in a game of pool at the Irish Embassy. These are also the guys who would relish the chance to swipe Yankee players in the mouth during a Red Sox game and make it seem like it was an accident.

 

3. For anyone who says that Sheffield shouldn't have reacted, have you ever sat in right field at Fenway during a Yankee game? It's like a war zone out there – the fans spend nine straight innings screaming insults and obscenities at whoever is playing RF for the Yanks. There's definitely an electricity in the air. It's definitely not a place you would feel 100-percent safe as an opposing player; and I guarantee you that Sheffield had these things in the back of his mind as he ran over to the corner to scoop up that baseball. When something did happen, he was reacting in a "Dammit, I KNEW something would happen!" way, not an "I can't believe someone just popped me in the mouth!" way.

 

I love when people get on their high horse and say, "You can't react like Sheffield did; you just can't." Really? You're putting yourself in the shoes of a guy who's just been taunted for eight innings, doesn't feel safe to begin with and just got popped in the mouth (and had a beer thrown on him) during a play? We saw a similar thing happen to Jermaine O'Neal after the Artest Melee, when he decked the portly fan who came running on the court to challenge Artest – everyone judged O'Neal without putting themselves in his shoes, or wondering what it was like to be a Pacer that night when, for about five minutes there, it looked like they might have to fight their way out of the Palace to stay alive. The fact that O'Neal – indisputably one of the nicest guys in the NBA, as well as one of the most thoughtful and articulate – reacted that way tells you how frightening it was out there. And I'm sure Sheffield was frightened as well. He shouldn't be suspended, he shouldn't be fined, and that's that.

 

A few more notes while we're here:

 

• One goofy idea to stop fans from provoking players for good: On the tickets for every game, print something like, "During the game, if you reach onto the playing field and strike one of the players – intentionally or unintentionally – or if you throw any object at them, the players reserve the right to pummel the living crap out of you, with absolutely no legal ramifications."

 

• The security guard who jumped into the stands as Sheffield was yelling at Probably Drunk Guy has to win some sort of Security Guard of the Year Award. Fantastic job by him. Five seconds later and Sheffield is turning Section One into the Double Deuce. Actually, terrible job by that security guard – why couldn't he have tripped?

• My personal highlight from last night: Calling my dad right after the Sheffield thing happened and having this exchange:

 

--Dad (sounding groggy): "Hello?"

 

--Me: "Did you just see that? I can't believe Sheffield actually showed restraint!"

 

--Dad (two-second pause, obviously just woke up): "Is it still 5-5?"

[Boon 0]

The ball was on the ground, there is no way in hell he's getting that ball. Maybe he wasn't trying to punch him, but distract him. However, it's doubtful he was going after the ball that was against the wall (rolling), that's already difficult to see.

Tell that to the thousands upon thousands of people who sit in seats along the walls in ballparks every year. The allure of the ball is enough to make someone reach for it.

For the record- I'm sure he was fucking with Sheffield, and I still say Sheff shouldn't have reacted like that. The Sports Guy can come along and say whatever he wants- comparing the average Joe to someone who makes millions a year isn't gonna fly in my book. Should the drunk guy have gone after him? Absolutely not. But for the amount of money that he gets paid to play baseball, he needs to be able to deal with getting yelled at for a few hours and not let his roid rage get the best of him IF something like that happens. It's not like he's unaware of the fact that Red Sox fans dislike him and are going to be shitfaced assholes at the games. You deal with it because at the end of a day's work, it's those shitfaced assholes all over the country that make ball players millionaires.

Oh- and comparing this to the Pacers/Pistons melee is beyond laughable.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Tell that to the thousands upon thousands of people who sit in seats along the walls in ballparks every year. The allure of the ball is enough to make someone reach for it.

 

It's not like this is a wall along the foul lines. This is an outfield wall. There is no reason to expect that you can lean over and not interfere with the play.

 

As for suspending Sheffield that some have suggested, no way. Yes, Sheffield turned and reacted. He should. Look, we know players should not chase fans in the stands, but players should have a right to reasonable restraint.

[Guest Brian]

Given the events in the NBA and Sheffield's personality, I still think they need to err on the side of caution. Better to do more than less.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Given the events in the NBA and Sheffield's personality, I still think they need to err on the side of caution. Better to do more than less.

Maybe if Sheffield had done anything to spark the incident. He did not. The fan was clearly the instigator. And remember, Sheffield did not have the benefit of instant replay to help him decide the fans actions and intentions. You can't suspend someone for making a gut reaction like that, when he never even hit the other fan.

[Guest LooneyTune]

Sheffield may be a dickhead, but what he did was NOTHING compared to Ron Artest. Artest ran into the crowd, up 10-12 rows, punched (at) the (wrong) fan several times, then started punching another fan (the real one this time) all before security did anything. I'm glad there was someone with a brain in Boston that night, because that security man got there in a flash just incase anything was going to happen.

[Guest Brian]

I'm not trying to put the two events on the same plain, but in light of what has already happened, theypretty much have to do something.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Why? In reality, not much really happened.

[Guest LooneyTune]

The worst Sheffield could get is maybe a small fine, since he did shove the fan, but he did that on instinct, and calmed down enough to not do anything worse.

[Precious Roy 0]

What did Milton Bradley do to get suspended last season? It came up on PTI and Wilbon said he shouldn't have been suspended, but I can't remember what he did....

[Jericholic82 0]

What did Milton Bradley do to get suspended last season? It came up on PTI and Wilbon said he shouldn't have been suspended, but I can't remember what he did....

Some fan threw a water bottle at him so he went back over with it to the wall and threw it back at the fans.

[Jericholic82 0]

and why is Boston still obssesed with hating the Yanks. I thought there might be some peace after they got their ws win. It must be force of habit lol

 

 

and btw the right chant is BOSTON SUCKS!!!

[Guest Mosaicv2]

and why is Boston still obssesed with hating the Yanks. I thought there might be some peace after they got their ws win. It must be force of habit lol

 

 

and btw the right chant is BOSTON SUCKS!!!

So your forcing Boston fans to give peace with the Yankees... but you can say those comments at the end. That's fair.

[Jericholic82 0]

and why is Boston still obssesed with hating the Yanks. I thought there might be some peace after they got their ws win. It must be force of habit lol

 

 

and btw the right chant is BOSTON SUCKS!!!

So your forcing Boston fans to give peace with the Yankees... but you can say those comments at the end. That's fair.

I was being sarcastic SHEESH

 

 

sorry dude

[Jericholic82 0]

what I was trying to say is that since peace appartnly cannot be I might as well join in the fun.

[alfdogg 0]

Sheffield may be a dickhead, but what he did was NOTHING compared to Ron Artest. Artest ran into the crowd, up 10-12 rows, punched (at) the (wrong) fan several times, then started punching another fan (the real one this time) all before security did anything. I'm glad there was someone with a brain in Boston that night, because that security man got there in a flash just incase anything was going to happen.

Artest didn't punch at ANYONE in the stands. The only guy he punched at was the fat guy on the court.

[Guest LooneyTune]

I thought that was Jermaine O'Neal who punched the fat fan. It's been nearly 3 weeks since ESPN aired the clip, that I can't even remember clearly.

[alfdogg 0]

Artest punched one and O'Neal punched the other, I think. Or maybe they both punched the same one, I can't really remember either.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

It's hard to say, because ESPN never aired the full incident after the fact, just conveniently edited clips.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

I'm arriving late to this thread, but I finally saw this video clip. Fuck fans, you don't interfere with the play on the field. I'm on Gary's side on this one...