Full Court Press

I believe A.J. did it on purpose. You gotta love how he plays the game - to win. He is a thinker and he does the little things that drives others crazy. He is to the Sox what Dennis Rodman was to the Pistons and Bulls. What he does gets lost in the shuffle, but he is one of our most important players, and I would NOT want to go into the playoffs (or a big series) without him. What he does came back and got us this time, but most of the time its the other guy that gets it. Go A.J. - and the Sox!

Roman responds: Busting up plays is playing the game to win. I had no problem with what A.J. did to Barrett, except for the fact he wimped out and didn't hit him back. And when Torii Hunter came in hard a couple of years ago, that's part of the game. But trying to spike a guy's foot - if that's what he did - is not playing the game to win. It's bush league.

Roman, You can look at that replay til you're blue in the face, and come up with the same conclusion as my initial reaction while watching the game. A.J.'s eyes make a bee-line to that spot and he puts a little emphasis on the final step. I bleed Black & White, but this guy is an immature jayo. As much as I loathe the Cubs, I'm actually sorry now Barrett didn't hit him harder. I know I would have, without any worry of physical retaliation, as was obvious by his "deer in headlights" look after Barrett clocked him. Come to think of it, It's usually the big, deep down inside woosies who usually do things like this, ain't that right Rodman.

Romo - when Tori Hunter came in hard at the plate 2 years ago, the catcher didn't have the ball, nor was he blocking the plate. Hunter took him out when he was standing in front of the plate waiting for the ball...classic cheap shot, or in your words, bush league.

Roman responds: You're right. But I remember Ozzie afterward saying he wishes his players would play like that. Did you think A.J.'s play was clean, necessary, etc.? I just don't think Konkerko or Dye would do something like that. Just play hard.

I'm sure he did it on purpose but he picked the wrong time. Isn't that a move you do when you're down 3 runs at home?
Back to the Hunter play...Ozzie was talking out of both sides of this mouth when he said that (hard to believe I know).
Later in the game, he chastised Carlos Lee for not taking out the Twins infielder during a double play to get back at the Twins. Supposedly that was a key reason why they traded him.
Also...wasn't it Mourneau the guy last year who said "anybody but the Sox" when talking about who would come out of the Central? Maybe tonight will escalate and wake up the Sox.

Upstairs in baseball heaven, Ty Cobb and John McGraw are wearing Pierzynski jerseys.

Gentlemen, these are the little things that make all games cerebral in stead of simple brawn. I LOVE IT! A.J. doesn't have to throw punches, he simply outsmarts his opponents. He has a Lex Luthor appeal and is certainly my kind of guy. The Angels haven't been the same since 2005. Dennis Rodman danced Antonio Davis right out of the playoffs like he did many opponents.

Torii Hunter is a beast. Don't get mad at him for bring it. You bring it back! This kind of baseball brings out the BEST in everyone playing. Some say it sparked the Twins, but I say SHAME on them if they were dogging it before that play. That is why Ozzie is such a good manager, he knows BALLING when he sees it.

Good point Mark - where's Hunter's apology? Oh, it never came...

It's clear AJ didn't spike him. So there's a rule you can't come close to the first baseman? If he spiked him, he would be limping or worse, hurt bad, and AJ would have been punched and/or hit by a pitch. Of course he got close on purpose - is that another "unwritten baseball rule"?

Shut up and play or do something about it...bunch of babies.

Roman responds: The bad news for the Sox is they did shut up and play.

AJ is hot. He's a real man who likes to stir it up.

Good point...I'm hoping they drill AJ, and possibly wake up somebody on the Sox bench.

This season has 4th place written all over it.

AJ is the man!!!! I love it, he brings tension to the game and gets in a players heads. Every team needs someone to get in others heads, wether it be a pitcher who everyone thinks is invincible(Santana, Martinez, the Rocket)....or a hitter who nobody wants to face it has to be someone. For the Sox, that's AJ. Is he dirty? I don't know.....but I would rather see him play then the real "dirty" players out there like Bonds, Giambi, Sammy......damn right I would.

I give you Sox fans credit for recognizing AJ's lie when he says he didn't intend to step on Morneau (although some of you seem to think there's place in baseball for this). However, I'm shocked to see you continue to whine over Tori Hunter's CLEAN and GOOD baseball play 3 years ago. On Tori's play the ball came in from the outfield. All he can see is the catcher blocking the plate and the on-deck batter telling him to slide. He had know idea when the ball would arrive but knows hard slide can result in a run. On AJ's play, he had no chance to break up anything (except another players ankle). BUSH league, AJ. Shame on Sox fans for comparing the two plays.

Ask yourself this: If AJ was not on my team, how would I feel about his actions?

Anybody that really knows baseball would answer; I would think he's dirty and wouldn't want him on my team.

Baseball rules are "bent" all the time but the one rule in baseball that is unforgivable to break is that you don't go out of your way to intentionally hurt another player. Anyone who doesn't understand that should not claim to understand the game.

btw- AJ didn't "outsmart" anyone by trying to step on their foot. The WS fan who made that comment obviously doesn't know what "smart" is.

I am, or was an AJ fan until this episode. I am sorry. In High School baseball, although I was tempted to step on the First Baseman's foot, I never did. I had too much respect for the game. He apparently does not. Trade him for a bag of Sammy Jocks......

Roman responds: I don't think they should trade for him anybody. He's a valuable player. I just wish he would stop doing these childish things. Pete Rose was the hardest-playing guy I've ever seen, and he would never do something like that. Just play the game. It seems as if some of his teammates are tired of his antics, too.

Its one thing to take it off stuckinwisconsin, (someone we all know) but I won't take it off a twinky, cupcake or ho-ho! LIKE I SAID - AJ has OUTSMARTED a whole lot of people on his way to a RECENT Championship. He is one of the sharpest players in the game. Any MUSCLE-HEAD good can sucker-punch or mow someone down, but a thinking player makes a fool out of muscle-head 9 out of 10 times.

By the way...there is another rule in baseball - "no crying"! If AJ had intended to hurt your precious first baseman, he'd be hurt, so put down the puffs and man up!!!

I love it when these two teams play, they are (hard to believe, I know) my two favorite teams. They've got fiesty managers, and some hard nosed players. AJ is one of those. But Roman is right...it's gotten to be too much. Pudge Fisk used to get inside his opponents' heads, but he didn't have to step on their feet to do it. He did it with words from behind his mask...no showboating, no obviously public acts, just mental intimidation. The poster who said Torii was just playing clean, hard nosed baseball was right on the money, too. There's a difference between hard nosed and cheap. AJ has crossed the line with this move and in previous moves he's made (threw his batting glove at an opposing 1B once, I think when he was a Twin).

He's got to step back into just being pesky, annoying AJ and not cheap shot, intent to injure AJ. If he would have taken out the reigning MVP on that play last night, you can bet the Twins would be taking him out with a beanball tonight. But he didn't hurt him, he maybe acted before he thought (which is an AJ trait), and he apologized to Gardy after. So I think the Twins will let it lie. I'm not 100% certain of that, but I think they got their "revenge" last night with the explosion of runs after AJ's dumb move.

Jake - Twins fan

Check out the replay...the Sox catcher was IN FRONT of home plate without the ball. Complete cheap shot to hit a guy when he's not looking nor blocking home plate.
You're comparing this with AJ getting too close to the guys' foot.

Talk about whining!

Twin boy...YOU quit your whining.

I was at that game 2 years ago where Jamie Burke was laid out by Hunter. He was in front of the plate - you even said that all Hunter could see was the on-deck guy telling him to slide. So what does he do...take out a catcher who never saw him coming and who wasn't blocking home plate.

Real tough guy that Hunter is...

Mourneau of twins comes off like a big wimp to complain about AJ ! It looked like barely got nick! If sox had a heart Id of nailed Mourneau on his next at bat. This sox team seems to have lost its luster from 05 & is barely trying. Evidence tonite on weak effort versus twins (tues).

"He clipped my foot a little bit, whatever," Morneau said.

I'd hardly call that whining.

"If sox had a heart Id of nailed Mourneau on his next at bat."
Sounds like you should be watching hockey or boxing rather than baseball.

I keep reading where AJ is invaluable. That is ridiculos, he is a slow catcher who hits .260 and drives in all of 60 runs per year, but seems to make a big scene with every RBI garnered. He has one of the worst arms in baseball and teams steal at will with him behind the plate. How many games does that lose? It is because the average player does not call out and embarass AJ every time they make a good play on him.

He was voted 3rd least liked by the ballplayers for a reason, noone likes the guy. To think this is improving the Sox is an error in judgement. The Sox won the World Series not because of one play by AJ, but by innning after inning of exceptional pitching, some of the best starting pitching in AL baseball history, but AJ with one play steals the attention to himself which is what he wants, making his mediocre carcass seem important, and in big series after big series he feels he has to grab headlines.

I am hurting as a Sox fan. Nothing has lit a fire under these guys. Not even AJ, and that is scary. Might be time for a shakeup. We are now losing at all most every phase of the game:

Small Ball - D (being generous), Pitching - C, Hitting - D, Defense - B, Bull Pen - D, Managing - A, Closing - B

Come on A.J. is not mediocre. He hit well over .300 last year, excellent for a catcher. He is not the best catcher in the major leagues but he is important to the team, plays to win, and plays as hard as anyone. Nobody would even be questioning this if he wasn't such a jerk, but he is.

How the mighty have fallen...

The Yankees are pitching Clemens against our Sox (not the Red Sox) given the "weaker hitting, right-handed dominant" Sox lineup. If that doesn't serve as a wakeup call to the Sox, I don't think anything will wake them (Crede, Konerko, Dye, Uribe, Iguchi) up!

Watching the Sox has become a real chore - they are lifeless and have taken on Kenny Williams' attitude for this year (trade for the future and bag this year).

You can try and make a very weak argument claiming that he didn't do it on purpose, but it's absolutely impossible to argue that he didn't do it. For proof, you should check out a the Minneapolis paper for some lovely photos of the incident, photos that not only show A.J. stepping on his foot, but they show him looking down at the time, apparently AIMING for the MVP's foot. And to call his post-game statement an apology is one HECK of a reach. "I talked to Gardy already. I apologized if I did step on Morneau's foot. I didn't know I touched him." It's dirty, it's despicable, and I can't wait for the next time that someone punches this idiot in the mouth. But rest assured, it won't be a Twin.... those guys have way too much class.

When A.J. was a Twin, I LOVED him! I loved the intesity he brought on a ho-hum boring team as the Twins were back in the day. I was truly disappointed when the Twins traded him to the Giants. That disappointment went by fast with the arrival of heart throb, Joe Mauer *sigh*. Anyway, I think Ozzie said it best of A.J., "When he's on the other team, you hate him. When he's on your team, you hate him less."

I know it's ancient history by now, but I need to comment on AJ vs. Barrett from last year. Most of the replays you see of the collision are from the press box view, looking down. Here's what you miss: AJ didn't go for the ball on that play, he went for Barrett's jaw. (As Cub fan, that would not have been such a great loss, since maybe it would have gotten Barrett to stop giving so many interviews, and simply play.) Anyway, from ground level, you can clearly see that his first goal was to hit (and hurt) Barrett. That has nothing to do with "playing to win."

Check out the picture of AJ obviously stepping on Morneau's foot. And the fact that he stepped on it with his right foot is ridiculous. He should've gotten a beaned for sure.

http://www.startribune.com/150/story/1213663.html

AS A TWINS FAN, I ALWAYS ENJOYED A.J. AS A CATCHER, A HITTER, AND A CHARACTER WHO ACTUALLY WAS ADORED BY THE FANS. TRADING HIM TO THE GIANTS FOR BONSER, NATHAN, AND LARIANO WOULD MAKE ANY YANKEE FAN BLUSH.A.J. WAS MY FAVORITE PLAYER DURING THE EARLY 2000 SEASONS. HE WOULD DRIVE EVERY ONE NUTS. THAT PLAY AGAINST MORNEAU WAS MORE ABOUT NOTHING THAT WAS HIGHLIGHTED BY THE PRESS. IT ACTUALLY MAKES THE TWINS-SOX GAMES MORE FUN TO WATCH.
I SAW THE THREE TWINS-SOX GAMES THIS WEEK AND THE SOX WERE PATHETIC.

Just like Ozzie's act, AJ's is getting old. He is is a punk and a wimp. When Barrett punched him he backed away and let his team fight his battle for him. He is an agitator and an instigator and in the end a lier(when he denies doing anything) and a coward.

I wish some of the spark, good or bad, would rub of on some of the other players. You play to win and noting else is accepted. As for Barret, he would make a great attraction on Friday night fights. The Cubs could use some of AJs spark. Watch sone of their games, talk about bush league and I don't mean our commedian-and-chief.

Roman I don't think the word "etiquette" and baseball go well together. Let's use "good sportsmanship" instead. I don't think you should assume A.J. was groomed to understand what "good sportsmanship" is. That kind of behavior has to be taught & disciplined into a youth at an early age. Maybe A.J. was taught baseball by an Al Davis type.

You know Roman, that would make for a good article: Who made A.J. into the Bart Simpson of MLB?

The story of what Barret said to AJ before smacking him was 'I didn't have the ball b....'....a classic line indeed. But when you look at what AJ did, how he did it, eyeing his last step right onto the foot of Morneau...it just reminds me of a childhood bully that would push his way around, but when someone would finally stand up to him...well now...he'd back away...shaking at the thought of a REAL confrintation.

I'm sure growing up AJ didn't have many friends either, most bullies didn't. Also, can't you all just imagine the typical scene when playing childhood sports, there was the one guy that if the rules were played the way he wanted to play, he would take his ball and stomp off the field...that is AJ.

And yes, just like the other poster said, just like a bully, when challenged, he walked away and hide behind his teammates...weak!

My wife and I go back and forth, she is a Sox fan and I'm a Cubs fan..our nicknames for the two bullie: Barret - Buggie Eye and AJ - Bird-boy...I think I'll change mine to Weak-boy

The story of what Barret said to AJ before smacking him was 'I didn't have the ball b....'....a classic line indeed. But when you look at what AJ did, how he did it, eyeing his last step right onto the foot of Morneau...it just reminds me of a childhood bully that would push his way around, but when someone would finally stand up to him...well now...he'd back away...shaking at the thought of a REAL confrintation.

I'm sure growing up AJ didn't have many friends either, most bullies didn't. Also, can't you all just imagine the typical scene when playing childhood sports, there was the one guy that if the rules were played the way he wanted to play, he would take his ball and stomp off the field...that is AJ.

And yes, just like the other poster said, just like a bully, when challenged, he walked away and hide behind his teammates...weak!

My wife and I go back and forth, she is a Sox fan and I'm a Cubs fan..our nicknames for the two bullie: Barret - Buggie Eye and AJ - Bird-boy...I think I'll change mine to Weak-boy

roman--you werer talking about Pete Rose not playing dirty. apparently you forgot about Ray Fosse

Roman responds: No, I was thinking specifically of that play. It was a hard-nosed play that allowed the NL to win that All-Star Game by a run. I know Fosse never was the same after that, but even he said it was clean. The only hint of malice was Rose being quoted once saying he was going to slide but hit Fosse on purpose.

AJ backed away--its kinda hard to get up after someone sucker punches you--and besides somebody had already tackled Barrett by that time anyway

Roman responds: He wasn't knocked down. He could have at least tried to get at Barrett.

There's a reason A.J. is involved in pro wrestling. Because it's phoney, just like his bad a-- act.

I disagree about the Rose statement. He and Fosse were friends off the field and Fosse wasnt gonna be a crybaby, but it still looked like a dirty hit to me

Roman responds: What I read was that they weren't friends, at least after the hit. They weren't enemies, but Fosse didn't like it when he heard Rose was saying he did it on purpose.

Spark my left foot. AJ is a bully and I wish I knew the blogger's name to give him a "right on" to show he was absolutely right. AJ does not spark anything. He is a classic bully who got tagged and did nothing but take a Barrett punch that didn't even turn his face red. He didn't even do the classic pull away and "let me at em'" thing that people do when they know they don't want to fight. He's like a nat that bites and is too small for you to notice until he's gone. I'm sure most of his team mates can't stand him but won't say so because of that "baseball etiquette". He's the guy that you throw a going away party after he's gone.