Teixeira Goes Emo

It’s no secret that Vicente Padilla and Mark Teixeira don’t like each other; they’ve presumably never been fishing, and they probably have never exchanged Christmas cards.
 
The beef started in 2005 when Padilla, then a member of the Phillies, plunked Teixeira, then a member of the Rangers, after the first baseman took him deep.
 
On Tuesday night, Padilla hit Teixeira twice, once in the shoulder and then in the buttocks.
 
This shouldn’t be at all surprising; Padilla has hit 98 batsmen over his career, landing him eighth on the active leaderboard in that regard. And whether or not there was intent behind the pitch, Teixeira’s postgame remarks came off as not only soft, but also vaguely self-congratulatory.
 
"There's really no reason for it in baseball. You know, if you can't get a guy out, don't hit him. You know, if you don't want to pitch to a guy, then, you know, put four fingers out there and walk him," Teixeira said. "And, unfortunately, when I was a teammate, it happened a lot where he would hit guys, and the 3-4 hitters, those are the guys that got hit for retaliation, and I got hit plenty of times."
 
There’s some truth to what Teixeira said, though he’s missed the point entirely. Inside pitching is on the verge of extinction in baseball (with a few exceptions) and it’s due, in no small part, to such soft thinking.
 
No word, as of yet, whether or not the former Ranger’s lamentations were accompanied by a wailing violin. They should have been, in any case.
 
Saying that there’s no point in throwing inside, in purpose pitches, is the equivalent of saying that there’s no point in going into second hard to break up a double play, which is completely wrong, which Teixeira did after his second free, though painful, pass on Tuesday night; with great effect.
 
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after the game, in reference to the aforementioned play, "That's just good, hard baseball. That’s the way you’re supposed to play the game.”
 
Good point; but ditto for Padilla, who may or may not have hit Teixeira on purpose. People often romanticize the ‘good ole days’ of baseball, while decrying the barbaric act of drilling a hitter who has given you trouble in the past. This is a categorically flawed stance.
 
The unwritten rules of baseball concerning this are clear though tacit; don’t throw at a guy’s head. Outside of that, shut up and take your base. You win; particularly if it’s first and third with A-Rod coming up.
 
Icing his butt cheek and speaking of what belongs in baseball and what doesn’t, Texeira seems to have forgotten completely the old truism, there’s no crying in baseball.
 
But I’m not mad. Thanks for all the prospects, Tex.
 
Hope the Yankees' clubhouse is stocked with enough extra soft tissues.