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Mets pitcher goes headhunting, Joe West decides to toss Phillies manager Gabe Kapler for some reason
Believe it or not, the umpire who made the worst ball call in recent history in the Yankees-Blue Jays game a few weeks back was NOT Joe West. It was actually Angel Hernandez, who is the clear worst umpire in the MLB crown holder at the moment. But West is always lurking in the shadows looking to usurp his P.I.C. Angel. Leave it to the Mets and Phillies to get Joe back in the conversation.
On Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park, the Mess Mets jumped out to a 5-2 lead that their bullpen promptly blew as only they can, giving up five runs in the bottom of the sixth, three via a pair of home runs hit by Maikel Franco and Brad Miller. Miller, who had yet to hit a homer in the 20 games he played this season, gave it a strong pimp, even sticking his tongue out toward his own dugout has he began his trot around the bases. In fairness to the Phils, all they were doing was celebrating to each other, and there did not seem to be any taunting of anyone on the Mets.
But this is Mets vs. Phils, and, as one of our favorite Twitter follows @Jomboy_ points out in another one of his excellent breakdowns below, the Mets do have a new, er, old-as-hell pitching coach named Phil Regan who wasn't about to put up with anymore shit. After a quick mound visit, which Regan thankfully survived, Mets reliever Wilmer Font went headhunting, leading to bench warnings from Joe West. Phillies Manager/greek god Gabe Kapler was not pleased, nor should he have been. But attempting to talk sense into Joe West will get you tossed literally within three seconds, as Kapler found out (NSFW language in video):
As a typical "WELL, ACTUALLY" guy replying to Jomboy's tweet stated, technically there is a rule that West was following here, that rule being that a manager cannot argue warnings, and that if one does it results in an immediate ejection. But that doesn't make it any less peculiar when it happens. How can your player getting plunked lead to your ejection? Makes a ton of sense. Joe West gonna Joe West, I guess. However you feel about Joe, though, you have to love his stern "get back in your room right now! You are grounded young man!!!" look at Kapler:
Judging by Kapler's physique, you'd think he'd be flipping out and flexing his muscles around once a week, but this is actually just the second time he's been tossed in his young managerial career. The first? That happened over the weekend, when Kapler again failed to realize one of the MLB's rules, this one being that you cannot review a check swing call:
Kapler's heart seems to be in the right place. He's showing some passion at a time the Phillies desperately needed to snap out of a funk, as they'd lost seven in a row prior to the Mets series. They've now taken two of the first four against New York and will look to win the series on Wednesday night. Hopefully Kapler polishes up on the rule book before first pitch.