Nationals, Rays trade code war barbs

Nationals, Rays trade code war barbs

By Paul White, USA TODAY
june 21,2012
WASHINGTON – For all of the rhetoric tossed around Nationals Park after Tuesday's ejection of Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Joel Peralta for excessive pine tar on his glove, the definitive comment came from manager Joe Maddon.
"There's also reading between the lines in some situations," Maddon said.
That came in response to Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson's suggestion that Maddon "read the rulebook" if he has issues with the Nationals asking for an inspection of Peralta's glove as he entered the game in the eighth inning.

MORE: Davey Johnson, Joe Maddon reignite baseball's code debate
That the oblique comment from Maddon is the one to which we should pay the most heed is quite the leap, considering the vitriol being tossed about Wednesday.
Johnson referred to Maddon as a "weird wuss" and "the guru" during the day-after recriminations; Maddon suggested the Nationals' tactics would hinder improving their team.
But like so much in baseball, what goes on between the white lines is directly connected to Maddon's "between the lines."
Regardless of whose side you come down on, the real debate is over a familiar baseball topic — the game's unwritten rules.
"Baseball players throughout history have always had this ability and way to police themselves," Maddon says. "The policing component of this game, I think you should stay away from. Let the players take care of it. It's happened for a long time."
That policing — of matters ranging from stealing signs to doctoring balls or bats — usually takes the form of pitches near a batter or maybe a hard slide into a defender.
Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker, whose running feud with Cleveland Indians pitcher Derek Lowe bubbled over last week, explains that if you have a beef with an opponent, you tell them to stop or face the consequences.
Unwritten consequences, of course.
Maddon wanted to seek revenge Tuesday and told umpire Tim Tschida he planned to challenge the glove of every Nationals pitcher.
"No, you won't," the veteran ump said. "You get one."
Umpires understanding these situations helps, too. Maddon lauded the crew for its handling of the situation. And there was Tschida on the field during batting practice Wednesday, chatting with folks from both teams — something that seldom happens.
Maddon had one chance to retaliate Tuesday as his team wrapped up the 5-4 victory. Ryan Mattheus, the only Washington pitcher after Peralta's ejection, laughed as Maddon had his glove checked and approved with two outs in the ninth inning.
The suspicion is that someone with the Nationals knew Peralta — who played for the club in 2010 — has done this before and that using that information violated a part of the game's code.
"If you use information based on the fact the guy has played here I don't know if that's a form of cheating, but that's underhanded, I think," Maddon says.
Asked if he ever refrained from turning in an ex-teammate, Maddon said, "Not just me — everybody."
Johnson wasn't ratting out any current Nationals.
"It doesn't matter," he said of why the challenge was made. "The word out there that I heard earlier in the day and earlier in the year."
Peralta never got to throw a pitch Tuesday. But the Nationals were ready with the challenge, even though Johnson said he didn't actually "detect" anything.
There's a difference between "detect" and "know" — or even "suspect," Maddon suggested, one he thinks could haunt the Nationals.
"If I'm a major league player who might want to come play for the Nationals, I might think twice about it," Maddon says.
"This is one of their former children who performed well, and he comes back to this town and they pull that on him based on some inside information."
Wednesday's game passed without shenanigans — Peralta, using injured teammate Jeremy Hellickson's glove, pitched a scoreless eighth inning — so the event came down to one other tenet on which both managers could agree.
"I understand where he's coming from," Johnson said of Maddon. "His job as manager is sticking up for his players, like I would."
"I'm defending my guys," Maddon says. "I'll always defend my guys."
And he added, "We don't start stuff, but we'll finish stuff."
That one's unwritten in the managers' handbook.