Brian Sabean, GM of the San Francisco Giants, was upset about his star catcher getting injured in a collision at the plate. Brian Sabean kept his mouth mostly closed and let his head coach do the lobbying for slight rule changes- until yesterday. Some 8 days after the incident, which involved Florida Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins barreling over the Giants’ Buster Posey in the 12th inning of a tied game, Sabean sounded off to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News:
“If I never hear from Cousins again or he never plays another game in the big leagues, I think we’ll all be happy. He chose to be a hero, in my mind, and if that’s his flash of fame, that’s as good as it’s going to get, pal. We’ll have a long memory.”
How out of line is that??!!
The Marlins Logan Morrison let us know on Sirius/XM with Casey Stern and Jim Bowden yesterday afternoon, h/t (NBC Hardball Talk)
“First of all, it’s wildly unprofessional for him to make any comment on the situation. When has he played in the big leagues? When has he played in the minor leagues? Correct me if I’m wrong but he’s never been in a situation like that. It’s terrible. Why would you wish anything like that on anybody? … He’s taking this very hard without the comments that [Sabean]’s made. He’s getting death threats from people. This is his hometown, San Francisco. He’s worried about his family and his friends that are there. And now he’s going to make comments like that? It’s ignorant, it’s inappropriate and he has no idea what the hell he’s talking about.”
DAMN! Morrison put Sabean in his appropriate position, the backseat.
Not only do GMs usually stay out of the public eye, they rarely ever speak ill publicly about players. Additionally, Sabean is incorrect. Cousins was fully within the rules (and spirit which is sometimes more important) of the game.
(UPDATE: Giants organization, Buster Posey release statements on the situation)
I understand the Giants are upset because their young star is lost for the year. But that’s the game of baseball. Are they going to do the same thing if Tim Lincecum happens to go down after being hit with a linedrive back up the middle? I sure hope not. It’s not how champions should act.
Champions should act like Cousins has acted throughout the entire situation. He tried to help Posey up while on the field. Cousins has made multiple calls to Posey to apologize. Reportedly those calls have been unanswered. And I absolutely love Cousins’ statement in response to Sabean’s most recent antics.
(from espn.com)
“I hope and believe that Mr. Sabean’s comments were made in the heat of the moment and are based more on his fondness for Buster Posey than on any animosity towards me.
This situation is still an open wound for many, including myself. As I have stated previously, nobody outside of Buster feels worse about his injury than I do. I have reached out to Buster to let him know how badly I feel about his being injured during our collision at home plate.
I do believe, however, that the play was clean and totally within the rules of the game. Explaining over and over that I would never intentionally hurt another player for any reason won’t change the minds of those who doubt my sincerity or intent.
I have a responsibility to myself, my teammates and my organization to play the game hard. This is what has gotten me to the big leagues, and hopefully this is what will keep me here. Please understand and respect that these are my only comments on the incident.”
The bottom line here is that Brian Sabean is out of place in his comments and its a good thing to see Logan Morrison standing up for his teammates.
Stats of the Day: Brian Sabean last played baseball in 1978. Scott Cousins has 1 career home run.
Here’s an article on how Sabean likes to stay out of the spotlight…hmmm…
Be sure to visit Off The Bench for more great baseball articles.
Go here for Giants organization, Buster Posey statements on the situation, released 6-4-11
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook