An unexpected ejection for Mike Carp
Sam Galanis
Contributing Writer
The Red Sox got their first ejection of the season, and Mike Carp the first of his career, in a very strange series of events during last night’s game against the Texas Rangers.
With a 12-run deficit in the bottom of the eighth, the Rangers decided not to waste any more relievers and sent left fielder (and former Red Sock) David Murphy to the mound. Murphy pitched the Rangers’ only scoreless inning of the game, and he struck out Carp. And Carp was not happy.
On a 1-2 pitch, Carp watched a high breaking ball whizz past him. Home plate umpire Andy Fletcher called it a strike, and ended Carp’s at-bat. Carp walked away noticeably angry, and exchanged some words with Fletcher on his way back to the dugout. Apparently, Fletcher saw Carp make a gesture that he didn’t like, and threw him out of the game. This prompted John Farrell to start making his way out of the dugout before Fletcher and crew chief Joe West warned him to stay put, to which Farrell obliged.
The pitch was right at the top of the strike zone, the type of pitch that no matter what it’s called, someone will disagree. But Carp didn’t seem to do anything other than argue a little, at least from what can be seen in the video below. You can even see Clay Buchholz get confused and shake his head when Carp is thrown out.
"I literally just shook my head and walked away," Carp said according to MLB.com. "Anytime it's a position player it makes for an interesting atmosphere. And getting tossed on top of that makes it that much more unbelievable."
Either way, the event didn’t make much sense considering the circumstances. At that point, there was almost no way that the Sox could lose.
“You don’t see anyone getting all that upset in a 17-5 game normally,” commentator Dennis Eckersley said during the game. “It’s kind of strange.”
Andrew Miller pitched a one-two-three inning in the top of the ninth with two strikeouts and a flyout to center to win it for the Sox, so luckily Carp wasn’t missed.
Comment or follow me @_SamMG
Contributing Writer
The Red Sox got their first ejection of the season, and Mike Carp the first of his career, in a very strange series of events during last night’s game against the Texas Rangers.
With a 12-run deficit in the bottom of the eighth, the Rangers decided not to waste any more relievers and sent left fielder (and former Red Sock) David Murphy to the mound. Murphy pitched the Rangers’ only scoreless inning of the game, and he struck out Carp. And Carp was not happy.
AP Photo/Charles Krupa |
On a 1-2 pitch, Carp watched a high breaking ball whizz past him. Home plate umpire Andy Fletcher called it a strike, and ended Carp’s at-bat. Carp walked away noticeably angry, and exchanged some words with Fletcher on his way back to the dugout. Apparently, Fletcher saw Carp make a gesture that he didn’t like, and threw him out of the game. This prompted John Farrell to start making his way out of the dugout before Fletcher and crew chief Joe West warned him to stay put, to which Farrell obliged.
The pitch was right at the top of the strike zone, the type of pitch that no matter what it’s called, someone will disagree. But Carp didn’t seem to do anything other than argue a little, at least from what can be seen in the video below. You can even see Clay Buchholz get confused and shake his head when Carp is thrown out.
"I literally just shook my head and walked away," Carp said according to MLB.com. "Anytime it's a position player it makes for an interesting atmosphere. And getting tossed on top of that makes it that much more unbelievable."
Either way, the event didn’t make much sense considering the circumstances. At that point, there was almost no way that the Sox could lose.
“You don’t see anyone getting all that upset in a 17-5 game normally,” commentator Dennis Eckersley said during the game. “It’s kind of strange.”
Andrew Miller pitched a one-two-three inning in the top of the ninth with two strikeouts and a flyout to center to win it for the Sox, so luckily Carp wasn’t missed.
Comment or follow me @_SamMG