What Sabean said:
"Why not be hard-nosed?" Sabean said. "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," Sabean said. "We'll have a long memory. Believe me, we've talked to (former catcher Mike) Matheny about how this game works. You can't be that out-and-out overly aggressive. I'll put it as politically as I can state it: There's no love lost, and there shouldn't be."
What the Giants said today:
This is a very emotional time for the Giants organization and our fans. We lost for the season one of our best players to a serious injury and we are doing everything we can to support Buster Posey through this very difficult time. We appreciate Scott Cousins’ outreach to Buster Posey and to the Giants organization. Brian Sabean’s comments yesterday were said out of frustration and out of true concern for Buster and were not meant to vilify Scott Cousins. Brian has been in contact with Florida Marlins General Manager Larry Beinfest to clarify his comments and to assure him that there is no ill-will toward the player. He has also reached out to Scott Cousins directly. (from San Jose Mercury News)
What I say:
Of course we will never know what Cousins was truly thinking or if he was just acting on his natural baseball instinct to plough through the catcher. In my opinion it was unnecessary (as Sabean said in the now infamous interview) but using the word "malicious" seems to be a bit aggressive. Cousins did reach out to Posey after the game and Posey, needing some space, hasn't responded yet. It's hard to find a reason why it would be malicious especially since the Marlins are not in their division and the Giants don't have any big rivalry with them. Naturally all the Giants fans are upset and want to see consequences and then there are some crazy fans who have threatened the lives of Cousins and his family members. Cousins' family resides in the bay area and he seemed to be worried that Sabean's response to the incident would incite further negative reaction towards him and his family. I agree on this point. Sabean definitely got caught up in the moment and had a momentarily lapse of honesty. Unfortunately, GM's can't always be honest or say what is on their minds. You can't say that Sabean isn't allowed to have an opinion but you can say that as the front office leader he should think twice before attacking players on other teams. (his inner-Steinbrenner came out, his former colleague) Don't get me wrong I am not defending Cousins because I think it was unnecessary and Posey didn't even have the ball. I think the issue needs to be put to rest and let MLB deal with rule changes if necessary.
What everyone else says:
Mike Matheny:
You know what, it wasn’t a dirty play, he didn’t come high spikes, he didn’t come high elbow. But it wasn’t a necessary play. He was hunting. Buster gave him an option and he didn’t take it...I think you just put a mark in the column that that kid took a run at a catcher. To me as a catcher I know the next time I get the ball I’m going to stick it to him
Brad Ausmus
...injuries happen in sports. I'm sorry this happened to Buster Posey. He's an exciting young catcher. He's an exciting young hitter. He's one of the best young players in baseball. But it's part of the game
Mike Scioscia
"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 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."
"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 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 (Sabean) is going to make comments like that? It's ignorant, it's inappropriate and he has no idea what the hell he's talking about."
I have to break this up with a personal anecdote about Morrison. I happen to follow him on Twitter and the following occurred. First he had a comment about Cousins:
For the record, I hope Scott plays many more games in the big leagues for us. Very talented ballplayer, great teammate & even better friend!
Then he had the following to say shortly after that:
MILF's love the Marlins!! RT @jacs88 @LoMoMarlins @gabysanchez15 already voted with each of my kids(3) all 25 times, for both of you:)
Enough said. Back to the quotes.
Rob Johnson (Padres catcher)
“For a general manager to go as far as he did with those comments is unacceptable and disrespectful to guys who play the game hard. Those comments were totally uncalled for.
“I thought it was a great baseball play. As catchers, we sign up for that. I respect Cousins. I tip my cap to him. He didn’t go out of his way to injure Posey. I’ve been cleaned out before. It’s part of the game.”
“I thought it was a great baseball play. As catchers, we sign up for that. I respect Cousins. I tip my cap to him. He didn’t go out of his way to injure Posey. I’ve been cleaned out before. It’s part of the game.”
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