Krukow Rips Baggs, and Rightfully So

This may sound like the pot calling the kettle black, but since he started it, I’m going to jump in. Andrew Baggarly of CSN Bay Area just got ripped on KNBR by Mike Krukow for this article he wrote last night where he stated that Barry Zito implied Buster Posey was not calling the correct pitches, or correct pitch sequence. If you read the article it is very clear what Baggs is saying:

"The ugliness continued after the game, when Zito left the impression – or tire marks, you choose – that catcher Buster Posey wasn’t calling the right pitches."

Nothing like a pitcher calling out a catcher to generate some page views, or to create dissension on a team. Don’t get me wrong, Barry Zito may have very well implied that. However, like Kruk pointed out, Zito is a veteran pitcher who ultimately makes the decision in the pitches he throws. Zito knows that, Baggs know that, every baseball fan should know that. I think reading Zito’s quotes, unless he said something Baggs didn’t put in the article, Zito didn’t imply anything other than it was an off night and looking back, better pitch selection could have been made by the battery of him and Posey. I’m sure that’s always the case in a loss, and especially when you get beat up the way the Giants did last night against Toronto.

May 14, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Barry Zito (75) throws against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

I know there are a lot of unwritten rules in baseball and in the clubhouse. I also know that a sport writer’s jobs is to make money for their employer and you do that by making people read your articles. However, if I was a player in the Giants clubhouse, I would seriously consider what I said to Baggs in the future after this stunt. Yes, I know, beat writers aren’t supposed to be fans. I get it. But possibly creating dissension in a clubhouse among teammates, especially a pitcher and a catcher, is just flat wrong in my opinion, and breaks every rule of the clubhouse.  I would be willing to bet that today there is some awkward conversation between Zito and Posey where Zito has to explain his comments to him. Hopefully not with these two guys, but with lesser players, I could see that creating some real problems. Kruk was rightfully fired up and I genuinely hope he has a conversation with Baggs about it, as he said.

That’s just my opinion, but Baggs definitely lost a bit more respect from me because of that article. If you want to read another of his “creating drama” articles, right or wrong, check out his other article on Melky Cabrera and the controversy surrounding when he received his ring.