Give Me a Hug: Kawasaki, Lawrie and all the Feelings

“My teammates give me opportunity,” Kawasaki said. “I want to do something about it. Good?”

Very good.

The Jays were down 5-4 with Arencibia and DeRosa on. Kawasaki worked Jim Johnson to a full count and finally lined a fastball into the left-centre gap. Arencibia score from third and DeRosa from first.

DeRosa sliding into home when the ball was still in the outfield is my favourite part of all of that. Either he felt his pants were too clean or he just worn out from running from first.

Kawasaki got very good use from his Japanese-English phrasebook, amusing the heck out of the press corps with "Give me a hug." and "It was boring."

And the team took the small, joyful Japanese man and beat him senseless with glee.

james_in_to

james_in_to Grown men jumping up and down = AWESOME. Also awesome? The post-game interview.

"I'm JAPANESE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

(Also, the comments on this video on Youtube are kind of amazing, the opposite kind of amazing that is found in the interview. Someone says that baseball is very diverse, someone answers that Kawasaki is 'probably the only Japanese guy in baseball' so it's not diverse at all. Sigh. Two of the better pitchers this season are from Japan in Darvish and Kuroda, and there is still Ichiro. Always Ichiro. Not to mention all the various Dominicans, Venezuelans, Cubans, Canadians and Americans from various cities and towns. Shut up, Internet.)

A lot of people were upset on Twitter about Brett Lawrie`s actions and general demeanor. Lawrie's struggling, and frustrated and isn't handling it very well.

It's not ok to yell at your manager or anyone in the dugout, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, and believe that Lawrie was yelling because he wanted to contribute and it wasn't about his personal RBI.

My experience with baseball players is that they care about one number in the heat of the game, and that's the number of runs that have crossed the plate as a team.

The Jays had loaded the bases in the previous innings with limited results, and had lost the previous game by a run. Wins are at a premium and they are all pressing a little. Gibbons clearly had words with Lawrie, and was backed up by Bautista. Lawrie said post game he was more angry at himself.


The most 'me-centred' action in 40 years of covering the game? Mr Griffin, I realize you didn't get to break a story about Toronto's mayor smoking crack on video and maybe want a little attention, but could you please settle down a little?

I'm not going to argue that Lawrie behaved in a way he should, that he is justified. But I have dealt  with people in their early 20s a lot recently, and some are very mature and some just aren't. Some lack perspective, are impatient and are loud. People of all ages react differently to struggle, and not everyone has to do it in the spotlight.

“We probably talked this year more than you guys will ever know,” Gibbons said. “I don’t want to say he’s like my son, but we do talk a lot. Yeah, he got a little heated, I got a little heated, but that’s over. It’s no big deal.”

I did enjoy the finger wave, Gibby. "That's bullshit" indeed.

"He wants your job!"