Braves sign Bautista

[Enscheff]

Not exactly, other angles show that he was a bit dazed and Beltre came in fast holding him upright. But he did stay up either way after taking a pretty solid punch.

I've had the reset button hit a few times, and it's hard not to go down when someone connects on the jaw. One time I got tagged about 3 seconds into a 3 minute round and spent the next 2:57 trying to catch my breath and not fall over, all the while covering up every time the other guy closed the gap. A few hours later at about 9pm that night I realized I didn't remember driving home.

I give Bautista props for eating that punch, and it wasn't a sucker punch. They were squared up ready to go. Odor just fired quicker than Bautista (who was loading up when he got hit).

[jpx7]

I give Bautista props for eating that punch, and it wasn't a sucker punch. They were squared up ready to go. Odor just fired quicker than Bautista (who was loading up when he got hit).

Fair enough. I just think it was a total, punk-ass overreaction to Bautista’s legitimate slide.

[Braves1976]

I've had the reset button hit a few times, and it's hard not to go down when someone connects on the jaw. One time I got tagged about 3 seconds into a 3 minute round and spent the next 2:57 trying to catch my breath and not fall over, all the while covering up every time the other guy closed the gap. A few hours later at about 9pm that night I realized I didn't remember driving home.

I give Bautista props for eating that punch, and it wasn't a sucker punch. They were squared up ready to go. Odor just fired quicker than Bautista (who was loading up when he got hit).

I don't disagree with any of this. I didn't call it a sucker punch. I know Texas and Toronto hated each other and had a lot leading up to that fight. I don't really take sides on that, it was a fun to watch those games though.

[Braves1976]

Fair enough. I just think it was a total, punk-ass overreaction to Bautista’s legitimate slide.

Honestly, I think it was more than the slide. That fight went back to Joey Bats bat flip in the playoffs and Joey's slide was him taking issue with being hit by a pitch earlier IIRC. It was just a matter of how that fight started as it had been brewing a while. That said, I am not saying Odor isn't someone who is looking to fight though. He did that in the minors too so that made him the most likely to square off with Joey Bats at some point.

[jpx7]

Well I’m a fan of the bat-flip, so that obviously skews my take.

My advice for Texas, in terms of avoiding having an opposing player flip their bat, is that they might consider simply not serving up dramatic, game-blowing homers. Seems a better strategy than punching a guy because he slid hard a year later.

[Braves1976]

Well I’m a fan of the bat-flip, so that obviously skews my take.

Personally, I don't have a strong position one way or another on the bat-flip.

[zitothebrave]

Personally, I don't have a strong position one way or another on the bat-flip.