YOU DESERVE A TEN MINUTE TIME OUT.

Okay, I really really REALLY need to rant right now.

I just watched the video of the Boston/Tampa Bay bench clearing incident on the website.  

I can't stand watching bench clearing fights.  It seriously pisses me off.  These guys get paid a billion dollars a freaking year, and they have all this fame and prestige, and yet they act worse than the two year-olds my mom babysits every day.  Yeah, I'm sure getting hit with a baseball thrown at 90+ does NOT feel good.  Intentional or not.  I don't think any player who has even an ounce of professionalism in his body should be charging the mound to start a fight.  It's just ridiculous.  BE A PROFESSIONAL.  Take it like a "man," let it go, take your walk, and get back at the team the more productive way - kick their ass on the field, make the plays, get your team rallied behind the cause of winning.

But what do they do?  They act like children, throw huge tantrums, charge the mound and totally make huge fools of themselves.  And they all get involved for no reason.  And Cookie, aka Coco Crisp, starts taking off his jersey before he gets back to the dugout... you're so freaking cool... you moron.

I'm so angry about the conduct.  Sportsmanship.  Baseball is the freaking AMERICAN sport.  BORN of sportsmanship.  That's not good sportsmanship, that's street-bs.  Get over yourself.  You are NOT the shit.

I seriously hate Boston's team.  They think they are all God's gift to baseball.  And aside from pretty much Ortiz alone, everyone else needs to seriously look in the mirror and figure out jut who the hell they think they are.  They are players, of a game.  A sport. Fans pay the tickets to see them, and if fans have any respect for the game, sportsmanship, or professionalism, they realize that teams like that have no place in the game.  I wouldn't be willing to put up huge dollars for good seats to a game like that.  Not only was there a fight and ejections, Manny and Youkilis got in a fight in the dugout... 

All these complaints lately around baseball about the length of games going way too long, and here you have a bench-clearing fight taking up at least fifteen to twenty minutes of game time and everyone is just standing around letting it happen.  The only ones that get fined or rejected are the ones involved initially.  But come on, why not punish the idiots that get involved and turn it into a riot?  You know what I think they ought to do in situations like that, in bench-clearing fights? I think they ought to eject the entire teams, forfeit the games, and have to have the teams REFUND the tickets sold that night.  That'll teach them to act like a bunch of wild monkeys.  

My hatred for Manny Ramirez ranks right up there with Kobe Bryant, and all for the same reasons.  No amount of professionalism.  No respect for the people that basically make them what they are.  Without fans to worship them, they'd be a bunch of worthless nobodies.

Even though they were involved today, I hope Tampa Bay wipes the floor with them.  That would be humbling - a bunch of what they would consider "no-names" taking out this most amazing invincible awesome team... maybe you aren't so great after all.  Maybe that will teach you respect for the game you think you're so great at, and maybe even some respect for other people out there trying to play professionally.  

Maybe they need to start teaching respect and professionalism in the minors.  Hell, maybe they ought to start teaching these kinds of things in KINDERGARTEN.  Instead of like, letting people think they're so damn wonderful and worshipping them like false-idols when they do one thing that takes some talent.