Bush League?

Sunday's Tigers/Angels game brought up baseball's ridiculous list of unwritten rules. The term "bush league" was thrown around. What exactly is bush league?

That is actually an old baseball term that refers to minor league baseball teams in small towns. These teams were so poorly financed that their outfields did not have fences or walls. They had bushes surrounding the field. Thus, the poor quality of the field became a metaphor for the poor quality of the teams in the leagues, the bush leagues. Thus, anything low class or low quality came to be known as bush league.

Dropping a bunt to break up a no-hitter?
I not only approve it, I encourage it.

On Sunday, the term was thrown out at Angels shorstop Erick Aybar, who attempted to break up Justin Verlander's no-hitter in the eighth inning by bunting for a hit. This is considered to be a violation of baseball etiquette. Those who subscribe to this school of thinking believe that bunting is not allowed during a no-hitter and that Aybar should have swung away to try and get a "real hit."

I think that is absolute garbage, and I have no problem with what Aybar did. In the immortal words of Herm Edwards, you play to win the game.

When Aybar dropped that bunt, his team was only trailing 3-0. It wasn't a blowout, and he did what he is paid to do: whatever he can to help the Angels win a ballgame. He didn't get a hit, but he reached on a Verlander throwing error, which threw the big right-hander off his rhythm. He would later surrender a hit and two runs in the inning. So, by breaking that ridiculous unwritten rule, Aybar helped his team pull within a run of the Tigers, thus giving his team a better chance to win.

That's what Aybar is paid to do: help the Angels win. Nowhere in his contract does it say, "when an opposing pitcher is six outs away from a no-hitter, you should take it easy and let him have the final outs."

To Verlander and Jim Leyland's credit, they both said they understood what Aybar did. Verlander did chuckle as he said the move could be considered bush league, but he acknowledged that Aybar was just trying to help his team. Leyland echoed those thoughts, as he said he has absolutely no problem with Aybar trying to get his team going.

Besides, Aybar is a quick player who doesn't hit for much power. Bunting for hits is part of his game. Maybe if the score was 10-0 and there was a big power hitter up there trying to bunt for a hit, the term bush league might apply a little bit. Even so, there is one thing about baseball that separates it from other sports with regards to "calling off the dogs" late in a game: baseball has no clock. Even if the score is 15-0 in the 9th, the other team still has a shot to string together hits and win the game.

Other sports have unwritten rules about taking it easy in a blowout, and I agree with them to an extent. If a basketball team is up 20 points with a minute to go, yes, it's over. A hockey or soccer team up four goals with a minute left? Sure, call off the dogs. A football team up five touchdowns late in the fourth quarter? Yeah, it's probably time to take out your first string and stop throwing deep.

On the other hand, as former Miami Hurricanes and Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson once said, "It's not my fault your team sucks." In other words, if you don't like us scoring, stop us. While I think Johnson may have taken that a bit too far sometimes, the logic isn't flawed. It certainly applies to baseball, the game with no clock, which means there is always time for a late rally. In my opinion, that always leaves some leeway for things like stealing bases and bunting for hits in lopsided games. So, I really don't hold a grudge against a team that still tries to score runs in a blowout. It's not bush league.

Guillen's glaring at Weaver at Sunday was
over the top. Act like a professional.

What was bush league on Sunday, however, was how Carlos Guillen showed up Jered Weaver on his seventh-inning homer. While I don't know all of what was said between the two teams, it seems like Guillen's actions were retaliation from earlier.

Pitchers hate to get shown up. Magglio Ordonez appeared to watch his third-inning home run off Weaver, but a closer look showed that Ordonez was looking to see if it was fair or foul. That's what Ordonez said after the game, and I believe him. Weaver didn't. He had some words with Ordonez after his next at-bat. So, Guillen decided to send a message by glaring at Weaver as his homer sailed into the right field seats.

There's no place in the game for that, even if Weaver was acting like a jerk. All Guillen did was put Alex Avila, the following hitter, in danger. Predictably, Weaver sailed a pitch right at his head and got ejected. Avila ducked out of the way and wasn't injured, but Guillen should probably wear body armor the next time he sees Weaver.

While throwing 90+ mph fastballs at hitters' heads is beyond bush league (it's obviously extremely dangerous), I think chucking a pitch at a deserving hitter's back or backside is within baseball etiquette. Guillen has one of those coming his way for certain. Showing up a pitcher and sparking violence between two teams like that? That's definitely bush league.

Dropping a bunt to break up a pitcher's rhythm and give your team a chance to win? Not bush league. That's called not giving up and playing to win.