Robinson Gives Inside Pitches the Brushback

Atlanta Brave pitching coach Leo Mazzone, in Los Angeles the other day, was saying that “hitting guys and drilling guys is reserved for mediocrity” and it is not something the Braves preach or practice. Pitching inside, he said, is a legitimate art, but it is generally only the pitcher who has no other weapons and is getting knocked around who feels the need to throw at a batter.

There is nothing mediocre about Pedro Martinez, of course, but the Boston Red Sox ace has long had a reputation for pitching inside--and more.

A control specialist, his resume is strewn with hit batters and the dirt-stained uniforms of players dodging head-high fastballs.

In Cleveland last Sunday, Martinez knocked Einar Diaz off the plate, prompting the Indians’ Chuck Nagy to hit Jose Offerman with a pitch.

Offerman was batting about .180 at the time and should have been thrilled to get to first base any way he could instead of taking some menacing strides at Nagy.

That was an eye for an eye and should have ended it, but Martinez came back in the next inning and hit Roberto Alomar with the pitch that ultimately prompted discipline czar Frank Robinson--again demonstrating zero tolerance--to suspend the Boston Red Sox ace for five days.

The umpires had warned both sides that further retaliation would prompt ejection, and Martinez virtually acknowledged he hit Alomar on purpose.

”. . . He was the last person I wanted to hit . . . but it’s part of the game,” Martinez said. “I have a job to do. I hope he understands.”

The discipline czar didn’t, doesn’t and issued what seems to be a justifiable suspension under the circumstances--another indication that he is determined to end the fighting.

Clearly, times have changed since the tenacious Robinson played and accepted being hit and knocked off the plate as part of the game.

It is now a complex spectrum that should be addressed in a meaningful summit involving players, managers, umpires and club officials.

In the meantime, the Indians and Red Sox had their customary waltz after Nagy hit Offerman, with both benches emptying and the Indians delivering taunting jibes at Martinez, who was seated in the dugout and didn’t join the field melee until escorted by the menacing Jim Rice, Boston’s batting coach.

The scenario was almost repeated when Martinez hit Alomar, but give Cleveland Manager Charlie Manuel credit for later trying to defuse the bad blood.

“I don’t know what’s going through Pedro’s head,” he said when asked if he thought Martinez was intentionally throwing at his hitters.

“I mean, I have a hard enough time keeping up with what’s going through my own head.”

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Juan Gonzalez’s struggles with the Detroit Tigers continue. A .294 career hitter who averaged 43 homers and 140 RBIs over the last four seasons, Gonzalez was batting .225 with four homers and eight RBIs through Friday. Devoid of protection, he has seen few fastballs and tended to chase off-speed pitches out of the strike zone.

He is possibly distracted by the $140-million contract offer that many in baseball believe he should jump at, and frustrated by the spacious dimensions of Comerica Park, where the Tigers are 4-7, and he is not alone.

“I think the park has hurt us more than our opponents,” said catcher Brad Ausmus, clearly annoying club President John McHale, who responded: “If Brad is correct, then we need a different kind of player, and we will find them. Proposing that success depends on the architectural environment is fringe logic at best.”