Last night Jimmy Rollins cracked a two-run home run in the sixth inning. The homer gave the Phillies a 4-3 lead. He greeted Citi Field and it’s Mets fans with a finger to his lips in an attempt to shush the crowd.
Rollins entered the game with a .222 batting average with three home runs and 18 RBIs. He had been bumped from the leadoff spot and was now batting sixth in the Phillies order.
No one seems to be making a big deal over this, but if the situation was flipped, we would never hear the end of it.
Let’s say Jose Reyes, Rollins’ shortstop counterpart, went into Philly and did the same thing. If he tried to shush the Phillies crowd at Citizen’s Bank Park, there would have been hell to pay.
Reyes would be the No. 1 topic of discussion on all sports radio, TV and blogs. Instead, no one is saying a thing.
Rollins added to this with a beautiful takeout slide in the bottom of the ninth inning, keeping the game alive. I’m sure if Reyes went in for a hard-nose slide like Rollins, people would be making a big deal that it was too intense or too rough.
Is there a double-standard between the Phillies and the Mets?
Whenever the Mets make a celebratory gesture, it’s considered classless and immature. But last night a Phillie shushed the crowd and not one peep has been made over it.
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Of course there has not been a peep about it! you said it yourself, Rollins shushed the crowd!
The difference here, to me, is that the Mets give off this image that they loudly outspoken by way of their emotions coming out on the field, despite the fact that they have choked away a pair of division championships and a shot at the World Series before that.
Rollins has always played the game hard, despite his struggles offensively. Reyes on the other hand disappears in the clutch. Therefore Rollins goes out and backs up his words while Reyes does not.
I think that is the real difference between the Phillies and Mets.
I would like to see video of Rollins making this gesture again though. I don’t recall seeing it myself, but when he crosses home plate on a home run he always puts a finger to his mouth and then point to the sky, seemingly like a gesture to someone important in his life. Not sure though.
There is no difference in celebrations.
To take exception when another team celebrates is childish, especially when you turn around and celebrate the next inning.
using it as motivation is one thing, but coming out in the media and saying it is classless is stupid.
Rollins is a good player and so is Reyes. both should celebrate if they chose. If a player or a team thinks that it is insulting they should answer it on the field instead of whining to reporters.
I love seeing both sides celebrates (well, except if it’s at our expense a la Looper’s “Jo-se” chant after the 2006 NLCS. Fuck that guy!), even if it stings. I like to see human emotion out on the field. If I wanted to go see a bunch of robots, I’d go to work. No thanks.
And yes, I HATE when players whine to reporters about celebrations. Just shut ‘em up with your play. That’s why I liked Aubrey Huff’s mimic of Joba’s pump when Huff hit the HR. If you don’t like the pump, hit it out of the park, so you can mock it. I think it makes the game all that much more personal to the players.
i think the difference is the phillies won a world series so all their stupid crap get excused as being hard nosed gritty ball players and the mets blew it the last two years so its more fun to pile it on.
also philly fans are jealous that they live in a second rate city so have to overcompensate by being big babies about everything in sports. that said, i do enjoy thier creamed cheeses.
The Reyes and KRod celebrations take so much longer than the Rollins deal, and happen with regularity (monotony?) that they’re easier to notice.
If the Mets had taken 2 out of 3 in this series would this blog even exist? Of course not. Look, I understand that Mets fans are bitter, but don’t blame the Phillies for that. You need to take a good hard look at your GM and Manager.
This was posted after game one.