Tim Benz: Maddon hints at the live series against Pirates. Do they deserve it?

There is a growing opinion about pirates through the National League.

They vomit too much. It's not really a new thing. This reputation is attached to hackers for a while.

Going back the years. There was the bean bean war with Arizona in 2018. And there was one between the Pirates and the Diamondbacks on Andrew McCutchen and Paul Goldschmidt who collapsed in 2015.

Do not forget the Cardinals-Pirates uprisings dating back to the days of Lloyd McClendon.

The conversation resumed after a series of incidents this year.

* The Reds and Pirates clashed at PNC Park on April 7 after Chris Archer launched Derek Dietrich following Dietrich's match against one of his many pirate circuits this year.

* On May 29, Reds coach David Bell bluntly accused the Pirates of launching their players when Clay Holmes hit Eugenio Suárez.

About two weeks later, Atlanta's Josh Donaldson lost ground when his jersey was swept away by a Joe Musgrove pitch and another bench cleaning incident occurred.

As @gbrowniepoints "Here, as in most baseball skirmishes, the guy never gets to the guy he's shouting against." Donaldson pushes the catcher into the peacemaker game and then turns away when he sees the strongest guy on the field ( Bell), bypasses the pile, then plays "hold me!" pic.twitter.com/ItpHp17eGW

– Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) June 11, 2019

* Then, on July 4th, Cubs manager Joe Maddon "tried" to fight the entire Pirogue canoe after a few throws by Jordan Lyles, including the one who hit Javy Baez's bat.

The catalyst seems to have been Bell's comments on the intent of the Pirates. It may not be a coincidence that Donaldson was so prepared to respond to such a minor incident so soon after Bell's charge 13 days earlier.

Then, Maddon went crazy without any player being officially hit by a throw (although David Bote was hit in the head later in the game, after the ejection).

After the Cubs left Pittsburgh, the Brewers rolled into town. Over the years, they have not really been spared by the Buccos. So I asked some brewers to give their opinion on whether the reputation of the Pirates to work high and dangerous was justified.

"They give a lot to the target from top to bottom. Yes. Yes, "said Craig Counsell, Manager of Breweries.

D & # 39; agreement. Is it too much given?

"It's not the target that's a problem. That's when you can not run, that's the problem, "Counsell continued. "They settle in the strike zone. But if you can not perform it, the collateral damage is pretty obvious. "

Brewers star Mike Moustakas was a little less overwhelming.

"Nowadays, throwers throw a lot more. It's the same in all areas, "said Moustakas. "Four or five times this year, I was touched by the hands or the arm. And I have never been touched before. It's the trend of baseball that goes hand in hand with fast balls with four seams and other things. I do not know if it's right (pirates).

"When we were (in Pittsburgh) last time, (Felipe) Vazquez hit me in the hands from top to bottom. And he looked after me and apologized. And there is no grudge there. That's how baseball is. "

It does not appear that hackers are considering changing their mentality.

"You have to throw in to open the outside half," said Pirates receiver Jacob Stallings. "We throw. Everyone knows it.

"I do not know if we do it more than the other teams. All our launchers are well placed in the area. But we are trying to fight for strikes. "

After his deportation, Maddon strongly suggested that retaliation could occur as the two teams compete again to start the second half of the calendar on Friday.

"They have their philosophy of pitching," said Maddon. "I appreciate the interior. I do not appreciate the ups and downs. They just have to be careful. (The Pirates) are a good team. And they are good guys. Really good guys. But if (the Pirates) keep throwing like that, these guys are not going to like their pitching staff. "

In other words, given that the Pirates' staff shook up the Cubs' hitter, the Cubs' pitchers could return the match this weekend.

When asked when he was looking forward to restarting the series at Wrigley Field after the All Star break, Maddon insisted, "I can not wait." I can not wait. I can not wait."

The Pirates have hit 40 batters in 2019. They are tied with the Giants and Padres for the seventh highest total in baseball this year. The league average is 36. The other four NL core teams are below average.

Maybe both teams will see their totals increase at the end of the series Sunday.

Tim Benz is an editor of Tribune-Review. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets could be republished. All emails are subject to publication unless otherwise noted.