Crash Course
07-14-2005, 02:00 PM
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/11873331.htm
Regardless of what happened on that airplane last Sunday night, Ugueth Urbina was going to end up with some bullpen-needy team this summer, and the Tigers were going to get value for him. That's how well he'd been pitching.
When Urbina scuffled with teammates on the Tigers' plane, it just hastened his departure. Wade said he didn't know about the incident before the trade. Even if he did, this was a deal worth making because he needed to fix the bullpen. Now, it's up to Urbina to pitch the way he did in Detroit, where 16 of his last 18 appearances were scoreless.
This wasn't Urbina's first airplane dust-up. When he was with the Joe Kerrigan-managed Red Sox in 2002, he and some teammates got into a fracas after Urbina failed to turn down the music he was listening to on a flight to Detroit. The Red Sox had a headphones-only policy on their flights, and Urbina ignored it. According to reports at the time, Urbina snarled at Doug Mirabelli's polite request to turn down the music. Trot Nixon and Tim Wakefield then asked Urbina to respect team rules. Urbina swore and tempers flared. There was pushing and shoving, and a punch was thrown.
The recap in the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, a suburban Boston newspaper, read this way:
"All hell broke loose," a witness said. "Guys were pushing and shoving. Urbina took a swing. Tommy Harper was the closest coach to the scene. He jumped in to break it up.
"(Third-base coach) Gene Lamont was the next closest. But he didn't move. He just turned and said, `Let them kill each other.' "
UU......what a maroon
Regardless of what happened on that airplane last Sunday night, Ugueth Urbina was going to end up with some bullpen-needy team this summer, and the Tigers were going to get value for him. That's how well he'd been pitching.
When Urbina scuffled with teammates on the Tigers' plane, it just hastened his departure. Wade said he didn't know about the incident before the trade. Even if he did, this was a deal worth making because he needed to fix the bullpen. Now, it's up to Urbina to pitch the way he did in Detroit, where 16 of his last 18 appearances were scoreless.
This wasn't Urbina's first airplane dust-up. When he was with the Joe Kerrigan-managed Red Sox in 2002, he and some teammates got into a fracas after Urbina failed to turn down the music he was listening to on a flight to Detroit. The Red Sox had a headphones-only policy on their flights, and Urbina ignored it. According to reports at the time, Urbina snarled at Doug Mirabelli's polite request to turn down the music. Trot Nixon and Tim Wakefield then asked Urbina to respect team rules. Urbina swore and tempers flared. There was pushing and shoving, and a punch was thrown.
The recap in the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune, a suburban Boston newspaper, read this way:
"All hell broke loose," a witness said. "Guys were pushing and shoving. Urbina took a swing. Tommy Harper was the closest coach to the scene. He jumped in to break it up.
"(Third-base coach) Gene Lamont was the next closest. But he didn't move. He just turned and said, `Let them kill each other.' "
UU......what a maroon