Minor League Manager Goes Berserk

posted by justgary at 01:23 AM - reply - flag:

My favorite quote: "This ain't my first rodeo. ... I didn't touch anybody. I never bumped anybody. ... I actually cleaned home plate for them, so they should give me a tip for that." Kudos to the umpires for maintaining their composure in the face of such an epic meltdown.

posted by geekyguy at 02:08 AM - reply - flag:

That has to be one of the funniest things I've seen in a while. I was actually wondering if it was some satire like the Onion when I read the first article. Wow. Is there a video of the pickoff?

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 05:35 AM - reply - flag:

Jeez, what an asshole. That psychotic combo pounce/attack on second base was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen in sports.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 05:45 AM - reply - flag:

The hat flip/zip was so smooth it looked like he had been practicing in front of a mirror for months. But that headfirst slide -- I've seen drunks pass out with more grace. Bizarre.

posted by forrestv at 06:07 AM - reply - flag:

Jeez, what a twat.

posted by GoBirds at 06:43 AM - reply - flag:

Looks like a kitten pouncing on a string.

posted by SummersEve at 07:35 AM - reply - flag:

What I'd love to be able to see is how his own players must have laughed at him, made jokes about him, and mimicked him after this thing was over. Someone should have put the guy down with a tranquilizer dart.

posted by dyams at 07:50 AM - reply - flag:

I thought it was great..........makes me want to watch minor league baseball.

posted by jtrainhoopster at 09:15 AM - reply - flag:

But that headfirst slide -- I've seen drunks pass out with more grace. That wasn't a slide, it was a pounce. Joe Mikulik just pushed the manager's rant as far as it has ever been pushed, and he didn't touch the umps. Though he's not a poster child for sportsmanship, I think you have to appreciate how well he landed an extremely difficult routine.

posted by rcade at 09:37 AM - reply - flag:

You know, he may have been watching previews of the new Superman movie and was practicing his take-off (I led my first grade in the same simulation when "Superman II" came out and was subsequently sent home when everyone came back to class with grass stains. I'm sure Mikuliuk will be sent home as well.)

posted by forrestv at 10:07 AM - reply - flag:

As a former baseball player and coach, I thought this was hilarious. The umpires did very well to keep there emotions in check. The manager went a little too far, but if it gets your team motivated, then so be it. Like I used to say when I coached, if your gonna get thowed out, you might as well get your moneys worth!

posted by GoHorns at 10:16 AM - reply - flag:

That's pretty humorous...Koby Clemens just got out of the way there...but yeah. The only thing funnier would be Ozzie Guillen doing that...I'm serious. I'd LOVE to see Ozzie do that. It would be HIGH comedy at its finest. The guy came pretty close to bumping both the umps he came into contact with...I bet he gets a game or 2 for the tantrum...but man...he did keep it clean (sort of)

posted by chemwizBsquared at 10:45 AM - reply - flag:

practicing his take-off More like Ralph Hinkley than Superman.

posted by SummersEve at 10:49 AM - reply - flag:

Oh no you didn't SE. Now I got that damn theme song stuck in my head. "Believe it or not I'm walking on air I never thought I could feel so free Flying away on a wing and a prayer Who could it be? Believe it or not it's just me" Hopefully that will get it out of my head and into one of yours. I'm disappointed with my local news. This scene happened practically in my backyard but they didn't say anything about it. Like YYM, I too would like to see the video of the pickoff.

posted by MrFrisby at 11:01 AM - reply - flag:

Who says baseball is not a game for children. The last time I saw someone come unspooled like this was a six year old on a sugar buzz in a toy store with his step-mother. This guy is ready for prime time.

posted by CB900 at 11:13 AM - reply - flag:

I no longer feel bad about every stupid and embarrassing thing I have ever done. Who could even begin to compete with that. Thank-you Joe Mikulik!

posted by hb74147 at 11:52 AM - reply - flag:

I'm glad I wasn't the ump. I'm not sure I could maintain my composure. I'd laugh right in his face, especially after that base pounce. He should have practiced pulling the base out of the dirt more, I think that was the weak point of his performance.

posted by Thisguy at 12:04 PM - reply - flag:

know what your talking about guys. The outbreak came after 5 blown calls at home plate and second base. one no call was an out at third that no umpire was looking at . These umps need to be suspened too they made a travesy of the the weekend series,i don't blame Joe for the out burst!!!!

posted by Terryb1560 at 12:25 PM - reply - flag:

I don't care if it happened after one blown call, two blown calls or ten blown calls - have some self respect. Don't blame Joe, geez, whatever happened to a little personal responsibility? Mikulik lost his shit and proceeded to tantrum his way towards YouTube immortality. I know six year-olds who would be shocked at the level of infantile behaviour. Take a bow, Joe - because that's all your going to get out of this. Which is a lot less than a shot at the bigs.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:37 PM - reply - flag:

"When will the real umpires show up? That's what I want to know. Because that was an abortion. That was bad. The whole series was awful." I think he meant "abomination". Or, at least I hope he did... i don't blame Joe for the out burst!!!! I do. He's the one that acted like an idiot. No one made him do that.

posted by grum@work at 12:40 PM - reply - flag:

I give him a 8.8 He could have thrown some more items (balls, gloves, helmets) onto the field... And a full -1 for that terrible 'slide'. Still, thats an impressive score for a minor-league outburst.

posted by myshtigo at 12:40 PM - reply - flag:

Slide? I think he got confused and was reliving his college belly-flop contest days. Makes me want to get tickets to one of their games now (yes, sarcasm). I understand where he is coming from though. I mean that call ruined their entire season. Everything was riding on that game. (yes, more sarcasm) Well, glad my 5 y/o son didn't see that. He would have picked up a few pointers on how to throw a temper-tantrum (actually, I think my son is more mature than that guy)

posted by Stealth_72 at 12:51 PM - reply - flag:

Makes me want to get tickets to one of their games now (yes, sarcasm). Good god almighty, don't you people have any sense of fun? Maybe you all really should stick to watching at home; this is part of baseball's rich pageantry. If you're worried that your kid is going to learn about temper tantrums from this guy, I have to point out that he almost certainly has plenty of other role models around him on a daily basis -- like road-ragers, or people who get in the express line at the supermarket with 30 items and then scream at the minimum-wage teller who tells them to find another lane.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 01:16 PM - reply - flag:

"YouTube immortality." Love that. Indeed, this act will get him there. Dumb boy. One more reason I won't ever be able to get my wife to watch baseball. Dar!

posted by diastematic at 01:19 PM - reply - flag:

I don't care if it happened after one blown call, two blown calls or ten blown calls - have some self respect. Don't blame Joe, geez, whatever happened to a little personal responsibility? Who says Joe is not accepting blame for this? Did he go overboard? Maybe a little -- I'm not in favor of throwing bats, just because someone could get hurt -- but aside from that, screw it. He made his point and no harm done, aside from that poor base. In fact, you know what I'm sure Joe regrets? Not doing this sooner in the series.

posted by wfrazerjr at 01:21 PM - reply - flag:

Can you imagine what Mikulik would do if he was a coach at the World Cup?

posted by Mike Juran at 01:35 PM - reply - flag:

Who says Joe is not accepting blame for this? The post before mine, dude. I'm not trying to take ALL the dumb-ass postering and "gamesmanship" out of organized baseball. I'm suggesting there might be limits in effectiveness and, well, maybe taste. Sometimes it's a manager trying to light a fire under his team. Sometimes it's a manager trying to gain any advantage he can in an important series. And sometimes it's a manager losing his shit and coming off like a petulant ass. Hey, I think it's funny, too - I just take issue with those people who view this as some integral part of baseball. Not in this context it ain't. And I am all in favour of throwing bats. It's the cherry on the sundae. You think it's all over, the manager has left... Oh wait, here comes the equipment! He's not done at all! He's found props!

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 01:39 PM - reply - flag:

The manager should be suspended for at least 20 games. That was the worst tirade I ever seen by a manager. Worse than Lou Pinella, Earl Weaver, and Billy Martin's tirades.

posted by dbenedict at 01:51 PM - reply - flag:

OH NO3S!!!1!

posted by yerfatma at 02:16 PM - reply - flag:

There was a great shot on ESPN with the bat-boy running to retrieve the bats as they were being launched then thinking better of it.

posted by Boxscore at 02:30 PM - reply - flag:

I think he meant "abomination". Or, at least I hope he did... One of the meanings of the term abortion is "shambles" or "mess." I hope that no one will use that fact to make a political point that turns this discussion into an abortion.

posted by rcade at 02:53 PM - reply - flag:

I know of this guy, his brother lives about 30 minutes from me. They say his brither was twice the player than Joe was, but was twice as hot headed. That would have cool to see.

posted by hump9n at 03:16 PM - reply - flag:

One of the meanings of the term abortion is "shambles" or "mess." I hope that no one will use that fact to make a political point that turns this discussion into an abortion. I did not know that. You learn something new every day. Good god almighty, don't you people have any sense of fun? When you watch someone lose their shit like that, it starts off as "funny". However, the longer it goes (and more insane it becomes), the more likely it turns into "uncomfortable". It's the rare comedic genius that can stretch the performance to the point where it swings back into "funny" (Andy Kaufman is a prime example). I don't think Mikulik is that rare comedic genius.

posted by grum@work at 03:47 PM - reply - flag:

This stays funny as long as we don't have to hear what the manager's like in real life.

posted by rcade at 03:59 PM - reply - flag:

"Manager Joe Mikulik donates one third of his salary to children with terminal illnesses." I made that up, but I'm waiting for it.

posted by igottheblues at 04:14 PM - reply - flag:

Here's a heart-warming story about Mikulik's daughter, who was introduced each year to his baseball team in this manner: "This is my wife, Kathy, my son, Dawson, and this is 'Don't even think about it.'"

posted by rcade at 04:19 PM - reply - flag:

That approach worked well for Bill McCartney at Colorado.

posted by yerfatma at 04:31 PM - reply - flag:

did they win?

posted by Barry-from-H-town at 04:37 PM - reply - flag:

No "Managerial mayhem overshadowed the Lexington Legends' 5-2 victory over the Asheville Tourists on Sunday night." From the first paragraph."

posted by 2bnamedl8r at 05:18 PM - reply - flag:

The manager should be suspended for at least 20 games. My god no we can't do that, this kind of entertainment is hard find. Besides, as long as he's at the ball park we know where he is.

posted by CB900 at 05:48 PM - reply - flag:

But the whole reason they lost was because of that call. His statements after the game were full of "might have" and "could have." Much like Bruce Arena, he tried to blame his own idiocy, spectacularly displayed in front of the biggest audience he'll ever receive, on somebody else. At least he showed a pulse, which is a slight advantage over Arena. Shanna, they bought their tickets, they knew what they were getting into. I say, let 'em crash.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 05:52 PM - reply - flag:

I hate baseball, but a show like that is worth watching

posted by airman at 06:13 PM - reply - flag:

That was fabulous! I would pay $7 to see that!

posted by sportsmomma at 08:23 PM - reply - flag:

Yes, it was funny and entertaining for the first 10 minutes or so, then 20 minutes in, it just got old. Like mentioned above, it was really something watching the poor batboy trying to figure just when he should go out after the bats Mikulik was throwing. He'd almost venture out, then jump back, realizing the freakin' idiot may be throwing anything. Luckily he didn't get injured. I'm just not sure the guy doesn't lose a lot of respect from his players after that act. A heated argument is one thing, but this nitwit throwing himself around the infield was just plain stupid. I was embarrassed for him. I could just see Joe Torre doing that, but like Weedy said a while back, he's got more respect for himself.

posted by dyams at 08:27 PM - reply - flag:

I think somebody needs to start thinking about decaf

posted by treman at 08:59 PM - reply - flag:

Saw it this evening on Olberman's "Countdown" Loved it! Wish my little league coach was this animated, I might still be in baseball. Of course I sucked at baseball, but still....

posted by commander cody at 09:04 PM - reply - flag:

If Phil Garner had shown just 1/10 of of that kind of animation we might not have started CPR on him. It would have been a sign he was still alive. This guy however may want to dial it back Juuuust a bit. Nothing a couple of ludes won"t fix.

posted by CB900 at 09:40 PM - reply - flag:

If Phil Garner had shown just 1/10 of of that kind of animation... Give him some credit. He bobbed his head and threw his hat last night.

posted by wingnut4life at 04:39 AM - reply - flag:

Who threw the chair?

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 05:22 AM - reply - flag:

Saw this morning that he was suspended for seven days and fined $1,000.

posted by ajaffe at 07:35 AM - reply - flag:

Wow, did'nt know the Phil Garner bobbel head had a removeable hat.

posted by CB900 at 09:55 AM - reply - flag:

More info the two umps that called the series have been put on susoension for the remainder of the season . Also a local radio station and others have rasied the $1,000.00 for the fine and he has gained more suport for his outburst in other managers and owners in the league . He got the reaction that he wanted!!

posted by Terryb1560 at 03:39 PM - reply - flag:

the two umps that called the series have been put on suspension for the remainder of the season I wish the NBA would pay attention. Oops, wrong thread.

posted by graymatters at 04:31 PM - reply - flag:

I'd trade him in a heartbeat for Felipe Alou- who doesn't have one. Alou was diagnosed as brain dead last year and hasn't shown any sign of life since.

posted by irunfromclones at 06:53 PM - reply - flag:

That was great! He got every penny's worth out of that fine. The youtube video is a little clearer.

posted by dusted at 10:22 PM - reply - flag:

Monday, June 26, 2006

Comments