That was the case last Sunday when McCutchen was drilled in the back by a pitch from Arizona's Randall Delgado. This was apparent retaliation for the Ernesto Frieri fastball that broke the hand of the Diamondbacks' Paul Goldschmidt.
The difference in the two pitches was it appeared Delgado identified a target and hit it. Frieri had no good reason to hit Goldschmidt, so the pitch was likely a product of Frieri's lousy control rather than malicious intent.
There's no way of knowing whether the pitch that hit McCutchen led to a rib injury sustained on a swing later in the game. Clint Hurdle dismissed the possibility while McCutchen at least left it open to speculation.
The fallout brought a lot of reaction, and most of it didn't make much sense. Tony LaRussa, now a front office honcho with the Diamondbacks, didn't see anything wrong with McCutchen getting hit. That's no surprise. During a managerial career that spanned three teams and 33 years, he promoted more fights than Don King.
(Worth noting: LaRussa was never hit by a pitch in his 203 major league plate appearances). LaRussa was always outraged when one of his players was hit, perpetually indignant if anyone questioned his right to get even.
Supposedly the Diamondbacks violated an unwritten code by failing to hit McCutchen on his first plate appearance. Then Delgado was accused of further trashing protocol by not drilling McCutchen with his first pitch.
So it's OK to bruise a guy as long as he's certain it's coming?
If the circumstances had been reversed, the Pirates would have been livid that McCutchen was dealt a season-ending injury by a nobody's careless inside pitch, regardless of intent. And there's no doubt that some obscure relief pitcher who extracted pointless revenge on a Diamondbacks star would win some points in his own clubhouse.
Baseball players have been aiming pitches at each other for more than a hundred years. Intimidation is part of the game. So is claiming the inside part of the plate so hitters can't dig in and cover more of the strike zone. Sports have always operated on an eye-for-an-eye system. Zach Duke is still vilified, not for his 45-70 record with the Pirates, but for his failure to respond and protect a teammate once.
MLB's inaction, beyond Delgado's immediate ejection, is an indication that the people in charge didn't think it was that big a deal.
People throw baseballs at each other sometimes, reality that's little consolation to someone wearing the imprint of a pitch.
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--PARTY TIME
South Florida police should be on alert every July 25. That's when the Pouncey twins, the Steelers' Maurkice and Mike of the Dolphins, celebrate their birthday.
Things tend to get a bit spirited, which is why there are reports Maurkice may be facing charges stemming from an incident at this year's party.
The Pounceys are 25 now, so perhaps it's time to tone down the celebration. Maybe stay home and get pizza delivered?
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--CALLING IT QUITS
Pohla Smith retired from the Post-Gazette the other day, ending a 40-year journalism career to battle ongoing health issues.
She worked for UPI's Pittsburgh bureau in the 1970s and was one of the nation's first full-time female sportswriters. She had to stand outside locker rooms and wait for team officials to bring players out to be interviewed. That consistently put her at a big disadvantage in filing stories on tight wire service deadlines.
Eventually women were allowed in locker rooms, but that didn't instantly make things better. Juvenile behavior by players made it impossible for Smith to be just another reporter. A Pirates coach made a vile comment suggesting any females in a locker room had to be seeking more than just a story.
Things have changed. Women regularly cover every team in town and no one gives it a thought. Nobody apparently realized it in 1979, but towels and basic respect solve a lot of the issues.
Meanwhile, any female journalist who covers a locker room without incident should be grateful to the pioneers like Smith, who endured a lot as they changed the culture.
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