Huff mocks Joba

OK, I'll admit it: There's a good deal of "punk" in Joba. He went after Youkilis waaay too high, too often. He drilled Bay after Bay hit one out, in the midst of a roll where he was striking out everyone. He loves the fist pump* and the emotion.

I think it's healthy for players to be excited, within reason. I don't want Joba doing things that shows up the other team or puts anyone (on the Yanks or the opposition) in any physical danger. The Yanks have been called "corporate" for many years now and I think that attitude has devolved into something that's no longer a positive. It's flat out boring and passionless. Joba, Swisher and even Damon bring something new that I think is very important.

All that being said, when Aubrey Huff mocks Joba after taking him deep, I think it's pretty funny. I'm not so uptight to say that Huff shouldn't do that or whatever.

The Orioles had privately questioned Chamberlain's celebratory antics, and word he had pumped his fist after a series of strikeouts while losing to the Red Sox Tuesday caught the attention of Baltimore players. So it wasn't much of a surprise when Huff did the same as he rounded first base - taking a look in Chamberlain's direction at the same time - then doing it again as he crossed the plate.

"You know he does that stuff all the time as a pitcher, so I was just having a little fun with him out there," Huff said. "Part of the game, you get excited in a situation like that, I wasn't showing anybody up."

I remember a year or two (or three) ago when someone in the NFL (Shawn Merriman?) got upset because someone else (Ray Lewis?) mocked his sack dance*. I thought that was about the lamest "battle" that I have ever heard. Anyone getting upset with Huff about mocking Joba needs to regain their sense of humor.

Can't we just laugh this off a bit more rather than making it a whole event worth articles discussing?


By the way, check out FackYouk's screengrabs of Papelbon's latest celebration, making Joba's fist pump look like a simple tip of the cap.


* Please excuse the terms "fist pump" and "sack dance" in the same posting. No innuendos were hurt in the creation of this posting.

Post script: a thanks to Tadthebad for continuing to remind me that Joba's a punk.