Why You Should be Thanking Jacoby Ellsbury

I'm grateful to Jacoby Ellsbury. I remember going to a Portland Sea Dogs game with my Grampy when Ellsbury was still in the minors. My Grampy looked at me and said, "Jordan watch him play, because trust me, he won't be here for long."

To say my Grampy was right would be an understatement and Ellsbury's career is a testament to that fact. He was a crucial part of two World Series runs. Defensively, he's played with reckless abandon, throwing his body around Fenway Park's outfield to make fantastic catches. He's been a terror on the base paths stealing 70 bases in 2009 and 241 over the course of his career. Finally, Ellsbury is one of only 34 players in MLB history to make it into the 30/30 (30 steals and 30 home runs in a season) club.

Yesterday, Ellsbury once again came through for me by deciding to leave the Sox. Yes, he went to the Yankees and people feel betrayed, but for Ellsbury, it makes sense. Yankee Stadium has a small outfield, meaning Ellsbury has less ground to cover defensively. The short porch in right could help boost his power numbers allowing him to remain and elite player as his speed dwindles. At 29, he becomes the youngest projected Yankee starter...

Let's take a second for that one to sink in.

And finally I'm sure it's hard to walk away from $153 million especially when Scott Boras is your agent.

That being said, Ellsbury is one of the most overvalued players in the league. He's a tremendous player, to be sure, but statistically with the exception of his speed, there is little to command the contract he got. To prove this point lets look at how Ellsbury compares to other free agent outfielders.

Ellsbury lacks power. His one 30 home run season must be considered an apparition at this point as he's never hit more than 10 dingers in any of his other six major league seasons. Over the past two seasons Ellsbury hit a total of 13 home runs. Shin-Soo Choo (37), Curtis Granderson (50), Carlon Beltran (56), Nelson Cruz (51), Raul Ibanez (48), Nate McLouth (19) AND EVEN RAJAI DAVIS (14) have all shown more power than Ellsbury during that span.

Yes this Rajai Davis. That's the smile of a man who has more homers than Ellsbury.

That being said, as a lead-off man, Ellbury's job is to get on base. His career .297 batting average (BA) and .350 on-base percentage (OBP) are nothing to scoff at, but are also quite unremarkable. Granderson's batting average is only .261 but his OBP of .340 is comparable. Choo's career .289 average is impressive and his .389 OBP far surpasses Ellsbury's mark.

Beltran has a career .283 average and .359 OBP. McClouth is only a .250 hitter but has a career OBP of .334. Even Chris Coghlan (.337) and Juan Pierre (.343) have comparable career OBPs. Once again, Ellsbury's ability to get on base, while impressive, is by no means exceptional.

Defensively, Ellsbury deserves some credit. He's won the Gold Glove award and boasts a career .995 fielding percentage. But once again, this really doesn't make him special. McLouth also owns a Gold Glove and a career .991 fielding percentage. Beltran, although his centerfielding days are behind him, won three Gold Gloves at the position and has a career .986 fielding percentage. Even Granderson, who has never won a Gold Glove is a career .994 fielder.

Ellsbury is a solid centerfielder, but utilizes his speed to make up for average reads to track down balls that would otherwise fall. As he gets older and his speed declines, more of these balls will fall and its likely Ellsbury will need to move to right or left - as most centerfielders eventually do

The injuries speak for themselves. Jacoby has only played over 150 games twice in his full six years in the league. People have made the case that he played through injuries this past year, however he still missed 30 games and I don't buy it. It was a contract year, I don't know if this type of grit and determination will be there going forward. Ellsbury is also 29 years old and stands to lose his durability over time. It's sad for a player of such potential to have his production hindered by injury, but the fact is that there are some players who play 150+ games a season and those who don't, and Ellsbury doesn't look to be dethroning Cal Ripken Jr. anytime soon.

The one thing you can't take away from the man is speed. His 52 stolen bases topped the majors this year and every season he's been healthy Ellsbury has swiped at least 39 bases. But is speed worth $153 million? Davis has stole at least 29 bases for each of the last six seasons. In fact, during four of the last five seasons Davis has swiped at least 40 bags.

The other issue is that Ellsbury's speed is going to decline with age. Lets look at the all-time leader in stolen bases, Rickey Henderson. Between the ages of 20 and 30 Henderson stole at least 60 bases in each of eight full seasons he played. From the ages of 31 to 44 Henderson stole at least 60 bases only twice! If the greatest of all-time couldn't keep up his production, I'm sorry to say Ellsbury can't either.

I'm sad to see Ellsbury go, but the fact of the matter is that general manager Ben Cherington was right to let him walk (which ironically he didn't do enough of in Boston). You can't spend $153 million nor invest seven years in stolen bases alone. With this type of money it's conceivable that the Sox could go after another another outfielder. There is talk of the Sox pursuing a trade with the Dodgers for either Matt Kemp or Andre Ethier. More interestingly Choo's name has also come up over the past twenty hours. I'm hopping on the Choo-Choo train here. If the Sox sign Choo I will be the first one in line to purchase his jersey.

If this happens I will be the happiest Sox fan ever.

All I can say is thank you, Jacoby. It's been a great six years, you've given us the prime of your career and done so much for the organization and I wish you all the best with the Yankees. But now it's time for us to part ways and I think that it's for the best.

Big Egos Require Big Contracts

To me, the most disturbing thing about the Jacoby Ellsbury trade is not the fact that he’s leaving the Red Sox after their textbook Cinderella World Series run, nor is it that he went to the New York Yankees, of all teams.  The most disturbing thing is the sheer size of his new contract and a trend that is starting to spiral completely out of control in professional sports.

Star athletes need to be validated by their contracts.  Athletes have come to view their contract size as the ultimate mark of success in their sport.  It’s not the number of championships they win or awards they receive.  It’s not even their individual statistics or records.  In the end, all they really care about is how much they get paid doing it.

I lose a lot of respect for an athlete who holds out for a bigger contract.  When an athlete holds out, he shows both his teammates and the fans that money trumps all.  It is made quite clear that money is more important than the success of his team and the support of his fans.

What’s worse than holding out on your team for more money, is abandoning them for more money; and worse than that is heading over to a rival team in pursuit of your big pay day.

The issue is that these athletes aren’t looking for these bigger contracts to help them feed their kids or to help them pay their bills.  They don’t need that extra $10 million, on top of what’s already a multi-million dollar deal, to provide for their families.  These bigger contracts are all about their ego.

When one of these superstar athletes retires, nobody remembers the size of their contracts. No fan ever looks back on a player’s record-breaking career and recites their pay rate.  When being considered for the Hall of Fame, the amount of money made during their time in the league holds no weight.

Therefore, when star athletes are getting seven-year contracts worth $153 million (like Ellsbury's), I guess the real purpose of such exorbitance is just to make them feel better about themselves.

Jackie Bradley Jr. Takes Family to Applebee's to Celebrate Opening Day

As if I wasn't looking forward to Jackie Bradley Jr. becoming my favorite player enough, the man draws a key walk to start a Red Sox rally on the team's way to a 8-2 win over the Yankees, then takes his family out to dinner in Times Square to celebrate.  What restaurant do they choose?

The Bee's.

“We all went out to Times Square and just hung out,” Bradley said. “My family’s never been to Times Square, so I wanted to show them what the big city, bright lights has to offer. We all went out to Applebee’s and just enjoyed ourselves, and came back and hung out.”

A veteran move by the 22-year-old who had just made his Major League debut a few hours prior.

Bradley brings an easy-going philosophy to the ballpark every day that could sound lackadaisical at first, but given his performances this spring and on Opening Day, he's just the type of player this year's team needs.

"I'm a pretty relaxed guy," he said.  "I like to chill, take it on.  If I get down 0-2, what's the worst that can happen?"

And when Bradley went down 0-2 in his first at-bat, he was as cool as the other side of the pillow, drawing a walk against Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia which helped ignite a four-run rally.  Along with the praise from Red Sox Nation, "JBJ" has received numerous texts and calls of congratulations from players like J.D. Drew and David Price, and even country singer Darius Rucker.

Red Sox Prove 2013 is a 'Whole New Ballgame,' Beat Yankees 8-2 in Season Opener

The Red Sox are 1-0 on the 2013 season, beating the New York Yankees 8-2 in Yankee Stadium on Opening Day.

The Red Sox drew eight walks and smacked 13 hits, while Jon Lester and the Sox bullpen held the ailing Yankees to two runs on six hits. Lester went five innings, striking out seven while giving up both runs along with five hits. 

The relief corps combined for four innings of one-hit baseball, with Koji Uehara, Andrew Miller, Andrew Bailey, Junichi Tazawa and Joel Hanrahan taking the hill.  Uehara needed just five pitches to get three outs in the sixth, and Bailey, Tazawa, Miller and Hanrahan hit 95, 96, 97 and 98 miles per hour on the radar gun respectively to shut down the Bronx Bombers.

The Sox hit .333 with runners in scoring position on the day, with stellar performances by Jacoby Ellsbury, Shane Victorino and Jose Iglesias.  Ellsbury went 3-for-6 with a triple and two RBI and Victorino added a couple knocks with three of his ribbies coming while there were two outs in the inning.  All three of Iglesias' hits stayed in the infield, but they'll look like line drives in the box score.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia managed to work three walks against Yankees' pitching, and crossed the plate twice as a result.  The much anticipated debut of Jackie Bradley Jr. saw the 22-year-old follow Saltalamacchia's lead, drawing three walks and knocking home a run as he grounded out to Robinson Cano.  Bradley made his first Major League start in left field Monday, a position he has never played until roughly a week ago in Spring Training, and made a circus grab tracking down a Cano blast just shy of the left field wall.

The Yankees didn't have too many bright spots in their first game of the new campaign, with one of the few coming when Francisco Cervelli slapped a two-run single off Lester in the fourth inning.  C.C. Sabathia gave up four runs on eight hits, but managed to strike out five.

The two teams will play again Wednesday night, and my confidence in this club is growing every day.  The offense looks like they're having fun and the pitching staff has taken on a whole new mentality.  Despite Monday's Yankees not being the team they will be at midseason due to injuries, it always feels good to beat them.  The Red Sox lost their final eight games of 2012, and are off to what looks like a hot start in 2013, crushing a Yankees pitching staff and excelling in all areas of the game.

Go Sox.

Can You Name Eight Players to Play for the 2004 Red Sox That Went on to Play for the Yankees?

Kevin Youkilis became the latest in a surprisingly long list of former Red Sox players to also lace 'em up for the New York Yankees.  A list that includes players like Wade Boggs, Luis Tiant and the immortal Eric Hinske from the 2007 World Series team.

But I came across an interesting fact on Wednesday: eight players from the 2004 Red Sox World Championship team have since gone on to play for the Bronx Bombers.  Can you name them all?

Kevin Youkilis - Youkilis signed a one year, $12 million deal with the Yankees on Tuesday, becoming the eighth former Red Sox champion to join the Evil Empire.

Derek Lowe - Lowe was an absolutely dominant pitcher for the Sox in the 2004 postseason.  For the Yankees in this past postseason?  A 13.50 ERA with just two innings pitched.

Johnny Damon - After having the game of his life in Game 7 of the ALCS in 2004 against the Yankees, ensuring the Sox trip to the World Series for the first time since 1986, Damon waited just a year until he fell to the dark side in 2006.  His stint lasted until 2009 as he averaged a .285 batting average with 19 homers a year.

Alan Embree - Embree was one of three relief pitchers to appear in the four games of the 2004 World Series, proving once again the dominance of the pitching performances that year.  In 2005, he played just 24 games with a 7.53 ERA in New York.  Should've stayed in Beantown...

Mark Bellhorn - Bellhorn got the 2004 Series off to a bang when he rattled a home run off of Pesky's Pole in right field, but his career quickly plummeted afterwards.  He played in just nine games for the Yankees in 2005, collecting a home run and a single as his only hits.

Ramiro Mendoza - Mendoza played for seven seasons in New York before coming to Boston to get his World Series ring in 2004.  So to show his thanks, he went right back to New York in 2005 to kick around in the minor leagues before his retirement in 2006.

Mike Myers - Myers managed to stay around for another go in 2005 in Boston, but packed his bags in 2006 for the Bronx.  He pitched just 30 innings that season, with another 40 more in 2007 -- the same season the Sox won another title.

Doug Mientkiewicz - It seemed like Mienkiewicz was just picking teams out of a hat after his defense helped the Sox secure their 2004 championship, and drew the Yankees in 2007 after two years with the Mets then Royals respectively.

So with the addition of Hinske, nine former Red Sox World Champions have gone on to play for the Yankees.  Scary thought, but with the exception of Damon, none of those players have come back to haunt the Red Sox, and I think Youkilis will fit right in with that trend.

Kevin Youkilis Falls to the Dark Side

Former Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis has given into temptation, abandoned his teachings and joined the dark side.  Fear of losing his starting job to Will Middlebrooks made him angry.  Anger caused him to question his role on the team and hate 2012 manager Bobby Valentine.  His hate led him to sign with the New York Yankees for $12 million next season on Tuesday.

"Hate, leads to suffering." -Yoda, 32 BBY

The deal in New York is awaiting a physical from Youkilis before it is official, but the plan right now is to bring Youkilis is for a year to fill in for Alex Rodriguez while he recovers from an ailing steroid-ridden body.  Youkilis hit a combined .235 last season with 19 home runs and 61 RBI for Boston and Chicago, and should be a solid replacement for the Yankees.

As far as consistency going, he's probably a better option than A-Rod at this stage in the game.  The Yankees lucked out signed Youkilis as the free agent pool of third basemen was drying up quickly with names like Jeff Keppinger and now ex-Yankee Eric Chavez getting signed a week ago.

The Red Sox will be in New York on Opening Day, April 1, for another installment of the greatest rivalry in sports.

Youk to the Yankees?

So with Alex Rodriguez needing hip surgery as his body deals with the aftermath of years of rampant steriod use, the Yankees are looking for a third baseman.

Eric Chavez and Jeff Keppinger have already signed elsewhere, and one of the best third basemen on the market right now is...

Kevin Youkilis.

The Yankees have reportedly offered him a one year, $12 million deal.  A-Rod figures to be back in six months time, so Youkilis would be able to either fill the void, or provide a solid every day third baseman while A-Rod DH's so he doesn't break something while his body weakens from all the performance-enhancers he's pumped through his veins throughout his career.

No deal has been reached yet, but the Yankees seem desperate to make something.  Its tacky, really.

First Day of MLB Offseason, Yankees, A's Exercising Options

With the MLB World Champions crowned less than 24 hours ago, the offseason is already in full swing.  Clubs like the Yankees and the A's are already exercising options, and teams are beginning to eye notable free agents.

After a combined 7-for-70 performance in the 2012 postseason, the Yankees have locked up Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson for $15 million apiece.  Granderson's average was low all season, but his power numbers made up for that, while Cano has been a solid player for a number of years during the regular season.  The team hopes that the signings of these two will lead them to another playoff appearance where they can redeem themselves.

Across the U.S., the Oakland A's have inked one player's option, and dropped another's.  Closer Grant Balfour $4.5 million option was exercised by the club, while infielder Stephen Drew's $10 million clause was dropped.  Balfour, catalyst for the "Balfour Ragefest" that ensued in right-center field at O.co Coliseum, became a cornerstone of the back end of Oakland's bullpen, especially during their AL West champion stretch run.  Drew was a late season pick-up, but I think the late season surges from Josh Donaldson and Cliff Pennington sealed his fate.

Drew becomes another free agent headed into a star-studded 2012-13 offseason.  Some other names on teams' radars include Josh Hamilton, Michael Bourn, Nick Swisher, Mike Napoli, Anibal Sanchez, Zach Greinke and David Ortiz.  Ortiz has been in talks with the Red Sox since the expiration of his latest contract, and a two-year deal appears imminent, waiting for the free agent signing period to being after midnight ET on Friday. 

Pitching wins championships, as showcased by San Francisco over the past three weeks, and there are plenty of hurlers out there who could benefit teams from the top two spots of the rotation to solid late inning relievers.

Outfielders are not in short supply either.  Veterans like Ichiro Suzuki, Torii Hunter, Angel Pagan and Delmon Young are all on the market, and can not only help a team on the field, as the latter two have shown this postseason, but in the clubhouse as well.  Looks like it'll be another wild MLB winter.

Unfortunate Order Is Restored to MLB Postseason

The League Championship series have been set with the Tigers taking on the Yankees for the AL crown, and the Giants and Cardinals chasing the pennant in the NL.  All of the headlines entering the postseason have been erased with a very familiar four teams still remaining, taking away from what has been one of the best playoffs in recent years.

The four teams remaining are very capable of playing good baseball, so the games should prove to be just as entertaining.  But think about everything we had heading into October and how it has panned out so far.

The Atlanta Braves made the first Wild Card spot in the NL, hoping to go the distance for third baseman Chipper Jones, in his final season with the club.  Jones earned a World Series ring in 1995, but in a season where he was honored at nearly every park he went to, this would have been the ultimate icing on the cake for a first-ballot Hall of Fame career.  The Braves were bounced after a very questionable call in the Wild Card play-in game to the defending champion Cardinals.

The Oakland A's erased a 13-game deficit from July 1 to take the AL West crown.  A team that hasn't been relevant since 2006 was surging ahead of the Angels and right on the heels of the AL Champion Rangers.  Josh Reddick acting like Stone Cold Steve Austin, Grant Balfour "Ragefest," a pitching staff that impressed time and time again even though the average fan couldn't name more than two members.  They were the ultimate underdog story, the second-coming of Moneyball.  Coco Crisp, Brandon Moss, George Kottaras and Josh Reddick were all former Red Sox players, so that even gave them a little momentum back east.  After a stunning 3-run comeback in Game 4, they got crushed by ace Justin Verlander and the Tigers in Game 5, leaving the craziest fans in baseball sitting at home til next April.

The Baltimore Orioles went 69-93 last season.  In 2012 they flipped it around, coming out of nowhere to finish inches behind the Yankees in the AL East at 93-69.  Oriole Park at Camden Yards has been referred to as Fenway and Yankee Stadium South when those teams visited, with the hometown fans usually getting drowned out by the opposition.  For Game 1 of the Division Series, every seat was filled with an orange shirt waving an orange towel, chanting "Seven Nation Army" like they do across the street at M&T Bank Stadium.  The team hadn't made the postseason since 1997, and with a collection of young talent backed by veterans like Jim Thome you couldn't help but root for them against the Evil Empire.

Finally, the Nationals.  A team that received more criticism than congratulations.  General manager Mike Rizzo made the decision to shut down Stephen Strasburg because of a strict innings count he put on the starter to begin the season, which unnecessarily riled up competing GMs.  Other young stars like Jordan Zimmermann and Bryce Harper mixed with the veterans Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche gave the Baltimore-Washington area more reason to gear up for the postseason.  The Nats had the best record in the league, and blew a 6-0 lead to fall 9-7 to the Cardinals Saturday night, cutting the franchise's first playoff appearance since 1981 short.

Now, baseball is right back where it always has been, where four of the bigger market teams remain.  With the except of 2008, the Yankees have been in the postseason every year since 1995.  The Tigers have a marketing machine in Miguel Cabrera after he won the Triple Crown, and have already finished off the Yankees' season twice since 2006.  The Cardinals have won two World Series since 2006, and are the least interesting team to watch.  As for the Giants, well they're the best of a bad situation in the NL West, and after losing Melky Cabrera to a steroids suspension, they have proved to everyone their offense is still a force to be reckoned with.

Best case scenario is Tigers and Giants in the World Series with the Tigers capturing glory.  The ALCS starts Saturday night at 8 p.m.

A-Rod Most Overrated and Now Phoniest MLB Player According to Other MLB Players

Any excuse to use this picture and to talk about how much of a clown Alex Rodriguez is, is welcomed here at Three if by Strike.

In a recent MLB Players poll from Sports' Illustrated, the magazine asked who was the phoniest player in the MLB.  Out of all the players in the entire league, 26 percent of them said A-Rod.  And not to be outdone, Yankees teammate Nick Swisher received 14 percent.

To give you some perspective on this, those two received more votes than the infamous Nyjer "T. Plush" Morgan.

Oh, and as if this wasn't bad enough, A-Rod won top honors on the "Most Overrated Player" poll with 16.8 percent.  Teammate Derek Jeter earned 9.2, and Swisher raked in 5.4 percent.

MLB Facebook Accounts Hacked, Jeter To Have Sex Change, Padres Don't Like the Handicapped

 

Early Thursday afternoon, seven Major League Baseball teams had their Facebook accounts hacked.  While some of the posts sound pretty terrible, I think you'll agree that whoever was responsible for this is a genius.

No matter how you slice it, these are hilarious.  They all target different areas such as current events and generally taboo subjects, and are all equally offensive.  But if you can't have a good laugh at these, you need a tune up.

My favorite is clearly the one about Derek Jeter having a sex change, but the Cubs' and Padres' posts are a close second and third.  Without further ado, enjoy the rest of the hacked Facebook messages from MLB.

Padilla, Everyone Hates Teixeira

Mark Teixeira and Vicente Padilla don't get along.  Texas teammates in 2006 and 2007, they had their fair share of issues in the same clubhouse, when Padilla claims Teixeira threatened to hit him with a bat, and the battle rages on through this weekend series with the Red Sox and Yankees.

"I think he's just scared to face me.  I don't throw at people to hit them on purpose," Padilla said.  "I throw inside, I've always thrown inside.  Its not my problem if the ball hits someone.  I'm worried about throwing strikes and I'm going to keep playing my game."

Then pitching for the Phillies, Padilla hit Teixeira after he homered in 2005, which may have started this whole ordeal because once they were teammates, Teixeira took it upon himself to ask Padilla to change his aggressive nature.

"In this sport, as competitive ballplayers, we get pretty fired up," Padilla said.  "So I think maybe he picked the wrong profession.  I think he'd be better off playing a women's sport."

I love these comments by Padilla.  Was Teixeira serious when he came up and asked Padilla to pitch differently?  One, you're on the same team now, you can relax, and two, Padilla isn't going to tell you to stop hitting home runs because you're making the pitchers feel bad.  Just another reason why Teixeira is one of the douchiest players in recent memory.

"I just think he's scared to face me," Padilla said. "I don't throw at people to hit them on purpose. I throw inside, and I've always thrown inside. It's not my problem if the ball hits someone. I'm worried about throwing strikes, and I'm going to keep playing my game."

Read more at: http://www.nesn.com/2012/07/vicente-padilla-accuses-mark-teixeira-of-bad-behavior-in-texas-contends-slugger-should-play-a-womens.html"

"I just think he's scared to face me," Padilla said. "I don't throw at people to hit them on purpose. I throw inside, and I've always thrown inside. It's not my problem if the ball hits someone. I'm worried about throwing strikes, and I'm going to keep playing my game."

Read more at: http://www.nesn.com/2012/07/vicente-padilla-accuses-mark-teixeira-of-bad-behavior-in-texas-contends-slugger-should-play-a-womens.html

Darnell McDonald Signs with Yankees

 Hopefully everyone has had time to digest the insane amount of grilled whatever they had yesterday (and time to dry off if you went to see the fireworks in Boston), so we can get back to some good old fashioned blogging. 

The Red Sox were swept yesterday by the Oakland A's, who are still a game under .500 while the Sox move to just two games over.  But the more shocking news of the day?  Darnell McDonald, Red Sox back-up outfielder who was kicked around between Boston and Triple-A Pawtucket, was designated for assignment.  But the team he went to - seriously, man?

Blessed?  You're going to get even less playing time over there with Dewayne Wise heating up and Brett Gardner on the way back from injury, very similar to the Red Sox situation right now, and why they let him go.

With Jacoby Ellsbury rehabbing in Double-A Portland, and call-ups Ryan Kalish and Daniel Nava out-performing McDonald, his departure was no surprise.  But the team he went to - seriously, man?

Well this will make that miserable show "Red Sox Small Talk" even worse without his daughter, Jiana, to ask the tough questions...

Boo-Hoo: Yankees Cry Over Teenager Running on Field

I once played in a club baseball game in college over in Roxbury.  Around the 4th inning, I was standing just outside the first base dugout, when a man spilled into right field.  As the umpire approached him, asking him to leave, the man waved a gun, and at least nine police cars moved in shortly thereafter.  That was scary.  An adolescent male giving Nick Swisher a fist pound? Not scary at all.

But Joe Girardi sat on pins and needles in the dugout while the guy ran around during the ninth inning of the Yankees-Tigers game at Comerica Park.

“That can’t happen,” Girardi said. “People have got to get out there and get it. You worry about your guys. I don’t know what he was doing with Swish, tagging him or whatever he was doing. But I worry.”

Apparently the Yankees took issue with how long it took security to get out there and corral the looney.  I don't blame them, I would've waited til he went over and bitch-slapped Alex Rodriguez across the face.

“Luckily that guy was harmless. But you can’t let a guy run out there for a few minutes and go up to players," Mark Teixeira said.  "Most stadiums are great, and security is on them in seconds. That took way too long. I think they were corralling him. I guess that’s their way of doing it here.”

That's pretty much the way they do it in any circumstance, whether the fan is a drunk guy, or a raging bull.  They'll send out multiple people to corral the vigilante and then someone will take him down.  So thank you, Teixeira, for making a really dumb comment.