WEDNESDAY: Crick told Nubyjas Wilborn of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and other reporters that Vazquez threw the first punch. Vazquez didn’t comment, per Wilborn, who adds that the closer had “noticeable swelling and bandages” on his nose.
TUESDAY: Pirates relievers Felipe Vazquez and Kyle Crick engaged in a clubhouse fight Monday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports reports. Crick came out of it requiring season-ending tendon surgery in his right index finger, the team announced. The club also fined him and Vazquez.
“The behavior exhibited by these two players last night is unacceptable, inconsistent with the standards expected of a Major League player and will not be tolerated by the organization,” general manager Neal Huntington stated (via Nightengale).
This isn’t the first hint of behind-the-scenes tension in what has degenerated into an awful season for the Pirates. Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reported in mid-August that in-fighting had been all too common for the club this year. Yet another reliever, Keone Kela, has been a prominent source of tension for Pittsburgh – which has plummeted out of the NL playoff race as the season has gone on and now owns a horrid 63-81 record.
As with Kela, Crick has also been involved in multiple dust-ups this season with members of his own organization. He previously feuded with bullpen coach Euclides Rojas over the alleged preferential treatment the latter gave Vazquez. Now, thanks to his apparent disdain for Vazquez, Crick won’t pitch again until 2020. Whether he’ll take the mound again as a Pirate is unclear, as the club could attempt to move him if it doesn’t believe he and Vazquez (a potential trade chip in his own right) can coexist. While Vazquez is among the best relievers in baseball, Crick struggled to a 4.96 ERA/5.95 FIP and walked upward of six batters per nine across 49 innings in 2019.
It also may be fair to wonder whether the friction in the Pirates’ clubhouse, not to mention their uninspired on-field performance, will have negative ramifications for Huntington and-or manager Clint Hurdle. The franchise was plenty successful under the pair a few years back, evidenced by its postseason berths from 2013-15, but has fallen from grace since that three-year stretch. The bickering Pirates are now on their way to a fourth straight season without a playoff appearance.
What a mess.
It takes at least 2 people to start a fight. Neither is innocent here.
That makes it more of a mess if it’s 2 guys instead of one
Solid roleplay.
They need a complete overhaul from top to bottom. Huntington sat back and did nothing when they had prime McCutchen and were real contedners but went all in as a fringe 2nd WC team last year. Hurdle has been there forever and no doubt become stale. The fact their clubhouse has this much drama shows he has no control. They actually have a decent group of guys if they can get competent coaching and management.
I have said it before, Crick is a loser. His talent on the field is over-shadowed by his childish antics. It’s about time someone put him in his place.
Where’s Papelbon when ya need em?
What talent?
It sounds like Crick got the best of Vazquez. So not sure how he got put in his place?
Bob needs to go. He needs to sell the team to somebody whom will invest money into the pirates. What a shame.
THIS
New owner.
I shouldn’t be laughing, but what could they be fighting about?
Vazquez probably told the rest of the bullpen that they suck.
Disagree. You definitely should be laughing.
I bet Crick made a crack about Felipe’s Cracker Jack. When Crick wouldn’t stop cracking about the Cracker Jack, Felipe cracked Crick across the crown, spilling Cracker Jack all over Crick’s crown.
Not funny. Didn’t laugh
It’s funny, might have gone over your head. Thanks for checking.
Boomer humor doesn’t really appeal to me my man
Didn’t go over anyone’s head. It’s simply not funny. Period.
Not humorous in the least bit.
I concur. Swing and a miss.
I chuckled. Keep em coming.
I just do not understand how someone can read that and laugh in the slightest. Reading it almost gave me an aneurism
I too that that was funny. The rest of you are lame.
You’re lame for laughing at that lame joke
I’m not sure what’s worse, the joke or reading your 17 comments on how bad the joke was
Bruh
Of course this incident involved a dude named Kyle.
He probably whacked Felipe over the head with a can of monster lmao
Free Vazquez! Til it’s backwards lol
I completely lost hope in this organization. I drank the koolaid years back and started to believe we were turning things around, but we are garbage. I’m over Neal Huntington, I get he has no money to work with, but sucks at making trades. Holds on to unproven low prospects like they are all future HOF’ers. I am over let’s be in contention for years to come. I am ready for them to just throw all the chips on the table and take a gamble right now! Oh wait it’s a few years too late and we are no longer contenders so what was the point of hanging on to all these HOF’ers?
He traded for Bryan Reynolds. Management and coaching staff definitely needs a change. They did get fleeced on the Archer trade, Cole trade could still pan out.
They fleeced themselves. Archer hadn’t been a good pitcher for years. The Rays used imagined demand against the Pirates who thought Searage could fix him.
Dumpster. Fire.
We should just preemptively put everyone named Kyle in prison, get ahead of it.
“Nothing good ever comes from a Kyle.” – G. Carlin.
He started that Puig brawl too. Kyle Crick is a clubhouse cancer, period.
Kyle Farnsworth LOL
Kyle MacLachlan wàs pretty good in Twin Peaks and Portlandia.
Reddit moment.
All I know is if they clean house with the GM and manager, please, please Brewers pick up Searage as your pitching coach. Definitely going to keep an eye on this situation!!
Weird that the bullpen coach would give preferential treatment to an ABSOLUTE MONSTER OF A REPEAT ALL STAR CLOSER!!!!
It’s almost like having an ERA three runs higher than the other guy means you’re not as good or something.
Can the Giants retract the Cutch trade? Reynolds is making them pay!
It’s relative. We have no real evidence that Bryan Reynolds would’ve been any good in SF. Maybe Pittsburgh’s coaching staff was able to reach him in a way SF’s couldn’t. He could’ve gone the way of Gary Brown and Todd Linden in SF. That trade has evolved into Crick and Reynolds for Pillar and Avelino. Not the worst trade.
Reynolds will fade. Pirates suck anyway.
The Pirates need a new Manager.
I didn’t know giving someone the finger would injure the finger.
The pirates are one owner away from contending
The Pirates probably should have offloaded Felipe before he decided to punch holes in his own value.
I understand Crick probably has his share in this, but, it’s a negative for everyone involved.
When your manager is trash, you get trash in the clubhouse.
Anyone remember that Crick was originally drafted by the giants which ironically is who the pirates are facing currently. Kinda funny
Perhaps just as ironic was how the Giants traded for Will Smith in time for a road trip to Miami.
Watched robin williams kids throw out the first pitch at World Series game 5 att park 2014. The video tribute during the game was ultra touching tough to lose such a talented person. My children now want to watch Jumanji a book I remember reading when it first became popular as a child and then became a movie. They mean the version with Dwayne Johnson but I argue most for the robin williams version because it’s Trumanji if ya know what I mean.
Kyle Crick is a punk. Karma is a …..
steel cage match
Kyle Crick’s butt snot
damn
I don’t see the pirates in contention any time soon which now kind of hurts Vazquez value a bit clearly he’s not the friendliest in the clubhouse especially if Crick is correct in stating he threw the first blow. Not a good sign for Pittsburgh fans unless keeping a closer to help them secure 4th position was their plan. I get it they are young but still dumb when people blow opportunity because of stuff like egos and unprofessionalism. Here’s to hoping both mature and do some good for their families.