Last night’s game between the Nationals and Rays came and went without incident or any carryover from pine tar gate. Stephen Strasburg, the team’s ace played stopper again and the Nationals snapped a four game losing streak winning 3-2 against the Rays. Even with the pine tar incident and war of words slowly fading from memory, it seem like it’s getting out of hand now. And about Twitter. Or Tweeter, if you’re Davey Johnson.

“I don’t want to get in a shouting match with Joe. I looked him up on the Internet and found out he has a Tweeter, so he can get to more people than me,” Johnson told the media.

While Davey took a route to lay relatively low and end the verbal war, Maddon had his own ideas about Twitter. Or Tweeter. Now which one is it, now?

“Most men have Tweeters. I would never use my Tweeter to an unfair advantage,” Maddon refuted.

Um, well take that as you will.

The only thing that could have made Davey Johnson’s ‘Tweeter” media session better is if he found a way to work in ‘that’s a clown question, bro.’ But the Nationals still have to play the Rays one last time tonight.

Check out the compilation video from CSNWashington. And after tonight, the Nationals won’t have to see the Rays for a very long time, hopefully. (Unless it’s in the postseason.)

Game time is 7:05 at Nationals Park.

Third base umpire Chris Guccione takes Joel Peralta's glove with the "foreign substance" to the umpire's room.

The Nationals and Rays may not exactly be sworn enemies, considering they’re in completely different leagues and see each other every few years. However, considering the pine tar shenanigans that occurred last night and the comments that followed afterwards, I doubt either team is willing to go on a bonding retreat or something of the sort.

After last night, baseball’s code and ethics are suddenly thrown into the spotlight in DC and in the baseball world. Yesterday, in the bottom of the eighth inning, Tampa Bay Rays reliever Joel Peralta came in to pitch. Before Peralta, a former National, even threw a pitch, Davey Johnson asked umpire Tim Tschida to check Peralta’s glove.

After Tschida checked Peralta’s glove, the glove was confiscated and Peralta was ejected for what Tschida said was a “significant amount” of pine tar in his glove. In the end, it seems to have worked out for the Rays. Reliever Jake McGee was called to pitch in place of the ejected Peralta and retired all three Nationals in order. The Rays went on to win the ballgame 5-4.

Now the glove is en route to New York to be checked by Major League Baseball, but this is far from over. After the game Rays manager Joe Maddon had a few thoughts of his own about what transpired.

» Continue reading “What’s a little pine tar between enemies?”