Yankees Lohud Blog- But in a long season, big wins come and go and often blend together, it’s the odd moments that truly stand out. That’s why, even after last night’s win, people are still talking about Russell Martin’s bizarre run in with Laz Diaz. “Laz actually hurt my feelings,” Martin said. “The umpire wouldn’t let me throw the ball back to the pitcher. That’s never happened to me before. That’s a good story, right?” It’s a strange story, that’s for sure. Martin said he and Diaz got into it a little bit early in the game, and from that moment on — even after Martin took a ball to the neck — Diaz wouldn’t let Martin throw new balls back to the pitcher. “I even told him, because there’s guys on base, I like to keep my arm loose,” Martin said. “Nope. (He said), ‘I’m not letting you throw the ball back.’ That’s pretty strange, to me. … He told me I have to earn the privilege. Now, thinking back, I should have shown him the gold Rawlings sign on my glove. Unbelievable.” … “That was strange,” Martin said. “I was kinda mystified.”
This is a good one. Forget the fact that the Yankees actually held a 1-run lead for 4 innings last night in LA. This Russell Martin, Laz Diaz feud is easily the strangest story of the day. I don’t know what Russell did to rub Laz the wrong way, but when an ump’s stubbornness transcends petty in-between pitch arguments and reaches a point where the game could actually be affected, he is asserting his dominance. What a power move by Diaz. He may as well have taken his dick out and pissed on home plate to show Martin that this is Laz’s turf and Russell is lucky to be allowed in the vicinity. Diaz telling Russell Martin that he has to “earn the privilege” to throw new balls back to the pitcher is outrageous. Just try to actually visualize that conversation. How shocked must Russell have been? Huge blow to the ego. Maybe it’s because Martin is hitting .190 and Laz didn’t want him to get any awful on the new balls. Who knows? All I can say is that Russell Martin missed out on a golden opportunity to slap Diaz in the face with his gold glove and have a legendary Bob Barker, Happy Gilmore catch phrase. “The glove is gold… bitch.”
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