Victorino says incident with Lee was no big deal
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Victorino says incident with Lee was no big deal
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
ST. LOUIS -- After declining comment Friday night about his verbal dugout altercation with pitcher Cliff Lee, Shane Victorino opened up about the incident before Saturday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
"Yeah, everything is fine," the Phillies center fielder said about the heated exchange that was caught on camera. "I have no hard feelings about it. At the time, when emotions are flying high, you let it get to you. When emotions aren't (flying high) you let it go.
"To me, it's just nothing. It's just part of the game. I've seen it with multiple teams and, at the end of the day, we're going to go out there as teammates and be competitors and go out there and protect each other and go out there and win ballgames together as a team."
The verbal disagreement occurred after Victorino lost a David Freese fly ball in the twilight sky at the start of the bottom of the fourth inning during Friday night's 5-3, 10-inning Philies victory. Freese was credited with a triple and scored on Yadier Molina's RBI single, giving St. Louis a 3-2 lead. Things got worse when right fielder Hunter Pence lost a routine fly ball off rookie Matt Adams' bat later in the inning.
Pence said he never saw either fly ball.
"It (stinks)," Victorino said. "It was one of those things. You hope to pick it up and you can't. Before the inning, I looked up and the sky was a little pinkish above the stadium, but I thought it was still dark enough that I'd be fine. Two balls later, 'Oh, (crap).' "
Victorino confirmed that the altercation was about the play in center field.
"That's what we talked about," he said.
Although teammates arguing on camera never looks good, Victorino said it does show two players who care about the outcome.
"Exactly," he said. "It's the competitive state of the game. You never want to see that kind of stuff, but looking at a positive side, you both want to go out there and you both want to win. That's what it is about in the end. You're both competitors and you both want to win the game. Beyond that, it's nothing. You brush it under the rug and it's gone."
Victorino ended up being part of two huge plays that inevitably helped the Phillies pull out their third straight win. After Pence collided with Victorino on the second lost fly ball of the inning, the Phillies center fielder picked up the ball and nailed Molina at first base for the first out of the strange inning.
With the game tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth, Victorino started the three-part sequence that resulted in the defensive play of the game. He retrieved a ball hit by Adams in the right-center field gap and threw to cutoff man Freddy Galvis, who fed catcher Carlos Ruiz a strike at home plate. Ruiz held on to the ball after a violent collision with Molina for the final out of the inning.
"I wish I had made a better throw on the relay," Victorino said. "I kind of took Freddy to his right a little bit so he had to go and kind of backhand the ball. Other than that, everything was executed perfectly. When you're running out there and trying to get the ball, you're trying to get it in as quick as you can and make the best throw you can. But out of that whole play, the one thing that would have made it easier is if I would have made a better relay. The play would have come together a lot quicker, but, hey, we still got the guy out."
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No way Lee will run into Vic at a Mensa meeting.— NewMick314
Comment removed.- I think part of the frustration was from calls that weren't going Less's way behind the plate. Inconsistent strike zones and Holiday was getting "gift's" from behind plate ump. Actually, it was refreshing to see some emotion in the dugout from 2 Type A personalities. Feed off it boys!— dogman5
- They won the game.— jburd641
I'm pretty sure after colliding with Pence, Victorino threw to third base to nail the runner.— BringBackKiddChris- Burb guy...too funny. Joe is what who we thought he was!— Eephus
- Sam Crow, have you been watching the games lately? Victorino has been the second best hitter on the team. He has to be hitting like .350 the last three weeks or so. Geez.— EL Zorro
- The last three weeks? Really?? I know he's starting to come around, but wasn't aware he has been doing THAT well for such a long stretch.
Actually, I don't get to watch all the games because I live on the west coast. Mostly, I follow the game using a gamecast app on my phone or computer. If they start to put things together (which is looking more and more likely) I'll anty-up and purchase the MLB subscription. Up until this series, there hasn't been much worth paying to watch this season.— Sam Crow - I am not a Philly fan, and I have been emphatically clear about that. My comments here are clean and direct. But last night the Inquirer declined to post my comments on the outcome of the Phils-Cards game. I ask you, fellow posters, should I cancel my long-standing subscription to this filty rap. Especially in view of the fact it is now owned and run by the shadiest of shady politicians?— fredfromjersey
- Cancel the subscription and with your free time hunt down the Jersey Devil. — escapedcamden4monterey
- Actually, Victorino was hitting .348 the last six games with an 1.075 OPS. 15 total bases. He already has an double, and RBI and a run score.— EL Zorro
- I'm sure all Lee said was "Dang, please take your meds Vic!"— Mark1npt
- Victorino comes to play day in and day out. Cliff Lee should know that and should keep quiet. He is frustrated that the Phillies have not given him much run support and there he has a good argument.— Phillip Phan
- I wonder how many games Victorino has saved with his glove since he became the regular centerfielder here.
I wonder how many games Victorino has won with his bat since he came to the Phillies.
I wonder how many games he has won with his speed on the bases.
He goes out there everyday - Lee goes out there every fifth day.
Who is more valuable to this club ?
Does Victorino play too shallow ? That would be the coaching staff's job to have him adjust if they thought so.Apparently Lee knows better. Maybe somebody should ask him about all the home runs he gives up. He must be more comfortable with fans catching his mistakes than his fielders.
— candidly - Excellent comments by candidly, and el zorro..
Some of the posters want to throw the baby away with the bathwater. Loads of ideas, but no solution.
We all do it .— phineas
