Gäste Forum » aggression does not mean abusin

SAN DIEGO -- Jon Gray didnt have his good slider Saturday night, which led to a short night for the right-hander against the San Diego Padres. Joe Carter Jersey .While former Rockies first-round draft pick Christian Friedrich pitched seven brilliant innings, Gray was gone after four innings of a 6-3 loss.The Padres piled on against Gray (9-8), taking a 6-0 lead after two innings and chasing him after four.Gray was kind of searching for his slider tonight, manager Walt Weiss said. He was doing all right otherwise. It was a battle for him. He never really got locked in. He didnt have his `A slider. Just an off night.Said Gray: Thats my pitch. When thats not there, its really tough. I think it was just my slider. If I had my slider, if I had something to pitch off of, it makes their hitters respect something. But I didnt have it once again. Its been too many times.San Diegos Yangervis Solarte hit an RBI single off Gray in the first inning and a two-run double during the five-run second. Solartes second-inning double followed a two-run double by Wil Myers that went over left fielder David Dahls head and bounced into the stands.Gray allowed six runs on eight hits. He struck out three and walked three.Friedrich matched his career-high with 10 strikeouts to win the first time since June 23.Friedrich (5-10), the Rockies first-round draft pick in 2008, allowed two hits and walked one. He retired his final 13 batters and 19 of 20.The Rockies got a runner into scoring position against Friedrich just once, when Carlos Gonzalez doubled with two outs in the first and advanced on a wild pitch. Nolan Arenado walked before Friedrich got Tom Murphy to fly out to left. The Rockies only other baserunner against Friedrich was DJ LeMahieu, who lined a comebacker off Friedrichs left leg for a single in the third.Hes been tough on us a couple of times, Weiss said. He had a good angle on his fastball. Thats one of his keys. Good breaking ball, the curveball and the slider. We couldnt figure him out.Friedrich had lost each of his last decisions during his previous 11 starts. His last victory was at Cincinnati on June 23.Brandon Maurer pitched the ninth for his ninth save.The Padres piled on against Jon Gray (9-8), taking a 6-0 lead after two innings and chasing him after four.Yangervis Solarte hit an RBI single in the first and a two-run double during the five-run second. His second-inning double followed a two-run double by Wil Myers that went over left fielder David Dahls head and bounced into the stands.Gray allowed six runs on eight hits. He struck out three and walked three.The Rockies scored three unearned runs in the eighth after shortstop Luis Sardinas booted Mark Reynolds grounder. Gonzalez had a two-run single.TRAINERS ROOMPadres: Friedrich was hit near his left knee by a comebacker by LeMahieu in the third inning. After being checked by a trainer and manager Andy Green, he stayed in the game.UP NEXTRockies: Chad Bettis (12-7, 4.88) is scheduled to start the finale of the four-game series. Hes coming off his first shutout. He lost his last time out at Petco Park, on June 4.Padres: Edwin Jackson (4-5, 5.55) is scheduled to make his 10th start for the Padres. He struck out 11, the most by a Padres pitcher this season, in a 2-1 victory against Boston on Monday. Jim Thome Jersey . The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 for Jones (19-1). It was the champions closest call. Despite the loss, it was a remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth. Roberto Perez Indians Jersey .C. -- Todd Fiddler scored a hat trick, including the overtime goal, as the Prince George Cougars survived an 8-7 win against the Kamloops Blazers in Western Hockey League play Sunday. http://www.indianssale.com/indians-bradley-zimmer-jersey/ . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. My father often referred to Gundappa Viswanath as a gentleman cricketer. He often spoke of the time when Viswanath recalled Bob Taylor after the umpire had wrongly given Taylor out. For him it mattered how a certain individual behaved and often his rating of a cricketer was linked to the personality and on-field behaviour of that player. While I appreciated his sentiment, I often wondered whether it is important for a cricketer to be a role model. Does it really matter how a cricketer behaves on the field as long as he is great player?When Rahul Dravid retired, a lot of focus and praise was on what a gentleman cricketer he was and for the way he conducted himself. There is no doubt that he conducted himself very well, but what if he hadnt conducted himself the way he had? Would that have taken anything away from his greatness? No, he would have still been the best No.3 batsman India ever had. Unintentionally, we attributed a lot of emphasis to his behaviour and undersold him on his pure cricketing skills. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Ricky Ponting. A fine batsman, probably the best player of fast bowling ever, but he wasnt the most gentlemanly cricketer around. However, Ponting remains one of Australian greats, second only to the peerless and unsurpassable Sir Don Bradman.People judge cricketers based on their off-field activities. I have often heard statements like X loves partying... he is not concentrating on his game from people who know nothing about the player or his lifestyle. We (media and the public at large) tend to keep an eye out for such cricketers and the moment they fail on the field we pounce and blame their errant lifestyle. They are soft targets. Judging cricketers on their off-field activities is like judging regular office-goers on what they do once they go home after work. No employer keeps a tab on what an employee is doing after office hours. Similarly, judging cricketers on what they do after stumps are called is not only intrusive but also unfair.When the law of averages, coupled with some fine swing bowling from Jimmy Anderson got the better of Virat Kohli in England this year, the problem was attributed to the latters love life. This was stupid, and insulting to both Kohli and Anderson.Another topic which gets lot of attention from the pundits is the on-field behavioour of certain players. Larry Doby Indians Jersey. Sledging and abusing are always looked down upon by the commentators. These experts have had problems with the manner in which some players mouth expletives while celebrating their on-field success. While I do not condone foul-mouthed outbursts from players, I have always wondered if the commentators are there to report on the game, or to perform a behaviour analysis of players. Cricketers like David Warner and Anderson have played all their cricket in a certain manner and that has worked for them. If one asks them to change the way they play, I think that will restrict their style and that will ultimately affect their cricket. Yes, aggression does not mean abusing, but what if sledging or taking on an opposition works for them? Asking Warner to tone down will take away what works for him and that will only be detrimental to him and in turn, to cricket at large.An average cricketer makes his debut somewhere between the ages of 18 and 25. At that age, most of us are still figuring out what we want to do with our lives, but we expect the cricketer to not only take tremendous pressure of representing his country, play in front of large crowds but also put on a behaviour which is good for the kids watching them on telly. I feel it is all a little too much to ask. Yes, some of the behaviour is boorish and that is not acceptable but some leeway needs to be given to cricketers. If anything, proper training sessions should be organised at a young age to explain what is acceptable and what is not and also to channelize the aggression.Rahul Dravid was a legend and so was Ricky Ponting, both had different methods to achieve the kind of success they achieved. If walking away from sledging worked for Dravid, then giving it back to the bowler worked for Ponting. Theres no need to judge them for their methods. Judge them on their cricket, nothing less and nothing more. So while my father will continue to adore the Viswanaths and Dravids of the world, I, on the other hand will have no qualms in accepting Warne or Ponting as my heroes. Maybe it is just a generation thing.If you have a submission for Inbox, send it to us here, with Inbox in the subject line ' ' '