Brad Penny Is A Completely Rational Human Being

On Monday afternoon during his second start with the San Francisco Giants (a 9-4 win), Brad Penny gave up a monster home run to San Diego Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez in the sixth inning. Gonzalez finished his swing and watched to see where the ball was headed - the same finish he’s done on all 36 home runs he’s hit this season.

Penny, whose well known hair-trigger temper hasn’t made him many friends in baseball,  took exception to something and yelled at Gonzalez during his entire trot around the bases at AT&T Park. Penny actually had to be restrained by umpires and teammates (video here). Then, at the end of the inning he stared down the Padres dugout, before yelling into it and gesturing towards the visiting team.

The Padres were puzzled as to why Penny had flipped his lid. Manager Bud Black was certainly confused:

“He popped off after the home run and I’m not sure why. Adrian has done the same thing 36 times this year. I don’t know what the hell he was looking at. He game some gesture toward our dugout … I didn’t quite understand that one either.”

Penny says he got carried away and was ticked what he thought to be Gonzalez admiring his home run to dead center.

“I got a little carried away. I was excited. I was having fun. I’m a guy who wears my emotions on my sleeve … There’s got to be a line in between how far I go.”

Seems like he’s taking responsibility for his actions, well done Brad. Case closed. Wait, he’s not done talking yet is he?

“(You’re down) six and you’re going to watch a home run? Watch it if you hit it, I guess.”

So in the span of a sentence he went from taking responsibility for overreacting to taking a shot at the guy who took him deep. Let’s remember that this is Brad Penny, a guy who celebrates like he won the World Series after every inning-ending strikeout (as depicted in the picture above).

Buster Olney has a new theory and it’s fantastic. He claims that Penny was angry because some of the Padres were mimicking the grunt Penny emanates when throwing his fastball. That’s right, Brad Penny grunts like a woman’s tennis player when he throws his fastball. And the Padres were breaking his balls about it. If true, this hilarious on several levels.

First, the fact that the Padres would do that is so high school baseball of them it makes me love them even more. The fact that in the dog days of the season the team is still trying to have some fun and have a laugh at the expense of the opposing pitcher is, frankly, endearing. Childish? Yes. But definitely endearing.

Second, the fact that Penny would be offended by a little ball busting is just great. Seriously, Brad, lighted up dude. You grunt like a b*tch when you throw your fastball, did you think no one would notice?

From what I’ve heard this Padres team, while underwhelming on the field, is apparently great at giving each other (and opposing team) sh*t, in a joking around, frat house sort of way. Too bad they’ve also been giving the fans sh*t to watch on the field as well, but I digress. The fact that they’re willing to joke around and have fun means that despite their record, the Padres have developed great chemistry, especially for a young team.

The young nucleus of the Padres has shown some promise after a disappointing start to the second half. Since dropping 10 of 12 after the All-Star break, the Friars are 24-16, relying on one of the youngest rosters in baseball. So there is cause for hope. It’s nice to see these kids enjoying themselves and playing well, especially after the brutal seasons Padres fans have had to endure recently.

Basically they were trying to have a little fun, Penny took exception at being made fun of and lost his mind. No harm no foul, but maybe if Penny could relax a bit he’d manage