The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 16-1 on Sunday, but WEEI's Red Sox play-by-play man Will Flemming's comments have become the biggest story from the game.
Flemming took exception to Jazz Chisholm Jr. stealing two bases in the eighth inning. This led him to call Chisholm "bush league" and say he does not play the game the right way. He also suggested Jovani Morán, the Red Sox pitcher at the time, intentionally hit Austin Wells.
While many people are pointing out that Flemming's comments were wrong, Carlos Rodón took a different approach. He was not a fan of Flemming's comments either, but thinks that if he had a problem with the Yankees keeping their foot on the gas in the eighth inning, his team should have played better.
"Pitch better,” Rodón told The Athletic's Chris Kirschner. “This is not the pat-on-your-back league, and we’re going to be nice to you. Everyone’s coming to take the food off your table, and they’re coming to take your money. That’s how this game is played. There are no nice guys.”
The Yankees and Red Sox rivalry is one of the most storied and intense rivalries in baseball. To be fair, the Red Sox did not throw at Wells or try to fight Chisholm, as Flemming suggested. Chad Tracy did not publicly say he took exception to the stolen bases either.
However, this is only a talking point because it happened while the Red Sox were losing. Rodón is correct in saying that if the Red Sox pitched better, the game would be closer. Flemming was also upset about a no-catch call earlier in the game that directly preceded the score getting out of hand.