Throwing Tomatoes: A Pirate’s Booty and Other Not-So-OK Things

It’s that time again my friends. The tomatoes are in place. Now if we’ll just have the deserving individuals in sports please stand up.

Ready… aim… fire!

Throwing Tomatoes – Volume XII

The NBA’s New OKC franchise
…for filing six “not-so-OK” nicknames.
Per a recent AP report: “The NBA has filed for trademark rights to six nicknames for the league’s new Oklahoma City franchise: Barons, Bison, Energy, Marshalls, Thunder, and Wind.

Why do I picture a team intro to “Earth, Wind, and Fire”? “Shining Star” perhaps? Boy, that one would really pump you up!

As for the nicknames, where do I start? We have Marshalls with "two L’s", and that isn’t even the half of it. Heck, making fun of “Wind” alone would be a breeze.

Julio Castillo
…for hitting a fan in the head (with a baseball) during a minor-league brawl.
Minor league brawls…boy, you sure don’t hear about those very often. Still, they happen in baseball. That doesn’t make it right for excessive force, and even though brawls aren’t the best way to solve things, a player should never use a baseball as a weapon during a brawl. That’s exactly what Castillo did, throwing a ball at the opponent’s dugout, only to instead injure a fan in the process.

Nice aim Julio...I guess now we know why you’re in the minors.

Pittsburgh Pirates
…for not getting enough value in their recent deal with the Yankees.
The talk for weeks was that the Pirates wanted “the farm” for Xavier Nady. By the time the deal arrived, Pittsburgh had not only dealt away Nady, but also Damaso Marte to the Yankees, while only getting four players in return, only two of whom cracked Baseball America’s preseason top-10 list of Yankees prospects (Jose Tabata—No. 3 and Ross Ohlendorf—No. 9).

Not surprisingly, there’s a mutiny against the Pirates after that deal.

ARRR! That’s not quite the booty Pittsburgh fans were likely expecting in return.

Steven Jackson
…for missing the opening day of training camp
Look at Jackson’s stat line for the Rams in 2007: 1,002 yards rushing, only two 100-yard rushing games, and out ¼ of the season with an injury. Jackson may be a special player, but those numbers are nothing special to me. I don’t think those numbers earn him the right to hold out. In my book, it only earns Jackson a tomato.

The WNBA’s Detroit Shock and Los Angeles Sparks
…for their bench clearing brawl early last week.
Wait, am I seriously throwing a tomato at a catfight again? I need more sleep.

Goodyear Tires at the Allstate 400
…for not being reliable.
Yikes, it was a tough day for Goodyear. I heard Kyle Busch’s tire melted on the track, not in his hand.

Brett Favre
…for not showing up at camp.
All that talk about how he was going to show up at training camp, and Favre never made it. I sure hope he sent Ted Thompson a text message letting him know.

Green Bay Packers
…for denying Favre the opportunity to compete for the starting job.
Favre isn’t expecting to start. He just wants to compete for it. If Green Bay can’t land a first round pick for Brett, they may want to think about going back on that little promise—you know, the one where the Packers said Favre won’t compete for that job at all.


Honorary Tomato Throwers of the Week
Because those who found success earn a chance to sling one at their opposition

New York Yankees—at the rival Boston Red Sox after taking the series at Fenway Park and getting back into the division race.

Colorado Rockies—at the NL West after not only winning nine of ten, but also getting back into the division race.

Jimmie Johnson—at the NASCAR field after winning the Allstate 400.


This has been “Throwing Tomatoes”… now don’t blow a tire trying to head to your nearest vegetable stand for ammunition.