Konerko could see that the cavalry was on the way. The ref too. They didn't jump in because there was already 25 guys on the way.
Remember: that coach was blindsided. He was looking toward between home plate and the mound when he was hit from behind. If Konerko couldn't see what was about to happen when they were pretty obviously going after that coach, then it's a small wonder the White Sox went in the tank the way they did this season, if they've got their heads that far out of what happens on the field.
Even the bench didn't stop the two idiots. Those guys ran past the bench. If everything is so obvious and everyone should have know exactly what was happenening the second the guys made their move, the bench would have caught the guys before they even made it to the coach. It's a wierd situation, it takes a few seconds to figure out what's happening.
No, it isn't. Thank God. But surely athletes presumed to be heads up on the field and with fresh enough reflexes can figure out within moments that is is happening?
Konerko figured it out in the same amount of time the bench did, but the guys came from the royals bench, so they had the jump. Konerko could see the bench immediately was going to get there.
(For that matter, in all fairness - how far up his ass did the first base umpire have his head, since umpires are presumed to have some responsibility in dispersing the occasional fan who bounds onto the field? And the first base ump was at least as ignorant as Konerko in this instance.)
Neither one was ignorant. It was a strange situation, everyone figured it out at about the same time, the bench was closest to where the guys came from so they were on the way first. The reason the bench was on their way first is because they were able to watch the guys on their way up to the coach and had a couple more seconds to digest that something wasn't right.
You don't really think the Royals in their dugout were closer to where their coach was being attacked than the White Sox first baseman and the first base umpire (and maybe the White Sox second baseman, too), do you?
The guys came from the Royals bench area. The Royals could watch as the situation unfolded, Konerko and the ref didn't become aware of the situation until a couple seconds later.
It should only have taken a few seconds for at least Konerko and the first base ump at minimum, maybe the White Sox pitcher and/or second baseman, too, at least, to realise that Gamboa was being jumped blindside.
Yes it took the same amount of time as the player and ref as it did the Royals bench. But the bench had a couple second head start because the guy came from their area and they were able to watch them run up and they were able to digest the information a little longer.
You might be stunned a couple of seconds when the two idjits hop over the rail and hit the field running, but it shouldn't take you that long to figure out where they're running and what the likely target is - and they sure weren't looking for White Sox autographs if they're making a beeline to the Kansas City first base coach whom, by the way, they were insulting all night long (there were a number of people sitting in that area of the park who told various reporters they heard the abuse going on all night from that little pack).
Exactly. That is entirely my point. Since the Royals players were able to hear these guys, when they jumped the fence, the Royals players were on their way first because they were the most aware of the situation.
I've seen the videos of the incident on various sports reports. It wasn't that difficult to figure out where they were heading, even if you might have been a little shocked just catching them vaulting the rail at first.
Exactly. And the Royals players got to the guys first because the guys were closest to them and they had a couple more seconds to digest the situation.
At minimum, Konerko and the ump were in an even better position to stop the bastards or get them the hell off Gamboa before the Royals even needed to leave their dugout for him.
But the players were already on the way. Konerko and the ref could see that.
The Royals bench, I repeat, wasn't quite as close as the White Sox first baseman and the first base umpire were to what was happening.
That's not what I said. I said the Royals bench was 5 feet away from where the guys jumped the fence, not the coach. When the guys jumped the fence, the Royals players came out after them. Konerko and the ref could see that.
I mean, come on. Konerko is a pretty strong fellow, these two miscreants weren't exactly Mr. and Master America, and Gamboa is a 54-year-old man. And Konerko is said ordinarily to be pretty quick on his feet.
Quick or big doesn't matter, the Royals players were closest to where the guys came from and therefore had a couple more seconds to digest the situation and come after the guys. They were already on their way before Konerko and the ump knew what the situation was.
Well, in my home I'd hear the racket and would probably be in like a shot to get the invader the hell out of there before I'd even finished getting the beers out.
Now you're just being argumentive.
You might also expect other members of my family who aren't in the kitchen with me but who are in wherever you are when you got jumped to take the initiative (trust me - they would) against him because we are your hosts. I mean, if we'd done absolutely nothing on your behalf, in that situation, you would think far less of us - and who could blame you?
You're just trying to argue. The ones that are closest will be the first there.
I didn't say they were cowards in my article,...
Yes you did.
...and I would not equate inaction with cowardice,...
It is.
...necessarily. (I did hear three radio hosts Friday morning refer to the team as cowardly, not to mention one afternoon host refer likewise, though I don't recall any one singling out a particular player as such.
They are as stupid as you then. Which isn't surprising for shock jocks.
I did, however, hear Atlanta Braves outfielder Chipper Jones enunciate an opinion practically the same as mine on the matter - and he said point blank that he'd take after such thug fans in a heartbeat if they were coming onto the field to attack a player, even a player on the opposing team.
Yes, every player would. But that doesn't mean that Konerko had the same opportunity to digest the situation as the Royals players. The Royals players were closest to where the guys came from and therefore had the jump on the situation.
But I never heard Jones suggest the White Sox were being cowardly about the Gamboa incident, and rightly so.)
Of couse he didn't, he's not as stupid and big-mouthed and false-accusatory as others.
It is one thing for me to criticise inaction on the team's part and the part of at least their first baseman and maybe one or two other players who were closer to the scene of the crime than the Royals were. But inaction is provoked by all manner of stimuli, fear being only one among a rather broad number. Whatever I think was wrong with the White Sox's handling of the affair, I could not and would not say cowardice was the factor.
You might as well, you've accused them of everything else under the sun.
But think of it this way: It would have made for one hell of an image of sportsmanship to have seen even a few White Sox joining the Royals in pounding the living whey out of these two thugs, or helping to get them the hell of Gamboa.
Yes it would have, but that does not change the circumstances and the circumstances were that the guys came from the area of thge Royals players and therefore the Royals players were the first to digest the situation and were the first to be on the way.
God knows with the trouble they had this season otherwise, the White Sox would not have been wounded by that sort of image enhancement.
I don't know, I don't watch the Sox. I just don't like it when some armchair fingerpointer gets on a soapbox when he hasn't even considered the circumstances of the situation.
I even heard another program suggest the White Sox second baseman said words to the effect that he wouldn't have moved a muscle to help that coach.
Prove it, you are truly a false accusor.
Now, I don't think he actually did say such a thing, if only because I have been unable to verify it by way of the Chicago or the Kansas City press to which I have online access. If indeed he did say such a thing, he deserves nothing less than condemnation around the game. If he did not say such a thing, that radio program at minimum owes him a major apology.
You deserve condemnation for false accusuing.
But a thought occurs to me: Where, oh where, has our alleged commissioner been? I don't know about you, but I have heard not a peep out of Mr. Selig since this incident. Interesting, no?
What does he have to do with it? It's up the prosecutor to throw these guys in prison.