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Royals Add Jon Rauch on Minor League Deal
The Kansas City Royals have agreed to terms with reliever Jon Rauch, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman.
jon rauch signs with #royals on minor league deal— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) January 23, 2014
It’s a minor league deal for the 35-year-old, who will…
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Kangaroo Court: The Matt Harvey-Jon Rauch Clubhouse Fight
Matt Harvey is very good at pitching. Like, striking out 13 batters while giving up only the barest nub of an infield single in 7 innings and making the Mets interesting when all other data points say otherwise. However, he's still a very young player, a rookie just last year, which creates all sorts of etiquette questions. Etiquette questions and civil disputes that I intend on solving.
As Jeff Passan writes, Matt Harvey was sleeping in the clubhouse last year and Jon Rauch, upon seeing this and, either being offended by Harvey's siesta or just up for a good prank, decided to do something:
"Rauch, according to people who saw the incident, barged into the room with bucket of ice water, which he proceeded to dump on Harvey. It waterlogged Harvey's phone, which was resting on his chest as an alarm, and incited an even more electrical reaction inside Harvey.
He bounded up and challenged Rauch to a fight. Right there. Right then. He gave up 7 inches, about 75 pounds and a gallon or so of bad ink. It didn't matter that he was a rookie. Harvey would not be a joke. He would not be a punch line in Rauch's re-telling. He would not let some mediocre clown play him."
Ignoring the over the top "mediocre clown" nonsense, what we have here is a real case, one that only the Old Time Family Baseball Kangaroo Court can look into. Was Rauch cleared to dump water on Harvey in a bit of fraternal rookie-hazing and should Harvey have taken it as the presumably good-natured clubhouse prank that it was? Or, should Harvey have decked Rauch for the nap-interruption?
There are many things to consider here. While everyone loves a good prank, this case is fundamentally changed by happening in the 21st century. In 1991, Harvey wouldn't have a leg to stand on, legally speaking. As a rookie, he should be prepared for any and all kinds of pranks, being constantly on watch for a pants-ing or having all of his clothes removed from his locker at the end of the game.
However, in this specific case, the inclusion of the cell phone changes everything. The days of harmless water fights and pool parties are over, at least until cell phone companies produce devices that can withstand the depths of the ocean as well as the Timex I was given on my 6th birthday. And that day seems like a long way away.
Since Rauch did not ensure that there were no cell phones in the immediate area, indeed pouring water directly on it, nor did he check to see if photos, phone numbers, and personal music files were backed up, Matt Harvey was CORRECT to challenge him to a fight.
FINAL JUDGEMENT: Matt Harvey don't take no guff from anyone
Until the next time, justice fans...
 After reading about the confrontation between Matt Harvey and Jon Rauch in 2012 I instantly thought of the Dropkick Murphy’s, and I quote, “Well it’s all gone to hell now the wimps have gangs Pop punk tough guys with neck tattoos Well if you guys are hard then I’d rather be soft” http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/70054/harvey-threatened-to-beat-up-rauch
Harvey was taking a nap when Rauch doused him with ice water, shocking him awake and also ruining Harvey’s phone...
“I don’t throw hard. Everybody expects me to throw 96, 97, 98 miles per hour because of my [baldness]. But I’m not that kind of pitcher.”
Players, people, and chicken fans
SN: When I talk about good/bad person, I generally mean in the baseball sense - good teammate, har worker, etc. You are not a fan if, when a player on your favorite team makes an error or gives up the winning run, you don’t grumble a bit, throw your hands in the air, and yell: ‘cooooome oooooon!’ But, how many fans would walk right up to that player and tell him he sucks and you hope he has suicidal thoughts? Not many. And,another thing that I don’t get why fans don’t take into account is when the dude owns up to it - he admits he screwed up and he will do better. I am sure everyone knows about the Jon Rauch Twitter drama. I will admit I yelled out a ‘come on, Jon!!! Argh!!’ when that. HR was hit. And, if Jon had pulled a move like that DB from Atlanta did after ending our season, I would have expressed further displeasure. But, we still have to be humane in our criticism. Part of this is that players are people, as FAFIF points out (link on homepage), but we also have to realize that sometimes the players that are good people and own up to their mistakes often won’t get that venom shot at them, and because they are good people we think they may not deserve it. Fans at times put players in different categories - good dude v not good dude - and that impacts our feelings (and tolerance levels). I will never ever forgive TG for what he said following that implosion; the awful pitching, I can forgive. Not caring? I will NEVER forgive. If I saw him on the street I would tell him exactly that - I still wouldn’t say I hope he chokes on the resin bag, but I would let him know I thought he was a bad person (in the baseball sense). Jon, I forgave his bad pitching; the fact he owned up to it leads me to believe that he doesn’t deserve any more scorn. Yes, he may have gotten and ‘argh’ on Twitter from me, but it was followed by positive reinforcement. So, I think the fact that many came to Jon’s defense speaks to we think he is a good person - he plays hard, cares about his team and takes blame for his mistakes and owns it. I think the key is the fact that players are decent/not decent people makes us like/dislike them more as players. The more you are a teammate, supporting, playing hard, etc - the more fans like you as a player. As fans isn’t that we are supposed to do? No matter how awesome a player is on the field, if he is toxic in the clubhouse, or unsupportive, or claims to be non-blame-worthy, the less chance there is for fans to like you. But, if you are the opposite, and are not necessarily performing, while the fanbase may be disappointed and frustrated, you won’t necessarily be disliked. Look at Ike- most fans like him, and want him to do better, but we know something needs to be done (like go to AAA - see previous post). We are supportive in our push for such a move, but we still express our disappointment, while being supportive at the same time. I am not saying back down from expressing discontent, but take a step back and decide if it was the performance you dislike or the actions of the person. Usually its the performance - so be critical hat, not the person who is doing it (and yesterday, Jon was attacked, not his pitching). And, I challenge anyone who writes hate filled statements (not dissapointment statements, but straight up nastiness), to think before you post: ‘if ths dude were right in front of me, would I say the same thing?’ If not, don’t post it - because you may be the target of the fans who saw the retweet. Stop hiding behind Twitter, facebook, blogs, and say it to his face. I wrote non-positive things about Bay and Ike in particular most recently, and I would gladly share what I wrote with them and would say it to their face. It is constructive criticism, and reality, but still a civil conversation. Man up. **Again, my ‘person’ label is strictly in the baseball sense.
Rauch scares the crap out of me.. Only if he could do that on the mound! Damn at least he fesses up for his shit though.
