Blue Jays' Marcus Stroman calls Red Sox broadcaster Dennis Eckersley a 'hypocrite' after criticisms
Eckersley called Stroman's show of emotions 'tired' after the righty silenced Boston's bats
Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman twirled six shutout innings against the Red Sox on Sunday (TOR 6, BOS 1), and he continues to position himself as a strong trade candidate leading up to the July 31 deadline. In the midst of dominating the Red Sox in his most recent start, Stroman, as he often does, flashed some emotion on the mound.
Here he is following his final pitch of the day:
🗣 ENERGY 🗣@MStrooo6 | #LetsGoBlueJays pic.twitter.com/qehX0JGt7o
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 23, 2019
As you see, Stroman celebrated the strikeout, his sixth of the day against only one walk, and even directed some of that enthusiasm toward the Boston dugout. That prompted the Sox's broadcast booth to briefly criticize Stroman:
That's not Dennis Eckersley calling Stroman's celebrations "tired," is it?
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 23, 2019
"He was aggressive and animated on the mound, and he was known for his intimidating stare and pumping his fist after a strikeout. "https://t.co/Cu6cA6k49A
Somewhere a pot is screaming at a kettle. pic.twitter.com/BbYKfT78Qj
As Rob Friedman notes in his tweet, Eckersley, back in his days as one of the most dominant closers in baseball history, was a demonstrative sort on the mound. Exhibit B:
Literally, this guy's telling someone how to celebrate?!
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 23, 2019
Come on @eck43 🙄https://t.co/06AGye6tuy pic.twitter.com/XeDNY5Tq86
In that light, Eckersley's one-word critique of Stroman -- however brief and off-hand it was -- rings a bit hollow. This, of course, wasn't lost on Stroman:
His comments are always trash. 🤷🏾♂️
— Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo6) June 23, 2019
And:
Hypocrite. https://t.co/XqyTUzuXDN
— Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo6) June 23, 2019
More from Stroman:
Stroman on his yell and stare down after the sixth inning strikeout: "That’s me just showing emotion. The passion I have for the game. I couldn’t care less who judges me or who says anything about it." #Bluejays
— Rob Longley (@longleysunsport) June 23, 2019
This is a bit of a recurring discussion with Stroman, and at this point he's to be taken at his word when he says he's not particularly concerned with the criticisms. As for Eckersley, you'll recall that almost two years ago he had a bit of a dust-up with David Price, although the blame in that seemed to be squarely on the player.
















