Woke up in New Jersey this morning to see this on my timeline:

https://twitter.com/AngeloCataldi/status/1138017246964518912

I don’t want to rip Cataldi again, since we did that on Friday. I will actually commend him for being consistent. Fake anger over a lack of hustle knows no boundaries, and that should squash the running theory that Angelo would never dare question the work ethic of a white player. Glad we can at least put that one to bed.

Unfortunately, it’s more fodder for Angelo when he speaks with Gabe Kapler this week, a conversation that’s five days away but already looks like a train wreck.

Here’s the play again, if you missed it. Harper is out of the picture, but I counted nine seconds between contact with the ball and Bryce touching home plate, after the jump:

Bob wrote this on Sunday about the play:

  1. Hoskins didn’t bust it down the line. Then again, everybody in the stadium thought it was going to be foul off the bat.
  2. Bryce Harper, who made a terrific charge at the plate to score the second run, had to do so only because he didn’t run hard on contact. He admitted after the game that he got caught looking at the play.
  3. Guarantee you Gabe Kapler immediately thought of Cataldi after this play and muttered to himself, “Jesus Christ. Here we go again.

And this:

I just can’t bring myself to get that fired up when over a 162-game season these guys don’t go balls out on every single play, but I’m sure there are plenty of people who will be. I’m also sure Angelo will double down on his faux outrage and call for a Hoskins benching tomorrow morning. Stay tuned for that riveting soliloquy.

More or less.

Anyway, it’s important that we’ve got all of this on background before Cataldi inevitably complains to Kapler about it, but for now I’ll leave you with this:

Happy Monday.