It’s probably OK to steal Trevor Bauer’s signs

The subplots and nuances of the burgeoning Padres-Dodgers hot war are developing at a rate that’s hard to stay on top of. Perhaps that’s with the greater focus on these games and the race between the two (though the Giants are currently splitting them) because they’re two of the only four teams doing all they can to win.

Their games have been tight, tense, and dramatic, and it doesn’t hurt that some of the players involved are the most charismatic and polarizing, in all senses of the word. That came into the spotlight last night when Fernando Tatis Jr. took Trevor Bauer beyond the wall twice last night, and didn’t hide his glee in doing so.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, Bauer didn’t have a problem with Tatis pimping his homers or throwing some shade at Bauer, which was a true upset. Perhaps other managers and players should take note of perhaps the league’s biggest piss-baby not having any issues with celebrating accomplishments on the field. Bauer has been known to stick it to the opponent from time to time, after all.

This interaction, or half-beef, took a new turn this afternoon when someone pointed out that Tatis may have committed a baseball no-no before one of his homers, pulling the ol’ Steve Garvey-just-look-at-the-catcher’s-signs act. It is a touch weird that Tatis absolutely clubbed a cutter that was a foot outside, and it wouldn’t be a huge leap to conclude that he knew what was coming.

It’s one thing to pimp a homer, it’s another to steal signs this blatantly, which drew out Bauer’s usual go-to weapon, and that’s soiling himself on Twitter. It’s funny that Trev isn’t scared, because when Tatis (might’ve) known what was coming, he took Bauer’s pitch on a tour of Los Angeles National Forest (which might be foul in reality, feel free to check my geography).

There’s no Twitter fight that Bauer can’t lose, however, and it would seem Tatis BBQ’d him again:

In normal circumstances, considering what we’ve been through with the Astros, even hinting at stealing the catcher’s signs from the batter’s box is against the spirit of the game (and extremely low-fi). However, given that Bauer has made it clear how much he likes cheating by using foreign substances on the ball, and tried to prove that he can out-Elon Musk Elon Musk in swollen brain syndrome by doing things like closing one eye while on the mound in spring training… ahfuck ‘im.

Clearly, this won’t be the last of it between these two.

(Also Fernando, we gotta talk about your choice of eyewear. Who walks into Warby Parker and says,”Give me the middle-aged dentist?”)