During the ninth inning of Monday's A's closer Grant Balfour -- noted for his rage -- and Tigers hitter Victor Martinez started hurling "fuck you" at each other. Because why not. The benches were cleared and the two gentlemen had to be separated.
Lucky for you, the entire exchange was caught live. Check it out:
What started it all? Ego. And men being men. Balfour, it seems, didn't like Martinez looking at him. Seriously. The tension was, more or less, over a stare down and perceived disrespect. It was like an episode of Bad Girls Club. CBS Sports Matt Snyder notes: "[I]t appears Balfour screamed at Martinez to stop looking at him. Martinez wasn't glaring or attempting to stare him down -- at least not excessively, I don't think -- so this looks to be a case where the always-tightly-wound Balfour let his rage get the better of him while Martinez didn't back down."
After the game, Balfour explained himself thusly:
You've got to like Balfour. He just doesn't take crap from anyone. Here's to hoping he works on his inner demons. Anyway, the A's won Monday's game, which means they could nab the division series if they take it today.
Speaking of demons, the morally corrupt L.A. Dodgers won the NLDS yesterday, which means they'll advance to the NLCS.