Even today the Cardinals and the Reds' bench-clearing staring contest-cum-brawl is in control of the news cycle surrounding the remarkably close race in the NL Central, which is kind of unfortunate; yesterday's game was an exciting, wild contest even without Johnny Cueto kicking his way off of the ropes and Scott Rolen and Chris Carpenter becoming reacquainted.
↵I'll say this: Brandon Phillips caused the heightened tension in the game by classifying baseball's bitches by size, but Yadier Molina could just as easily have let Phillips's tap hello—not an uncommon gesture in baseball—go without a second thought. He didn't, and however justified any of the ensuing baseball slap-fightery was, at least Molina backed it up with the second inning home run.
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