Everett Not Offering a Mea Kulpa

Carl Everett must have gone to the John Rocker School of Rationale.

* I didn’t say it.

* I didn’t do it.

* I blame the media.

That was the familiar direction in which the Boston Red Sox outfielder pointed his finger after being suspended for 10 days--and announcing he would appeal--for seemingly head-butting umpire Ron Kulpa last Saturday after the umpire warned Everett he was too close to the plate and twice drew the inside line in the batter’s box.

“The whole thing is that the majority of the media tried to make a guy into a monster,” Everett said of his portrayal, claiming his innocence. “Everybody is quick to judge. I fault the media.”

There is no question that the media can be too quick to judge at times, but since when is head-butting part of the sport?

Is this the WWF?

Does the video lie?

Kulpa may have baited the tiger, playing in the dirt as he did, and there may be some inconsistency in the enforcement of the batter’s box rule, but he definitely had the right to enforce it, even if prodded by New York Met Manager Bobby Valentine, an instigator who has never worried about his lack of popularity among his peers.

Everett simply went overboard in his heat- of-the-moment response. The video shows no one with a media credential pushing him.

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Whether Darin Erstad breaks George Sisler’s record for hits in a season or Nomar Garciaparra hits .400, the two young players are providing the American League season with a stamp of offensive brilliance.

In his quest for .400, Garciaparra can fall short and still become the first right-handed batter in either league to hit at least .380 since Joe DiMaggio hit .381 in 1939.

The four players to hit better than that since 1940 were all left-handed: Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941 and .388 in 1957; Rod Carew hit .388 in 1977; George Brett hit .390 in 1980; and Tony Gwynn hit .394 in 1994.

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The Toronto Blue Jays’ acquisition of Esteban Loaiza from the Texas Rangers wasn’t exactly comparable to the New York Yankees getting Denny Neagle, and General Manager Gord Ash acknowledged that.

“We’re still operating with a sense of urgency,” he said. “My belief was that one pitcher wasn’t going to be the answer, and I still think we need a multiple answer and will continue to look. [Loaiza] is not a No. 1 guy. He’s a guy we liked, and there are others [we’ll pursue] right up to the [July 31] deadline.”

Loaiza’s inconsistency frustrated the Rangers, and the Pittsburgh Pirates before them. He was 5-6 with a 5.37 earned-run average for Texas, and it’s characteristic of the high price of pitching that the Blue Jays had to give up two promising minor leaguers--pitcher Darwin Cubillan and infielder Mike Young--to get him.

However, with a playoff shot on the line, and the touted Chris Carpenter experiencing another frustrating season, Ash and Manager Jim Fregosi felt they had no choice.

“Loaiza has experience pitching for a contender down the stretch,” Ash said. “He can start and relieve. How exactly we’re going to use him in the long term will depend on what other moves we’re able to make.”

In his Toronto debut Saturday, Loaiza gave up six runs--five earned--in five innings in an 8-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

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David Segui of the Rangers has met the qualifying standard for games played and is now listed among all-time leaders in fielding percentage for first basemen. Former Dodger Steve Garvey is the leader, suggesting to Segui that it’s all misleading.

“Garvey was not a great defensive first baseman,” Segui said. “He didn’t get to a lot of balls. Just because you don’t have many errors doesn’t mean you’re playing great defense. Sometimes you have to take some chances.”