Balazovic Breaks Jaw in Off Field Altercation

[RonCoomersOPS]

23 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

What does that even mean, "Gardenhire......"?

Dude. Check thyself.

Given the way he managed the team for years, I'd not expect to find his name on any Nobel Prize shortlists any time soon.

Probably won't have to worry about that with Balazovic, either.

[Greglw3]

On 2/18/2023 at 4:35 PM, David HK said:

I'm old enough to remember Dave Boswell... 🤔

Boswell vs. Billy the Kid.

[oregontwin]

14 hours ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

Well said, but violence shouldn’t be the answer.

Bottom line, there are consequences for all of our actions, and our society needs to reestablish norms of respect that have shifted away from where I (and many people) believe they should be. As a member of the mod team here at TD, I can tell you we work very hard at keeping that norm on the message boards without resorting to fisticuffs.

this is an easy assumption to jump to, clearly I don’t know what happened, probably won’t ever know, and if I were to find out Jordy Blaze was a victim of unforeseen circumstances, it’s unfortunate, but usually these circumstances are pretty apparent and easily avoided. 

From a baseball perspective, this was a make or break year for Balazovich. I was really hoping for a “make”, but it’s really hard to consume a nutritious athlete’s diet through a straw. Ominous signs…

No consequences, no respect

[Brad.dahlen]

Regardless of the circumstance, just not a good look for a young and struggling prospect. Just about ready to stop considering him an asset going forward. 

[NotAboutWinning]

Most likely this was not the first time he has put himself in harms way. His luck just ran out. The subtext in the comments from Baldelli and the FO seems heavy on frustration.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

From the Athletic:

"A team source said Balazovic was struck in the jaw after he was involved in a verbal altercation at an unidentified local establishment last Saturday night. Balazovic never threw a punch of his own and there are no legal issues stemming from the incident."

[TCSquad]

Torii Hunter and Justin Morneau weren't at this 'local establishment' on either side of Jordan, were they?

[Squirrel]

31 minutes ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

From the Athletic:

"A team source said Balazovic was struck in the jaw after he was involved in a verbal altercation at an unidentified local establishment last Saturday night. Balazovic never threw a punch of his own and there are no legal issues stemming from the incident."

I don’t know if this is good info or not. At least he didn’t respond physically and escalate the situation.

[Linus]

Given that Falvey usually is very careful about saying too much it is apparent from what he said that he was pissed. Wonder if this isn’t the first conversation they have had with him. 

[nicksaviking]

On 2/18/2023 at 4:35 PM, David HK said:

I'm old enough to remember Dave Boswell... 🤔

Dang, so you think Rocco whooped him? That'd make for a better story.

Or at least it did back in the day.

[stringer bell]

People do pretty stupid things in their early 20s (I know I did), so I won't pass judgment on the young man just yet. The Twins cut bait with previously promising pitchers (Thorpe, Fernando Romero) so I think he is running out of chances. We don't know all of the circumstances, but it is certainly not a plus on his ledger. 

[terrydactyls]

"He was involved in a verbal altercation"

That is a vague statement that could be interpreted several ways.  Most of the posters on this thread seem to think that Balazovic did something wrong.  The altercation may have been between people other than him and he just got hit with a sucker punch while trying to prevent a fight.  Until actual facts are available, I'll reserve judgement.

[a-wan]

At least his knee that was injured last year was untouched, right?

[Doctor Gast]

On 2/18/2023 at 3:28 PM, Doctor Gast said:

He has let his team down as well himself.

I apologize for my judgmental response. Out of my frustration, I responded hastily. Judging him w/o knowing all the circumstances. Normally he has been a responsible player and he didn't respond in kind during the altercation. We don't know the motive, if he was provoked or even if it was out of frustration, He deserves a 2nd chance.

I wish him well & pray that he's able to rise above the circumstances & prove what he's capable of and mature as a ball player & person.

 

[LVTwinsfan]

On 2/18/2023 at 1:38 PM, Squirrel said:

He had a bad year last year after ranking so high on promise. He needs a turn around year and this is not the way to get it going. Feel for the guy but hope he gets it figured out, on and off the field. Anyone know the context of the altercation?

Does it matter? I’ve had a few “altercations” in my time, it always takes at least two… I really dont have any sympathy for him

[LVTwinsfan]

On 2/20/2023 at 6:17 AM, Squirrel said:

I don’t know if this is good info or not. At least he didn’t respond physically and escalate the situation.

Getting your jaw broke from a punch  is usually the result of opening your mouth when you should keep it shut.

[Squirrel]

22 minutes ago, LVTwinsfan said:

Getting your jaw broke from a punch  is usually the result of opening your mouth when you should keep it shut.

Well, I get that but don’t agree with it. I don’t know what was said or what the altercation was about, but I don’t agree with anyone using their fists to solve a verbal disagreement. Again, I don’t know any details or context, but I do think it was at least something that Balazovic didn’t respond in kind and escalate the situation.

[LVTwinsfan]

8 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

Well, I get that but don’t agree with it. I don’t know what was said or what the altercation was about, but I don’t agree with anyone using their fists to solve a verbal disagreement. Again, I don’t know any details or context, but I do think it was at least something that Balazovic didn’t respond in kind and escalate the situation.

Maybe he was laid out on the floor and he couldn’t respond, he did have a broken jaw after all

[LVTwinsfan]

On 2/19/2023 at 7:59 AM, James said:

Based on Falvey's quote, I'm guessing he was out (oot, since he's Canadian) at a bar fairly late at night.  Altercations like this rarely occur after a casual dinner.  The whole "prioritize baseball" makes me think that he maybe has had a habit of partying. That has gotten many minor league players in trouble in the past.

 

The odds are, you are exactly right

[Squirrel]

An update.

 

 

[nicksaviking]

17 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

An update.

 

 

At least he's chatting again!

 

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, nicksaviking said:

At least he's chatting again!

 

I’m glad to hear that it was unprovoked. Really feel badly for him.

[KirbyDome89]

On 2/21/2023 at 6:48 PM, LVTwinsfan said:

"it always takes at least two…"

This was kinda my first thought. Could a bar patron go completely unhinged and decided to sucker punch a 6'5" 220 lb stranger with whom he's had zero interaction? Sure. Do I think it's remotely likely that was the case? Not really. 

[KirbyDome89]

On 2/21/2023 at 7:14 PM, Squirrel said:

Well, I get that but don’t agree with it. I don’t know what was said or what the altercation was about, but I don’t agree with anyone using their fists to solve a verbal disagreement. Again, I don’t know any details or context, but I do think it was at least something that Balazovic didn’t respond in kind and escalate the situation.

It's entirely possible to escalate a situation verbally. I agree that assaulting somebody in a bar is a dumb*** move, and obviously Balazovic didn't deserve to have his jaw broken over words, but you can arrive at the point of physical violence via verbal sparring. 

49 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

I’m glad to hear that it was unprovoked. Really feel badly for him.

Common sense + the reactions of Rocco & the FO give me pause here. My guess is that whoever threw the punch would have an entirely different account of the events, and as is usually the case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. 

[Squirrel]

27 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

It's entirely possible to escalate a situation verbally. I agree that assaulting somebody in a bar is a dumb*** move, and obviously Balazovic didn't deserve to have his jaw broken over words, but you can arrive at the point of physical violence via verbal sparring. 

Common sense + the reactions of Rocco & the FO give me pause here. My guess is that whoever threw the punch would have an entirely different account of the events, and as is usually the case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. 

Possibly. But it is an ongoing investigation and they are looking for the guy who threw the punch who ran out and they have yet to find. Why run? Why hide? According to Balazovic he was sucker punched. Maybe the guy thought he was someone else? And maybe there was a verbal relay there? And of course people can choose a violent route, but I don’t think that is the answer. I never said you can’t escalate a situation verbally. What I said is that I’m glad he didn’t respond in kind and escalate the situation that way. still context missing, but maybe we need to see the end of the investigation before coming to conclusions.

[nicksaviking]

1 hour ago, Squirrel said:

I’m glad to hear that it was unprovoked. Really feel badly for him.

Are you able to account for your whereabouts at the time of the attack?

[KirbyDome89]

13 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

Possibly. But it is an ongoing investigation and they are looking for the guy who threw the punch who ran out and they have yet to find. Why run? Why hide? According to Balazovic he was sucker punched. Maybe the guy thought he was someone else? And maybe there was a verbal relay there? And of course people can choose a violent route, but I don’t think that is the answer. I never said you can’t escalate a situation verbally. What I said is that I’m glad he didn’t respond in kind and escalate the situation that way. still context missing, but maybe we need to see the end of the investigation before coming to conclusions.

Because you don't want to be arrested and charged with assault for any number of reasons? I think that part is pretty easily explained. Regardless of what was said, and by whom, one punch was thrown, and one jaw was broken.

Sure, but I wouldn't expect Balazovic to do anything other than paint himself in the best possible light at this point either. 

Well, I don't think he had the opportunity to return the favor after having his jaw broken, so I'm pretty neutral on giving him credit for restraint. 

Of course, and I'm happy to be wrong if Balazovic is the unluckiest human in the world and was at the absolute worst place at the absolute worst time, but I find that scenario to be incredibly unlikely. 

[Squirrel]

9 minutes ago, KirbyDome89 said:

Because you don't want to be arrested and charged with assault for any number of reasons? I think that part is pretty easily explained. Regardless of what was said, and by whom, one punch was thrown, and one jaw was broken.

Sure, but I wouldn't expect Balazovic to do anything other than paint himself in the best possible light at this point either. 

Well, I don't think he had the opportunity to return the favor after having his jaw broken, so I'm pretty neutral on giving him credit for restraint. 

Of course, and I'm happy to be wrong if Balazovic is the unluckiest human in the world and was at the absolute worst place at the absolute worst time, but I find that scenario to be incredibly unlikely. 

Okay, well, whatever

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Are you able to account for your whereabouts at the time of the attack?

With Squirrel it wouldn't be a sucker punch, it would be running into a door or other obstacle in panic because of a sucker clown mask.

[GCTF]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Are you able to account for your whereabouts at the time of the attack?

Can confirm she was in a tree in my backyard.