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Matt Shoemaker's wife gets feisty after Will Middlebrooks breaks up no-hitter
In the heat of competition, emotional athletes sometimes say words and take actions they later regret. The same can go for the wife of an athlete, as Danielle Shoemaker might attest. Her spouse, Matt Shoemaker of the Los Angeles Angels, took a no-hitter into the seventh inning Thursday night at Fenway Park until Will Middlebrooks had the audacity to break it up with a double.
Mrs. Shoemaker, upset that her husband's masterpiece had been smeared, let out a roar of displeasure on Twitter (which, thankfully, Dayn Perry of CBS Eye on Baseball preserved before she deleted it):
That's not very nice! But it is hilarious. Shortly after getting predictable blowback from some unhappy fans, Middlebrooks deleted the insult and added:
Wow social media is harsh. It was all in good fun @middlebrooks. Didn't know a little joke would upset so many people!
— Danielle Shoemaker (@DanielleMShoe) August 22, 2014
Ultimately, at least one fan was forgiving and apologetic:
@DanielleMShoe Sorry about reaction. We Sox fans are sensitive these days. You were clearly joking. Props to your hubby on a fine outing.
— Chris Nelson (@cnelson65) August 22, 2014
Content is one thing, but did any of the complainers criticize Shoemaker for not punctuating the tweet correctly? It should have read: "Middlebrooks, you butthole." With a comma. Get it together, Mrs. Shoemaker. She otherwise has a timeline full of supportive posts devoted to her husband's work — which has been very impressive as a rookie. Also, his beard is reminiscent of another pitcher, though it's hard to say whom.
Already an important cog in the Angels' surge to the top of the American League West, Matt Shoemaker has become indispensable with the loss of Garrett Richards to a knee injury. With a 3.56 ERA, 102 strikeouts and 19 walks in 103 2/3 innings so far, Shoemaker has pitched like a veteran. He can't stop now, especially with the Halos undermanned at the moment.
Against the Red Sox, he allowed a hit and a walk with nine strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings in a 2-0 victory. Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Shoemaker's performance also gave the team an emotional boost:
''I think it's really uplifting. I think it's important. There's going to be a lot of attention on our rotation obviously with Garrett not going to be part of it,'' manager Mike Scioscia said. ''You can't say enough about what Matty did tonight.''
One thing we know: Shoemaker's cheering section has a leader with plenty of spunk.
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David Brown is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rdbrown@yahoo-inc.com and follow him on Twitter!
