It's all fun and games until your season is over...

Add Chris Coghlan to the list of players that will think twice before celebrating a walk-off win. The Florida Marlins outfielder, and reigning NL Rookie of the Year, decided to celebrate the Marlins' walk-off winner on Sunday by smashing a shaving cream pie in the face of teammate Wes Helms (Sunday night's hero). It's something we've seen done hundreds of times by baseball players... it's the new sliding on the tarp during a rain delay. When the hero or star of the game is being interviewed someone comes out of nowhere like a ninja and pies him in the face.
Unfortunately for the Marlins, Coghlan is going to miss the next 6-8 weeks because he tore the meniscus in his left knee during his sneak attack.
Florida is starting to gain some momentum, going 8-2 over their last 10 games, which included taking 2 of 3 from the division leading Atlanta Braves. Now a game over .500 they are starting to roll a bit and could hardly afford to lose a key member to their team, especially in a non-playing type of injury.
While his offensive numbers might not be what they were last year, his defense is where he is doing the most good. He's made one error all season and has excelled at the routine plays and shown a flash for making the spectacular catch. He is one of the players the Marlins are counting on to get them back into the playoff race.
You would think that players around the league would look at what happened to the Angels' Kendry Morales and think twice about over celebrating. He broke his leg celebrating a walk-off home run that he hit by jumping and landing wrong on home plate. The Angels have not been able to find a power bat to replace Morales and have since watch the Rangers pull further away in the AL West.
Florida manager Edwin Rodriguez has thrown the pie-facing celebrations out the window and will not allow his team celebrate that way any longer, and I couldn't agree with him more. Sure it may seem like a simple and jovial way to celebrate a win, but why take the chance on risking injury to yourself or a teammate over a childish stunt.
At least Coghlan wasn't the first big leaguer to get injured while trying to deliver a pie to a teammate's face... In 2008 Toby Hall of the White Sox injured his shoulder after Jermaine Dye blocked his attempt to pie him during a post-game interview. That year Hall was known for his pie-facing antics and the players were well aware that he would find a way to get them; if only they would have found a way to beat the Rays in the playoffs...
Maybe someday these professional athletes will learn how to celebrate and not hurt themselves. Or, they could heed the words of John Madden in the movie The Replacements: "You know, there's a rule in sports, Don't do anything great if you can't handle the congratulations."
I can't believe I ended this blog on a John Madden quote...