I just read this Boston Herald article about a "joust" Friday night between a fan sitting behind home plate at Fenway and Red Sox pitcher, Keith Foulke:

"Foulke was descending the dugout steps after allowing a home run to Carl Crawford when he apparently was heckled by a fan sitting directly behind the Sox dugout. The pitcher backed up slightly and exchanged words with the fan before entering the dugout, where television cameras caught him firing his glove in frustration."

Trust me. I am in no way against heckling. I have been known to make my share of not so kid friendly remarks after one or two (or three) cold beers --- directed at the opposing team. Heckling Foulke on his way back to the dugout after a bad outing is just low.

There are only three acceptable reasons to boo or heckle a player on your home team (poor performance is not one of them):

1. Lack of Hustle

If a player does not run out an infield popup, "dogs it" to first base on an infield ground ball or allows a fly ball to drop in the outfield when it could have been caught with a dive, it is acceptable to boo.

2. Despicable behavior on or off the field

Wife beating, lying to the Grand Jury, hitting with a corked bat and steroid use (without remorse) are all good examples. Boo.

3. A player insults the home fans or the city

For example, after Byung-Hyun Kim's "middle finger incident" at Fenway it became universally acceptable to boo and heckle him until he could no longer step on the field as a member of the Red Sox. (I'll give Foulke the benefit of the doubt that he was misunderstood when he made the "Johnny Burger King" comment.)

Anyway, all cheers tonight. Schilling goes for 200. See ya at 7:05 (4:05 PT).

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