Royals second baseman Chris Getz won’t be among those lining up to condemn friend and former teammate Gordon Beckham for the insensitive message Beckham scrawled in the dirt with his cleat during Monday’s Royals-White Sox game at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago.
Beckham has caught flack from coast to coast for writing “GETZ IS GAY! GB” in the dirt near second base.“Personally, I wasn’t offended,” Getz said. “I can’t think of myself as a true victim here.”Getz might not be upset about it, but several fans in the upper deck saw the message and were offended. An image is circulating online, according to The Associated Press.“It’s a mistake and you learn from it,” Getz said. “Heck, I’ve written stuff in the dirt before, but you’ve got to be careful because there are eyes and ears everywhere.”Getz and Beckham played together in 2009 with the White Sox. That offseason Getz was traded to the Royals along with Josh Fields in a deal that sent Mark Teahen to the White Sox.“We’re good friends and we lived together in spring training actually,” Getz said. “I feel bad for him right now, because he’s catching a lot of heat for it.”Beckham has repeatedly apologized, and he reiterated again Saturday that it was “supposed to be a joke.”“Obviously, I apologize,” he said. “That’s not who I am. It was a mistake. I’ll learn from it. It’s stupid of me, but it’s nothing I can take back.”Getz and Beckham, who both have the same agent, have spoken since Monday and insist there is no bad blood.“He’s kind of distraught and really thrown off by it,” said Getz, who recently got engaged.The only person more ready for the controversy to blow over than Getz, who answered questions in a diplomatic yet sheepish manner before Saturday’s battle with the Tigers, might be Beckham.“We’re all just going to try to move on and get some real hits, not Google hits,” Getz said.Moose takes a seatMired in a zero-for-21 slump, rookie third baseman Mike Moustakas got a day off Saturday. Wilson Betemit started in Moustakas’ place.“I was planning on playing Betemit today anyway, more than anything else just to get Betemit in a ballgame,” manager Ned Yost said.Still, it’s hard not to assume the move also was designed to take some pressure off Moustakas, who was the second overall pick in the 2007 draft.“Sometimes it helps to take a day off and have a relaxing time hopefully, where you’re not so wound up competing,” Yost said. “It’s a bit of a mental break.”Moustakas is batting .227 with only three extra-base hits and four RBIs in 99 plate appearances since he joined the Royals on June 10.Betemit is batting .285 with three homers and 27 RBIs in 56 games.“It’s hard trying to do what he’s doing — keep your timing and staying sharp — when you’re playing once every 10 days,” Yost said. “But Moose will be back in there (today) against (Justin) Verlander, because I want him facing Verlander.”Brain cancer benefitNancy Howser will sit in the Buck O’Neil Legacy Seat today as the Royals wrap up a four-game series with Detroit, a game that also serves as a benefit for Head for the Cure.Howser is the widow of former Royals manager Dick Howser, who guided the franchise to the 1985 World Series title but died 21 months later after a battle with brain cancer. His No. 10 is one of three numbers retired by the Royals.Nancy Howser will be joined by Head for the Cure founder and chairman Matt Anthony and also will present the annual Dick Howser Memorial Nursing Scholarships to Katherine Cook and Kimberly Justice.Ticket packages for today’s game, which starts at 1:10 p.m., cost $20. That price includes a discounted Field Plaza ticket, an Outfield Experience pass for unlimited activities, a Head for the Cure headband and wristband and a $5 donation to the foundation as well as the usual Family FunDay Sunday attractions.Read more Royals
Posted on Sat, Jul. 09, 2011 10:15 PM
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Chis Getz brushes off incident involving ex-teammate Beckham
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To reach Tod Palmer, send email to tpalmer@kcstar.com
