Marlins get a pie in the face

Chris Coughlan can compare himself to Angels first baseman Kendry Morales all he wants, but at least Morales broke his left leg celebrating his own game-winning grand slam.

Remember when Arizona Cardinals kicker Bill Gramatica tore his ACL celebrating a 42-yard field goal before halftime? Sorry Coughlan, you just don’t want to be in the same company as a Gramatica, especially not the less talented brother.

No, the reigning Rookie of the Year took embarrassing sports injuries to new heights Monday night in San Francisco, tearing his left knee after tossing a pie in the face of teammate of Wes Helms. Helms’ walk-off hit had just given the Marlins another come-from-behind victory, although Coughlan’s not-so-sweet pie injury should equate to a few losses.


Mind you, this wasn’t even a real pie. In Major League Baseball, a professional sport full of wealthy people, there’s a ridiculous tradition of smearing shaving cream in the face of teammate who just won you a game.

You’d think they could order a few gourmet pies to have on reserve, although we are talking about the notoriously cheap Marlins. Coughlan actually had to sneak a bottle of shaving cream out of the Giants locker room after Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria put an embargo on all non-essential purchases.

Celebrating a quintessential moment in pro sports is as beautiful as a double rainbow, but choreographed celebrations -- especially a cliché pie to the face -- are lame, and apparently dangerous.

Not to mention there’s 162 games in baseball. Odds are in your favor that you’ll hit a few game winners. It’s called playing the game every other day of your life.

The Marlins were actually on a nice run, winning eight of their last 10 games and looking like a possible dark horse for a Wild Card spot.

Now, Coughlan could be out up to eight weeks, and the Marlins need to find a new leadoff hitter.

The only positive, and it’s not that positive, is that top prospect Logan Morrison has an opportunity to showcase his ability.

Both years Florida won the World Series, a midseason call-up (Craig Counsell in 1997 and Dontrelle Willis in 2003)  helped make the difference down the stretch. But for a team lucky enough to have the guy tossing the pie wind up on the injured list, let’s leave the word playoffs out of the equation.

Anyone in the Marlins dugout will tell you that freak injuries can occur on or off the field. It’s not like Coughlan was having an outstanding sophomore season, so it shouldn’t have a major effect on the lineup.

But when you’re the team that plays in an NFL stadium to a few thousand fans, and fires your manager only to end up hiring a less qualified skipper, it’s another PR slap -- or pie -- in the face to have your Rookie of the Year go down like this.