I don’t see any reason why the pitchers should get suspensions. They don’t suspend people for hitting batters; they just eject them. And Bautista did nothing to be suspended for either; Odor saw to that. And eight games seems about right. “Self control issues” is possible but I can name a few others that were on the field during that brawl who had some issues, like the Jays manager who came back on the field after being ejected. What should his punishment be?
ETA I see he got three games. Hope he gets fined too.
Hm, MLB doesn’t seem to have officially announced anything yet, so the information is coming out in pieces. ESPN now says that Bautista has received a 1 game suspension (so has Elvis Andrus apparently).
Aaron Sanchez received a 3-game suspension last season for an intentional HBP last season, which is why I was expecting something for the pitchers.
Theo made those kinds of signings regularly in Boston, too. Occasionally a guy with a fine record before his major injury will recover enough to be a solid performer again, and if he doesn’t, he didn’t really cost anything anyway.
So, I usually don’t feel bad for the competition when I’m rooting for my team. But the last game and a half of watching the Indians beat up on the Reds is making me feel pretty awful for Cincinnati fans. After a 15-6 loss last night, the Reds are currently down 10-0 in the 5th inning, and it has looked uglier than that, even. I hope the Tribe gets the sweep, but damn.
ETA: make that 11-0. The Reds’ pitcher has just given up three walks in a row with the bases loaded. Just…ouch.
Precedent matters, and giving someone 25 games for being in a fight would be very unprecedented.
Bautista absolutely should have been suspended, for a few games at least; he slid with the intent of injuring Odor, as is obvious to anyone watching the play, and he was starting the fight with Odor just as much as Odor was; Odor is just a faster punch.
Yeah, I don’t care about precedent. That kind of punch can do Rudy Tomjanovich-level damage. Of course we live in a society that not only tolerates, but revels, in violence, so whatever.
I’m another Indians fan, and I’ll agree, that game was ugly. In fact, it might have been the worst game I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t even get excited by the fact that the other guys’ bullpen was getting used up in a certain loss, because it was a lousy interleague game.
I thought Odor would get 5 games, so I’d say 8 is about right. And I think one could argue that violence in sports is much more frowned upon these days than even a decade ago. Certainly more so than 30-50 years ago.
Right, at least Fredi still gets paid. I’ve heard Golic tell that story before. When your expected annual income goes from $650k to zero in a matter of minutes, I don’t care who you are, that hurts.
And don’t think MLB or any other sport (or any other business, for that matter), wouldn’t be just as cut throat as the NFL if they could. The NFL has a terribly weak players’ union and a bad agreement with the owners. That’s what happens when your average career lasts 3 years. You make bad agreements for the here and now without much concern for the future.
ETA: I understand Fredi, as a manager, is not part of the players’ union, but my point stands.
