April 14, 2009

I offer some homer opinion which makes a good point that the officiating crew didn't think Beckett threw at Abreu.

posted by kokaku at 07:37 PM on April 14, 2009

Given that Beckett is a starting pitcher, a six game suspension is really at most one game. And since, as the article points out, Boston's schedule has an off day coming up, it really might not even cost him one start.

posted by dviking at 08:48 PM on April 14, 2009

Pitcher suspensions are always 6 games with the idea that always equals one game. Let's not act as if this is something new when suspending a starting pitcher.

posted by yerfatma at 09:11 PM on April 14, 2009

Well, I look at it this way. If Beckett wanted to hit Abreu he would have. A guy that has been in the league for as many years as he has, will posses pin point accuracy and will be able to throw the ball wherever he wants. It has always been taught and I teach this to my guys at the college level, when you're in the stretch and you start to deliver your pitch and the batter calls time, continue with your motion and throw the ball. No reason to hurt yourself by trying to stop your motion. Abreu knew that Beckett was holding Figgins close at 2nd base but waited until the last second to call time. I don't think anyone should be at fault in this situation. Bud Selig in my opinion is probably the worst commissioner MLB has ever had.

posted by bdubbau44 at 10:10 PM on April 14, 2009

Let's not act as if this is something new when suspending a starting pitcher.

Was anyone acting that way?

Personally, I agree that the suspension is more about how he acted after the pitch, than it was about the pitch itself.

posted by dviking at 11:45 PM on April 14, 2009

A guy that has been in the league for as many years as he has, will posses pin point accuracy

Oh... yeah, no.

The Sox are just in trouble right now

Is Baltimore is already designing their World Series ring?

posted by jerseygirl at 12:20 AM on April 15, 2009

Is Baltimore is already designing their World Series ring?

I've thought for a long time that in order to stir up some interest in the team, the O's need to hire John Waters to redesign their uniforms. They'd be jaunty as all get-out and look fabulous in hi-def.

It'd be by far the most interesting thing to happen to the franchise in over a decade.

posted by Ufez Jones at 08:56 AM on April 15, 2009

I think Beckett's suspension comes down to his decision to approach Abreu and point angrily at the guy. If he had stayed near the mound and made the universal sign for "settle down"¹ the incident never clears the bench.

Are pitchers these days allowed to appear conciliatory, or does the unwritten code of baseball require that they never allow a batter to yell at them?

^{1. Palms up and at your sides, tilted slightly downward. Similar to jazz hands, but without the side-to-side motion of the hands.}

posted by rcade at 10:08 AM on April 15, 2009

Jazz Hands = Me jumping on board the Sox bandwagon (even if it's just temporary)

posted by tahoemoj at 10:54 AM on April 15, 2009

A: So you think the Sox are in so much trouble they will make the playoffs? B: I'd be hesitant to predict the Angels beating on anyone in the playoffs, but especially Boston.

The Angels didn't have any trouble beating Boston while missing 3 of their top 5 starters... It's a long season and I guess we'll have to see what happens.

posted by docshredder at 11:29 AM on April 15, 2009

Whenever an umpire calls time at a point where a pitch might be delivered, he immediately RUNS out from behind the plate in order to get out of the way of an errant throw. The umpire is quite aware that in this situation the pitcher has no idea where the ball is going. Bobby Abreu has been in the game long enough to have the same awareness, and he should have bailed out. Had he done so, there is no incident. Put the whole problem where it belongs, that is, in Bobby Abreu's lack of judgment.

As far as Beckett earning his suspension for leaving the mound, please notice that he stood there for some seconds, and then walked slowly toward his catcher, not toward Abreu. He made no threatening gestures. What words were exchanged would have been noted in the umpire's report, so perhaps something was said.

Bob Watson is a stooge who spent quite a bit of time in the Yankees' organization before getting his job in the Commissioner's Office. He had tended to under-punish Yankees players and do quite the opposite to Red Sox players until the last season or two. It looks like he may be back to his old habits.

posted by Howard_T at 02:41 PM on April 15, 2009

This all reminds me of my favorite brawl, when Robin Ventura of the White Sox made the rash decision to charge Nolan Ryan, realized halfway there he was charging Nolan Freaking Ryan, and then half-heartedly fought him. Ryan, with no such reservations, wholeheartedly rearranged his face.

Ahhhh, the infamous Ventura/Ryan brawl, if you wanna call it that. Ventura ran towards Ryan and the Nolan Ryan Express put Ventura in a headlock and proceeded to bash him upside the dome piece. That was indeed a classic!

posted by BornIcon at 11:43 AM on April 16, 2009

When suspending a pitcher it should be however many games suspended times 5.

36 games? So we're going to start suspending pitchers a fourth of a season that 'might' have intentionally thrown at a hitter? Brilliant.

Beckett even coming across like this so soon after the Angels have had a teammate die in a tragic manner, in their park, is bound to piss off Major League Baseball and fans alike.

Oh come on. It should have nothing to do with anything on the field. What beckett did is either right or wrong, intentional or not, but you really think in the middle of that he's suppose to think "wait, the Angels have been through a tragedy"? That's ridiculous.

Bob Watson is a stooge who spent quite a bit of time in the Yankees' organization before getting his job in the Commissioner's Office.

Yep.

He walked towards Abreu yelling and pointing at him, which cleared the benches. I don't think he should have been suspended either, but that's enough of a threatening gesture to start some brawls.

You're putting a lot of blame on Beckett without having any idea what he said coming off the mound. Bottom line, the umps were there, saw everything, and not only didn't think Beckett was throwing at anyone, but that he handled it well. Watson overruled the umps. That's troublesome.

But it does seem to be a consensus, here, elsewhere, Scioscia, that it was Beckett seemingly being unapologetic that give him the fine, that leads one to believe he WAS throwing at Abreu.

Which means I guess it's not the intent, but the reaction. So the 4th time Joba throws at youkilis' head he can once again give that "who me?" puppy dog look and all will be fine. Are fans really that gullible?

posted by justgary at 11:06 AM on April 17, 2009

My guess is that Beckett said "get your ass back in the box and shut up."

I'm hoping, after the appeal, that it comes out what he said.

posted by justgary at 12:38 PM on April 17, 2009

You gotta love these AL pitchers who have all the balls in the world, while knowing they won't have to step in the batters box with the opponent's pitcher thinking about possibly whizzing one at their skull. Like when Roger Clemens had his issues several years ago with Mike Piazza, and the Yankees had to make the decision not to have him (Clemens) pitch at Shea because the designated hitter rule wouldn't be in effect.

As for the umps not throwing Beckett out of the game right then, I can't really fault them. Their main concern at that moment was that the teams not erupt into a huge brawl. But looking at the circumstances after the incident, I have no problem with the league deciding (after the fact) they are going to suspend him. And that's not intended to mean I think he (Beckett) should have been suspended in this instance, because I don't. But in other sports, leagues review situations and decide on consequences (ex. illegal hits in NFL games).

Baseball, though, needs to decide what it's going to do to deal with some of these brawls that tend to erupt. It's been ridiculous for a long time how players come out of the dugouts, bullpens, etc. They're running the risk of having a riot start they won't be able to control, and don't think fans won't eventually jump out of the stands and get in on the action, too. You could always say players in the dugout need to remain in the dugout, but the batter is the only person on the field (and possibly a baserunner or two) for the offensive team, while the team in the field has nine guys out there. That could be a problem.

posted by dyams at 11:27 AM on April 19, 2009