I’m not one to usually complain about things that happen in sports. Generally, if a team is bad, it’s about the personnel, not the umpires or referees. However, the discipline handed down from Major League Baseball to the Orioles is ridiculous only because it wasn’t equal to the discipline to the Red Sox.
Kevin Gregg, Mike Gonzalez and Buck Showalter all received suspensions of varying lengths and Jim Johnson received a fine for his actions in the brawl last weekend. If that’s fair discipline, which it is, why didn’t Boston get the same reaction from MLB.
Gregg, who was suspended for four games, never hit David Ortiz and was defending himself as Ortiz charged the mound. The right-hander should be suspended. He did shout something at Ortiz, but to give him the same length of suspension as a hitter who charged the mound after not being hit is ludicrous.
Now, on to the parties that weren’t suspended.
MLB didn’t suspend Red Sox pitcher John Lackey, who clearly intentionally drilled Derrek Lee with a pitch Saturday night. Lackey caused the benches to each get a warning for his actions. However, Lackey only earned a fine.
Also of note, Boston manager Terry Francona didn’t receive a suspension.
I guess in MLB’s eyes the Orioles don’t need their players because they’re in last place, but because Boston is in a pennant race, they need all of their guys going forward. In essence, this is one of the major problems with baseball. If one team is punished for their actions, both teams should be punished equally. Especially when that team leads the major leagues in hit batsmen.
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