| QUOTE |
| BOSTON -- A day after Red Sox center fielder Coco Crisp charged the mound after being hit by Rays right-hander James Shields, the inevitable discipline was handed out by Major League Baseball to various participants in the incident. Of the eight suspensions handed out, three of them were to Red Sox players. All eight of those players also received fines. Crisp got the heaviest penalty, a seven-game suspension that he immediately appealed. In fact, the switch-hitter led off for the Red Sox in Friday night's game against the Seattle Mariners. According to the release issued by Major League Baseball, Crisp's penalty came because of "inappropriate actions and for charging the mound, fighting and inciting the bench-clearing incident." Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester was given a five-game suspension for what MLB ruled was "intentionally throwing" at a Tampa Bay batter after a warning had been issued. Lester hit Carl Crawford in the fifth inning with a curveball, but it's unclear if that's the pitch he was disciplined for. Typically, when a pitcher is believed to have violated a warning, he is immediately ejected. Lester was not. Unlike Crisp, Lester opted not to appeal. The way the Red Sox's schedule breaks, it was easy to see why Lester took the punishment. Because the Red Sox have an off-day on Monday, they can finagle the rotation so that Bartolo Colon can take Lester's regular turn Wednesday on the standard four days of rest. Lester will merely pitch on Thursday night against the Orioles instead of Wednesday. The third Boston player to get punished was first baseman Sean Casey, who received a three-game suspension. Casey's suspension isn't scheduled to start until June 14, so he hasn't decided yet if he will appeal. The reason for his discipline, according to MLB, was "fighting." Shields, who hit Crisp on the right leg, received a six-game suspension. Designated hitter Johnny Gomes, one of the biggest aggressors during the fracas, got a five-game punishment. Rays outfielder Crawford, whom Crisp accused of pulling his hair, got a four-game suspension. Rays second baseman Akinori Iwaumura received three games for fighting. The Red Sox and Rays will next play on June 30 at Tropicana Field. |
| QUOTE (steveox @ Jun 7 2008, 12:03 AM) |
| You see now if that was an Orioles player charged the mound like that they would give him a 8 game suspension. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...756C0A96E958260 8 GAMES!!!! I see double standard here! The day after a nasty bench-clearing brawl between the Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium, Gene Budig, the American League president, yesterday suspended five players involved in the incident, including an eight-game ban for Baltimore's Armando Benitez for intentionally throwing a pitch at the Yankees' Tino Martinez. :angry: |
| QUOTE |
| Budig said that Benitez could have ''seriously injured'' Martinez when he hit him in the back in the eighth inning of New York's 9-5 victory on Tuesday night. The Yankees' star first baseman was not in the starting lineup last night because of a painful back bruise. An X-ray revealed no fractures, but Martinez may not be able to play until this weekend's series against Boston. |