Jorge Julio And the AL East Race

[Crash Course]

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=mlb/news/aan3485165.htm

should Julio be suspended for the rest of the year, or, because Baltimore plays NY and Boston so much, does the pennant race factor into him losing time?

[TimmyB]

Why on earth would he be suspended for the rest of the season? :rolleyes:

[KCBOOMER]

You want a 25 game suspension for missing a guy?? Seems a little severe.

[RedSeat]

The penalty should not take the division race into account, but it should not be anything close to 25 games.

[Crash Course]

FWIW, the guys on BBTN suggested that he be shut down for the year - given that he threw a 98 MPH heater right at the guys head, after allowing the HR.

As far as the race, that's my idea. Julio played a big part in beating the Yankees in NY last series. Taking him out now seems to be an advantage for the Sox. Or, is that just the breaks?

[TimmyB]

Okay... there's the first mistake... listening to the guys on BBTN... :D

[RichG]

Has there been previous times when a pitcher was suspended for 24 or so games for this type of ejection?

If not, why should it be done this time?

[Crash Course]

Dunno. For some reason, the BBTN gang was really hot over this one.

[KCBOOMER]

Dunno. For some reason, the BBTN gang was really hot over this one.


Wasn't it just Kruk who was on one of his inane rants??

[Crash Course]

Harold said get him out for the rest of the year too, IIRC.

[Crash Course]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1878967

He should hire Trot Nixon to represent him in his appeal.
It's official, I now hate the BS "appeal" move more than fake grass and late starting WS games.

He saves a game vs. NY tonight. These guys picking spots is incredible.

FWIW, I blame MLB and not the players or the MLBPA. If a guy wants to appeal, it should be done the minute the suspension is announced. Let the guy talk on his cell phone, if he has too. State your case now. Not 3 weeks from now.

[mainsr]

It's official, I now hate the BS "appeal" move more than fake grass and late starting WS games.

On behalf of those of us who get up in the morning when most of the rest of youse are still asleep, I'll take the appeals over the late WS starts.

Not that this is a constitutionally protected process, but there is a due process issue if you force appeals right away. I think players legitimately need to review the basis for a suspension before knowing whether it makes sense to file an appeal. If you were to respond, "Oh come on, it's a delaying tactic, they appeal all the time just to do it," I won't put up an argument, although I think there have been some cases (e.g., Sosa's bat-corking) that weren't appealed because they were so egregious.

[hopbitters]

Not that this is a constitutionally protected process, but there is a due process issue if you force appeals right away. I think players legitimately need to review the basis for a suspension before knowing whether it makes sense to file an appeal. If you were to respond, "Oh come on, it's a delaying tactic, they appeal all the time just to do it," I won't put up an argument, although I think there have been some cases (e.g., Sosa's bat-corking) that weren't appealed because they were so egregious.

What is there to review? A minimum of several thousand people watched the players' actions. It was likely recorded by 6+ cameras. The only issues are intent and provocation and, consequently, the defense typically amounts to "it slipped" or "but Ma, he started it". Look at the tape, talk to the players, dust off the rule book so you can know what you're ignoring, and then make the same arbitrary ruling that you intended from the start. We're not talking about judges and jury of anybody's peers here. It's MLB and it doesn't take three weeks to shrug.

[mainsr]

No, I'm not talking about MLB's delay. I'm talking about the delay in filing the appeal. The player could plausibly say, "Look, I was on the road, my attorney was on vaca--we haven't even seen the Commissioner's Office's ruling, much less had a chance to decide whether to file an appeal." Yes, in most--maybe all--cases, that's total BS, but one could conceivably imagine a case where it isn't.

[Crash Course]

The eye in the sky does not lie.
In a day and age where there's film on every game, these things should be able to be handled more timely.

[Deep Blue]

Julio definitely should have started serving his suspension a couple of days ago..... There is no excuse for this blatant favoritism by the league office ;)

[Crash Course]

Maybe he had his appeal on his mind yesterday? ;)

[KCBOOMER]

Yeah, god forbid we hold the MLBPA accountable to any degree for something they negotiated. And, of course, Lugo is the first player to have thought to file an appeal to a suspension when an important series is coming up.

I am flabbergasted that that certain persons could complain about this.