I would assume that the suspension is the same as has been handed out for similar cases before. You can't just arbitrarily start jacking up the penalties without some sort of advance notice.Originally Posted by FredLynn
I would assume that the suspension is the same as has been handed out for similar cases before. You can't just arbitrarily start jacking up the penalties without some sort of advance notice.
MLB did not penalize Machado, who made the slide that presumably triggered the retaliation by Barnes. Most sports news commentators (if not all) have agreed with the MLB decision.
What Barnes did was clearly intentional--he meant to hit Machado (but missed him). Machado did make a hard slide into 2B, but it was clearly intended to beat the throw from Bogaerts and almost did. When it happened, Machado gave every indication that the spiking was unintended--and that's exactly the way Pedroia saw it and said so.
Pedroia's toughness in my opinion is beyond question. if he thinks the spiking was no big deal, that's what it was. Farrell and Barnes were wrong to retaliate.
First let's see if the O's throw at one of our guys in the upcoming series.
That would come off even more foolish. Barnes and Eddie had one job, they flunked. Move on.
The league can't do it. But the Red Sox management can impose further penalties if they have the guts to do so. Bottom line is this: you do not throw at a guys head. If you miss location IMO you should pay dearly for your mistake. Four game is not "dearly"....most of those games Barnes would not even have appeared more than likely. So its what-two games of participation he is missing?
The entire affair is painted in fail.
"Hating the Yankees like it's a religion since 94'" RIP Mike.
"It's also a simple and indisputable fact that WAR isn't the be-all end-all in valuations, especially in real life. Wanna know why? Because an ace in run-prevention for 120 innings means more often than not, a sub-standard pitcher covering for the rest of the IP that pitcher fails to provide. You can't see value in a vacuum when a player does not provide full-time production."
IMHO you're confusing throwing AT someone's head with a ball getting away from a pitcher and going near the head. If I thought for an instant that Barnes was throwing AT Michado's head I'd support what you're saying - but I don't. And that's JMO.
I think the 4 games is appropriate because it's probably twice what a starter gets for the same thing. MLB likes to give starters a 5 game suspension for throwing at a batter or essentially one start. In the case of Barnes as a reliever it's not known how many appearances he's missing but my guess is that it's more than one.
It's a mere moment in a man's life between the All-Star game and the Old Timer's game.
-Vin Scully
So what - you think Barnes was acting totally on his own and that Farrell had nothing to do with it?
A few points: 1- Common sense would indicate that Farrell wanted Machado drilled. 2- Pedroia is taking heat for his comments , but can you blame him for not wanting to be associated with throwing at a guy's head. 3- How much do we know about Barnes ? What kind of a guy is he ? 4- The right thing to do would have been to retaliate the next time Machado came to the plate. Drill him in the ribs. Warnings would then be issued and that should have been the end of it. 5- The idea that they couldn't do that because Wright is a knuckleballer is ridiculous. He certainly has a good enough fastball to get the point across. 6- While the Sox certainly needed to retaliate , the whole thing was not handled properly. And that has to be on Farrell.
It doesn't matter where he aimed. The execution is the determinant. Also, it should have ended with ERod. ERod tried to drill him low and ended up walking him. If you're going to drill a guy, it's easiest to aim for his hip or lower back. Once you start riding higher, you're risking a fight.
I don't think he was throwing at his head either. I think he made a mistake. But this is the kind of mistake that you should pay dearly for....like drunk driving, spousal abuse etc. There is the potential for great bodily harm. Fortunately Machado escaped without being hit at all, but it could have been much worse. Barnes is not paying heavily enough for what he did.
I don't think its relevant, but I am quite sure Farrell had something to do with throwing at Machado. Just not at his head. Barnes made a mistake you cannot make. Throw it in the dirt behind him if you have to. That would have gotten the message across much more effectively.
You believe Barnes was told or was aiming for the head of Machado? The guy could not even find the plate over half of his pitches.
As I wrote many times, I think that he was either told to throw at Machado or at the very least he was given the green light by Farrell-just not at his head. He missed. You cannot miss there. Ever. Or you should pay very dearly. What would have happened if it turned out differently, if he actually hit Machado and ended his career? Is four games enough now?
When was the last time a career ended after a hitter was hit in the head?
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