Stupid Suspensions

Upon hearing that Clemens was suspended 5 games for hitting Alex Rios in the back the other day, I wasn't terribly surprised but nonetheless irritated. Josh Towers (who hit A-Rod) and Jesse Litsch (who threw behind him) did not get ejected from their games, but you would have to be a complete fool to think that they were not throwing at Rodriguez. After Towers hit A-Rod on Tuesday, warnings were issued, and then Clemens preceded to drill Alex Rios in the back, as he should have. In baseball, its almost standard procedure to hit the opposing team's star player if they hit/throw at yours. As a result, Clemens got suspended 5 games. Rightful punishment? I think not. Apparently the umpires did not have enough foresight after the Litsch incident on Monday to issue warnings or at least say 'hey, if it looks like you're throwing at A-Rod, you're outta here' prior to Tuesday's game. Clemens was virtually forced to police the situation himself by throwing at Rios, sending a clear message to his former team to cut the crap. Since the umpires weren't working to protect and defend A-Rod, Clemens made sure to do so himself.

The Jays were downright petty by throwing at A-Rod for something that happened at the end of May. The incident I'm referring to of course is when he ran behind the Toronto 3B and yelled "mine," causing him to drop it. The Jays came into the Bronx a couple of weeks ago but they were too scared to do anything about it then, probably because they know they would have a difficult time getting out of the Stadium alive. Instead, the Jays waited to get back in their yard to act like immature little leaguers. The thing that really gets me too is how Joe Torre gets suspended for a game. I know it is common to do that in these situations but I feel its really stupid to suspend the manager when his pitcher is defending a teammate.

Basically my point is, common sense and logic should be used when dishing out suspensions. The reason Clemens got the suspension was because he threw at somebody after warnings were issued but Towers and Litsch are just as, if not more guilty. Either suspend them all, or don't suspend any of them. Kudos to Roger for sticking up for a teammate as he did.