I love the idea of training pitchers to deal appropriately with a batter charging the mound. It's reminiscent of the advice from Crash Davis to Nuke LaLoosh: the first thing Crash does after Nuke belts him in a pool hall is ask which hand the young pitcher used to hit him ("when you get in a fight with a drunk, you don't hit him with your pitching hand!")

Too many pitchers look woefully unprepared for the mound charge, especially when they should half expect it after hitting a guy intentionally. I do wonder: would a quick shuffle of the feet and a stiff jab with the gloved hand be the best tactic for avoiding injury? Taking a guy out at the knees means you're likely to end up at the bottom of a dogpile, and anything can happen to your hands in that kind of mess.

I know it'd be a real wuss out move, but I'd love to see a pitcher just take off toward the outfield and let the infielders deal with the guy. He'd get thrashed by the sports press, but it'd sure be better than getting thrashed by some hulking, surly ballplayer. I mean, c'mon, pitchers are delicate creatures.

Shaggylocks: That was Clemens approach, only he sort of backed off and waited for Posada.

First, aren't these suspensions intended to punish the player and not the team? Second, aren't players suspended without pay? Based on these possibly incorrect assumptions, I think it's perfectly appropriate for a starter's punishment merely to be having his turn in the rotation pushed back a couple of days.

Who cares how a suspension affects a team? I don't think the team is the intended object of the punishment. Why should pitchers bear a greater economic burden than roughly equally culpable hitters?

Pitchers should watch Ryan's headlock on Ventura to at least get an idea of how to approach the mound charging. And for god's sake, throw off your glove and use your non pitching hand! The first post was right - go watch Bull Durham and learn a valuable lesson meat!

When he's no longer a Yankee, maybe we'll see him fight again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw8iF9Zxaz0

Good post King. I saw that punch and knew he was lucky he didn't connect. FYI - the 'boxer's break' is a very real thing. Please people, if you hit someone, get your hand fixed. That one goes pretty high on my list of regrets.

Elbows are pretty durable.

shaggylocks I know it'd be a real wuss out move, but I'd love to see a pitcher just take off toward the outfield and let the infielders deal with the guy.

Here's a Google search for you when you have a minute:

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I never thought about it from this perspective - yes - I suppose this is the rationale MLB uses for not increasing a starting pitcher's punishment. Weighting the punishment for a pitcher to ensure he misses a similar number of appearances as a positional player would mean increasing a the suspension by a factor of 4 or something. This would have an unfair effect on the pitcher's pay.

I would imagine that the MLBPA would fight any attempt to tinker with the current suspension scheme. That said, its still unfair, given that the effect on the teams is not equivalent nor is the effect on starts and appearances when considering performance bonuses.

I think that part of the idea of suspensions is to punish the team; otherwise MLB would allow teams to replace a suspended player on the roster. My previous theory is that MLB thinks that this will encourage managers to act like adults and not create an atmosphere where any of their players does anything to hurt the teams chances of winning. Joe Maddon proves me wrong.

I am not crazy about pitchers getting off easy; after all, they are the ones with the ball in their hands. What if you equalized the salary hit by charging starting pitchers 20% of their pay but making them miss 5 or 6 starts?

I am really not crazy about the third and fourth guy in when a guy is on the ground. The Rays got off easy in that regard. A punk move by a punk team.

Even if it was not smart on the Rays part to continue a beef that should have ended the game before (and truthfully, Coco could have been the bigger man and trotted to first, then stole second and third), Shields at least followed baseball protocol by taking a little off a pitch and hitting Coco in the thigh. Unlike Kyle Farnsworth who either lacks the control to do this or he is severely lacking in basic human empathy. Either way, it must suck to be him or have him on your team.

Crash Davis: Did you hit me with your right hand or did you hit me with your left? Huh? Did you hit me with your right hand or did you hit me with your LEFT?

Ebby Calvin LaLoosh: My left.

Crash Davis: Good! That's good; when you get in a fight with a drunk you don't hit him with your pitching hand. God, I can't keep giving you these free lessons so quit screwin' around and help me up.

Isn't "Bull Durham" required viewing for all entering the Show? If not, it should be.

There is really a guy named Coco Crisp? Insert super obvious cereal joke here.

Kyle Farnsworth, during his time with the Chicago Cubs, tackled Paul Wilson of the Cincinnati Reds in a 2003 melee. I believe he violated the Bull Durham rule once he got Wilson on the ground, but Farnsworth applied his former football skills when he lifted Wilson off his feet, then slammed him down onto the ground.

Sorry, gotta disagree on the best pitcher takedown.

Nolan Ryan, charged by Roberto Alomar (I think), when Nolan was pitching for the Texas Rangers. Alomar was moronic enough to think charging the mound of a baseball icon was a good idea, and felt more moronic when Nolan, who was about twice his age, put him in a headlock like he was a baby steer to be tied.

Maybe not following the Bull Durham rule, but I think Nolan used his left to put him in a headlock, thereby making the punching with his pitching right hand easier, as the target was more stationery.