MLB will suspend Machado for five games. Machado plans to appeal.

[Guest]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Brandon Workman threw a baseball at Longoria and got 6 games; Abad did it and got zero. Machado threw a bat, gets 5 games. Zero consistency.</p>— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) <a href="

">June 10, 2014</a></blockquote>

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[24fps]

There is a method to this. Machado and the O's want him to get through the BOS and TOR games.

No question positioning is part of this.

[Redskins Rick]

Yeah, pitchers throw at batters many times a year. Batters don't throw baseball bats into the field of play because they are angry. There are coaches, players, umps out there. Its reckless and should never happen, its "not a part of baseball" like pitching in.

I get that, reckless, but still 10 games, besides, if you suspend a starting pitcher 10 games, that's really just 2 starts.

[Malike]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Brandon Workman threw a baseball at Longoria and got 6 games; Abad did it and got zero. Machado threw a bat, gets 5 games. Zero consistency.</p>— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) <a href="

">June 10, 2014</a></blockquote>

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Well, pitcher suspensions are done differently then position player suspensions.

[Aristotelian]

Appealing makes his apology look insincere, which it probably was.

I wonder who counseled him to appeal?

Players Association of course. They counsel everyone to appeal because it is not in the interest of the players to set a precedent that they will defer to the league.

[Malike]

I get that, reckless, but still 10 games, besides, if you suspend a starting pitcher 10 games, that's really just 2 starts.

Yeah, I've said it before, I'd be down with pitchers getting suspended by starts, not games. 3 start suspensions, etc.

[Redskins Rick]

Here's my thought.

Abad got nothing, not fair, but it is what it is.

As for Manny, MLB must have looked at the whole three game series, the hard tag, hitting the catcher twice with his back-swing and then the bat.

[Stotle]

What about when it's a reliever like Abad? Tagging him for 5 games means he was probably going to pitch at least twice in those 5 games.

The point is consistency. Suspend one guy for throwing, but not another? Why?

I am not sure. Was Longoria up and in? Could the league see that as more dangerous behavior (and lumped the bat throw into the "more dangerous" classification)? Definitely seems odd on its face.

[Malike]

What about when it's a reliever like Abad? Tagging him for 5 games means he was probably going to pitch at least twice in those 5 games.

The point is consistency. Suspend one guy for throwing, but not another? Why?

If there is no set rule in place, we'll never see consistency. It sucks, but it's the truth when people are left to decide things like this based on their judgment, which might be clouded by a crappy day, or whatever.

[NJBirdfan]

I am not sure. Was Longoria up and in? Could the league see that as more dangerous behavior (and lumped the bat throw into the "more dangerous" classification)? Definitely seems odd on its face.

Keep in mind the target was the knee that was just operated on. I am not defending Manny's suspension, I thought his actions were pathetic, but a pitcher targeting a post -op injury... I think someone really needs to re-think that fine.

[Dipper9]

What about when it's a reliever like Abad? Tagging him for 5 games means he was probably going to pitch at least twice in those 5 games.

The point is consistency. Suspend one guy for throwing, but not another? Why?

I don't, and I mean I REALLY don't, want to start this whole topic over again, but I am going to guess that they took the entire weekend events into play here. Manny started all the antics on Friday, and whether anyone agrees with Manny or not that it was a "hard tag" the point is he nearly started a brawl for a tag on the baselines. Then he threw his helmet and bat on Saturday after the called strike, an incident that can get you ejected for that alone. Then the double backswing to the head of Norris without as much as a "sorry dude." Finally the A's retaliated at the end of the three game series.

That's my opinion, that they took everything into consideration, they came to the conclusion that Manny was the cause of two near brawls and all of the commotion, and that Abad's actions were bad and finable, but he was only reacting to what Manny had caused.

[Malike]

Keep in mind the target was the knee that was just operated on. I am not defending Manny's suspension, I thought his actions were pathetic, but a pitcher targeting a post -op injury... I think someone really needs to re-think that fine.

Could have been aiming for the thigh, I doubt they wanted to end Manny's career by pinpointing his knee, which if its surgically repaired, and he's been cleared to play 100%, do we have any evidence that if a ball hits him there, its game over for him? I was under the impression that it wasn't his knee cap which was broken, but a tendon or ligament. Not sure if a player ever had a ligament or tendon broken by getting hit by a baseball, but if there is evidence of that, I'd be very interested to read about it.

[oriolesacox]

Could have been aiming for the thigh, I doubt they wanted to end Manny's career by pinpointing his knee, which if its surgically repaired, and he's been cleared to play 100%, do we have any evidence that if a ball hits him there, its game over for him? I was under the impression that it wasn't his knee cap which was broken, but a tendon or ligament. Not sure if a player ever had a ligament or tendon broken by getting hit by a baseball, but if there is evidence of that, I'd be very interested to read about it.

Even if the target is the thigh, it's still plenty dangerous... What if manny contorts his leg to avoid the ball and injures himself? Or Abad just misses and hits the knee or lower? Manny deserves his suspension but Abad is guilty also. Let's beat the Sox.

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[LoyalBirdFan]

I'm not sure I agree with just one suspension being handed out, but I don't think MM should appeal it. Take it and get it over with.

[Stotle]

Keep in mind the target was the knee that was just operated on. I am not defending Manny's suspension, I thought his actions were pathetic, but a pitcher targeting a post -op injury... I think someone really needs to re-think that fine.

it's either healthy or it's not. I understand the point, but I'm not sure there should be precedent set that a player with a past injury is a "protected class".