Single A Brawl

[mdterps4life25]

http://sports.espn.go.com/minorlbb/news/story?id=3504480

Anybody see the video of this yet? What an idiotic thing to do..I bet the flamethrower does some time for that. Wtf was he thinking??

[Tony-OH]

http://sports.espn.go.com/minorlbb/news/story?id=3504480

Anybody see the video of this yet? What an idiotic thing to do..I bet the flamethrower does some time for that. Wtf was he thinking??

The pitcher who threw the ball was Julio Castillo and he sent a fan to the hospital. He was rightfully arrested and charged with one count of felonious assault. He is in the Montgomery County Jail and has a court appearance Friday.

If I were the Cubs, I'd immediately release this idiot. Besides the fact that only a coward throws baseball or bats in a brawl, but he earlier threw at a guys head. It's apparent that this idiot can not control his emotions and there's no place in baseball for this kind of individual.

After he's convicted, he should serve his time and then be deported.

[ScottieBaseball]

The pitcher who threw the ball was Julio Castillo and he sent a fan to the hospital. He was rightfully arrested and charged with one count of felonious assault. He is in the Montgomery County Jail and has a court appearance Friday.

If I were the Cubs, I'd immediately release this idiot. Besides the fact that only a coward throws baseball or bats in a brawl, but he earlier threw at a guys head. It's apparent that this idiot can not control his emotions and there's no place in baseball for this kind of individual.

After he's convicted, he should serve his time and then be deported.

That was the most chickenscratch thing I've ever seen on a baseball field. Inexcusable.

[Moose Milligan]

Wow, I've never seen anyone throw a ball in the middle of a brawl before. Looks like he really wound up and chucked it, too. Hopefully the fan is alright.

Agree with Tony, he should be released. Stupid thing to do.

[Mad Mark]

The pitcher who threw the ball was Julio Castillo and he sent a fan to the hospital. He was rightfully arrested and charged with one count of felonious assault. He is in the Montgomery County Jail and has a court appearance Friday.

If I were the Cubs, I'd immediately release this idiot. Besides the fact that only a coward throws baseball or bats in a brawl, but he earlier threw at a guys head. It's apparent that this idiot can not control his emotions and there's no place in baseball for this kind of individual.

After he's convicted, he should serve his time and then be deported.

Apparently, he can't controll his pitches, either...as he was allegedly aiming for the opposing team's dugout. What a maroon.

[GeorgiaBird]

I'll go a step forward. MLB needs to think about a lifetime ban. I believe in second chances and if he earns it a chance for eventual reinstatement, but in terms of preserving the sanctity of the game this guy needs to be off of the baseball diamond. There are some things you just do not do.

[Camden_yardbird]

I'll go a step forward. MLB needs to think about a lifetime ban. I believe in second chances and if he earns it a chance for eventual reinstatement, but in terms of preserving the sanctity of the game this guy needs to be off of the baseball diamond. There are some things you just do not do.

I believe in second chances too, and I think was one of the weakest things I have ever seen on a baseball field, but I also think that there needs to be consistency. You cannot treat your stars any differently than you treat any other player and this situation is very analgous to the Delmon Young situation. Therefore I think the punishment has to be very similar.

[scOtt]

That was the most chickenscratch thing I've ever seen on a baseball field. Inexcusable.

It definitely is! But at least it makes the slightest amount of sense now. I read the Sun pick-up of the article, and wondered, why in the world would he throw into the crowd? Throwing into the dugout at least offers a (still despicable) reason...

[scOtt]

I believe in second chances too, and I think was one of the weakest things I have ever seen on a baseball field, but I also think that there needs to be consistency. You cannot treat your stars any differently than you treat any other player and this situation is very analgous to the Delmon Young situation. Therefore I think the punishment has to be very similar.

I am The Vice Chancellor of Vice and Second Chances... and I vote nfw.

[itsernst]

Apparently, he can't controll his pitches, either...as he was allegedly aiming for the opposing team's dugout. What a maroon.

Exactly what I was thinking, a dugout is like 8 feet high and 40 feet long and you cannot even get it close to that? That is awful.

[GeorgiaBird]

I believe in second chances too, and I think was one of the weakest things I have ever seen on a baseball field, but I also think that there needs to be consistency. You cannot treat your stars any differently than you treat any other player and this situation is very analgous to the Delmon Young situation. Therefore I think the punishment has to be very similar.

As bad as it was to throw an object at an umpire, at least that umpire is on the field of play. The guy might have been trying to throw into the dugout (or he could have been throwing at a heckling fan and is now trying to CYA), but either way for me as soon as you bring the fans into it you crossed a line that Young did not cross. For me, a more severe punishment is required. MLB might stop short of a ban, but I would hope he gets something longer than Young did.

[Boy Howdy]

Apparently, Castillo was throwing the ball into the dugout and it deflected into the crowd.

25 years ago or, so I remember a brawl in a Braves-Reds game where Cincinnati pitcher Mario Soto fired a ball into a crowd of players and hit an umpire in the ankle. (He was trying to hit Atlanta's Claudell Washington). Can't recall the specfic punishment, but it couldn't have been more than a fine and a couple missed starts.

Pascual Perez also threw a ball into the Dodgers dugout early in his career. Wasn't even suspended as I recall, though nobody got hit.

Not defending Castillo here, but I think convicting him of a felony (which would end his USA baseball career) and having him serve time is an overeaction stemming from what one of my old-school journalism professors called the "Oprah-ization of society". Or as Whitey Herzog said when they started cracking down on pitching inside in the '80's, "they might as well start making players wear skirts".

The fact that Castillo's 3-7 with a 4.79 ERA in four professional seasons, with more walks than K's and over a hit per inning pitched while never rising above A-ball will get him out of the pro game a lot sooner than the court system.

[Camden_yardbird]

What did that texas pitcher get a few years back when he threw a chair into the seats? That and the young suspension should give a good indication of a fair punishment.

[Boy Howdy]

What did that texas pitcher get a few years back when he threw a chair into the seats? That and the young suspension should give a good indication of a fair punishment.

The Frank Francisco incident took place in mid-September 2004, and he was suspended for the last few weeks of the season.

He then missed the following season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but worked his way back to the majors in late-2006. He currently has a 3.40 ERA in 35 appearances for the Rangers this season with 48 K's in 39 2/3 IP.

[Migrant Redbird]

What's the difference between this and Earl Weaver kicking dirt onto an umpire's feet, except for a matter of degree? Both are immature behavior by nominal "adults", which ought to be condemned by all responsible fans.

Note that the Cubs' team manager, Ryne Sandburg, was already serving a 3 game suspension for a previous altercation. In his absence, it was his substitute who allowed this situation to get out of control

This suggests that the entire Cubs organization may need to reconsider what values they ought to be valuing in their players. Pitchers like Carlos Zambrano and Kerry Wood have had a head hunting reputation for years. It was just a few years ago that a Cubs prospect, Wichita State pitcher Ben Christensen, permanently injured an Evansville batter who was in the on deck circle (link), yet the Cubs still brought Christensen into their organization and retained him until an arm injury forced him out of baseball. Christensen's 5-year minor league record.

I don't believe a lifetime ban is appropriate, but I do believe the attitudes toward immature behavior throughout baseball organizations ought to be reassessed. I've proposed before that hitters who charge the pitching mound ought to be given an automatic 10 game suspension, while pitchers should bear some of the career risk which now falls almost entirely on the hitters they victimize. That's why I think pitchers should be suspended when they hit a batter, for the length of time that the batter is on the DL, if the errant pitch traversed the batters box or went behind it. The suspension would only be until the batter was medically cleared by an MLB panel of orthopedic and/or neurosurgeons to resume batting practice and would not include the batter's rehab time, nor would it extend more than 1 season.

This way, pitchers would be able to throw at batters all they wanted, provided that they were willing to accept the risk of sharing the consequences with an injured batter. Umpires would no longer have to attempt to divine the pitcher's intent.