Blame Florida Acrimony on Athlete Entitlement

Many people look down on professional athletes for the money they make.

How often do you hear the phrase "He isn't worth that much money," or "Why can't we pay teachers, but (insert name here) can make $100 million?"

Reality is that most sports fans are smart enough to understand the business of sports. They know that players are going to make money because the owners are making it, and they're going to make more money as owners continue to find ways to rake in more dollars.

Fans don't really ask much in return for the big money. They want players to be accessible whenever it's reasonable to expect that, and they want the players to give 100 percent every time they're on the field.

A 162-game baseball season is quite a grind. It can become a real bear if you're playing for a non-contending team. While the Florida Marlins are a decent club, they're not really considered a threat in the NL East.

Shortstop Hanley Ramirez is one of the better young players in the game. He signed a six-year, $70 million contract in 2008, so he's stuck in Miami for a while, unless he can find a way out.

Of course, behavior like what we saw Monday might be his ticket.

After taking a foul ball off the shin, Ramirez had a ready-made excuse for half-assing a play in the field. Manager Fredi Gonzalez, incensed that his best player would do such a thing, took him out of the game.

Last year's NL batting champion, Ramirez committed a costly error in the second inning after Tony Abreu's looper dropped near him in short left field. The star shortstop accidentally kicked the ball about 100 feet toward the left-field corner and loafed after it, allowing two runners to score as Abreu advanced to third.

Ramirez, who eventually retrieved the ball, was replaced by Brian Barden the next inning. After the game, Gonzalez confirmed that Ramirez was pulled for not hustling.

Ramirez also was shaken up after fouling Edwin Jackson's pitch off his left shin in the first inning and was tended to by a trainer. Moments later, he bounced into an inning-ending double play.

"Hanley left the game because we felt -- he got smoked in the ankle -- but we felt whether he was hurt or not hurt or whatever it was, we felt that the effort wasn't there that we wanted," Gonzalez said. "There's 24 guys out there that are busting their butts. Cody Ross got hit with a ball 95 mph and it wasn't hit or thrown any slower and he stayed in the game making diving plays and battling, got two hits and an RBI.

"There are some injuries there, but we expect an effort from 25 guys on this team and when that doesn't happen, we have got to do something," he added.

Ramirez was not available for comment after Florida's 5-1 loss, which snapped a four-game winning streak.

"They don't leave the game without my permission, so I told him he needed to go inside and we are going to run Barden out there, who has a sprained ankle by the way, and he battled for eight innings in there with a sprained ankle probably killing him, but that's the effort we're looking at as an organization, as a team, and that's that," Gonzalez said.

Are you hurt? If so, and that's the best you can do trying save your team some runs, then you need to come out of the game. It's for your own good, and it's for the good of your team.

However, it seems that Ramirez was either dogging it to dog it, or he felt he could get away with it because he hit himself in the leg and appeared to be dinged up.

Either way, that's not cool. Too many people are paying good money to watch you play on a patch of grass. If you're hurt, come out of the game, get treatment, and let someone else who can go 100 percent take your position.

This is especially true when you're Hanley Ramirez, because it's not like you're going to lose your job by coming out of the game.

Oh, and when you do pull a stunt like this, at least have the decency not to bus-chuck everyone around you in response.

"It's his team. He can do whatever he [expletive] wants," Ramirez, referring to his benching, told reporters Tuesday.

... Ramirez said he didn't see the need to apologize to the team.

"We got a lot of people dogging it after ground balls. They don't apologize," Ramirez told reporters, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Ramirez might have a point: The team's 36 errors in 39 games lead the major leagues.

Earlier Tuesday, Wes Helms said that Ramirez needed to lead by example.

"A lot of guys, coaches, staff have told Hanley. With his talent, he definitely needs to be the leader of this team," Helms told reporters, according to MLB.com. "Mentally. Vocally. Everything. For me, to be a leader of the team, you have to lead by example. If you just lead vocally, and don't back it, I'm not saying you have to hit .300, it's the way you handle yourself. That's the way a true leader is. He definitely has the play to be a leader. But you want him to lead by example. It's what you're looking for."

... Ramirez said he wasn't giving up on the play, but his injury limited him.

"I wasn't trying to give up," Ramirez said, according to MLB.com. "That was the hardest I could go after the ball."

Ramirez took a shot at his manager on Tuesday for removing him from the game.

"That's OK. He doesn't understand that. He never played in the big leagues," Ramirez said, according to the Post.

Sounds like Helms is more of a leader than Ramirez is. Perhaps Ramirez should worry more about the other 24 guys on his team, and less about himself.

Then again, what does he have to worry about? Baseball contracts are guaranteed, meaning Ramirez is going to make $70 million between 2008 and 2014. It doesn't matter how much of a jerk he might be, or who he plays for. That's going to be what he makes. Like it or not.

Such entitlement is dangerous for some people. Ramirez knows he's being paid like a star, and no matter what Gonzalez says about everyone being expected to play hard and every player being a Florida Marlin and no different from one another, there is a difference. Ramirez expects to get away with this because he's a star, and because he believes his team can't afford to bench him.

It's the thinking you leave a guy with when you pay him that kind of money on a team with such a low total payroll. While Ramirez is ultimately to blame for his attitude, one has to wonder how much of this is his fault, and how much is simply human nature.

After all, if you're paid like a superstar, and generally treated like a superstar, and you usually play like a superstar, how do you stop yourself from thinking you have earned some sort of special treatment?

And how mad are you going to be when you realize you don't always get it?

Report: Roethlisberger Suspended 4-6 Games, With Conditions

The controversy surrounding Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's alleged bathroom behavior in Georgia a while back has come to a head.

The star will be suspended four to six games by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, according to a report by ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

Roethlisberger's behavior has been the source of much talk in NFL circles in recent weeks. FOX analyst Terry Bradshaw, a decorated and popular former Pittsburgh quarterback, called "Big Ben" out for, well, basically being a hard-headed jackass.

While it was initially unclear if the league would take action, it began to come into focus after a meeting between Roethlisberger and Goodell last week. The commish acknowledged publicly that Roethlisberger -- in his view -- had violated the NFL's personal conduct policy. He came to this finding despite the fact that Roethlisberger wasn't charged in this incident, and nothing has come of allegations of a sexual assault in Nevada, either.

The finding of Goodell -- for better or worse -- was that Roethlisberger's behavior put him in bad situations, and he was responsible for the fact he was in a position to have these accusations placed against him.

This adds more teeth to the NFL's personal conduct policy, something colleague Clay Travis wrote on last week.

Effectively the league would be punishing a player for the violation of an amorphous and arbitrary morals element to the personal conduct policy. And while you or I can agree or disagree on whether the allegations against Roethlisberger -- given that he was never arrested or charged -- are serious enough to merit a suspension, hardly anyone would be able to determine where the league draws the line on what is moral under the personal conduct policy and what isn't.

Clay went on to point out that this policy might not even be legal.

The policy also hasn't been challenged because, from an individual player perspective, taking the punishment without running to court probably makes sense.

Why?

Because the legal system might well take longer to render a verdict in your favor than it will take to simply serve your suspension. If you run to court there's an appearance that you're avoiding taking responsibility for your own actions. So you aren't incentivized to challenge the system and anger the man, Goodell, and the league, the NFL, who controls your ability to reenter gainful employment.

But, trust me, the legality of the personal conduct policy is tenuous at best. Especially because the NFL unilaterally adopted the personal conduct policy without the NFLPA's approval and outside the protective sphere of the collective bargaining agreement.

That makes the NFLPA's failure to attack the personal conduct policy a complete failure of the league's union and a reflection of the fear the player's union feels in allying itself with the weakest, and most easily condemned, members of its union.

Mortensen tweeted that he doesn't expect Roethlisberger to initiate an appeal of his suspension from the player's union. He added that Big Ben didn't invite the union to his hearing with Goodell last week.

If the player doesn't initiate the appeal, the union can do nothing but allow the player to serve his punishment.

It sounds like Roethlisberger is taking this like a man, which he should be (sort of) applauded for. He could have protested and made this a very painful process. Instead, for whatever reason, he is going to try to move on and -- hopefully -- grow up.

For those protesting, remember that there is a lot of uncertainty. We don't know the facts of the case. We don't know what the commissioner found out from Roethlisberger during their meeting. We don't know what all the circumstances of the decision not to charge him with a crime.

The commissioner likely knows more than we do, and he knows more than he will ever lay out publicly.

Reality is that the policy will be questioned, but it's got more punch to it now than it ever did before.

Prince Fielder Deserves Lengthy Suspension for Clubhouse Charge

It's not often that Major League Baseball gets disciplinary matters right. Their system is dilapidated and often ridiculous, with too-short suspensions delayed by appeals, often until it's more convenient for the suspended player to take the punishment.

Such is the case this week, as the powers-that-be have inexplicably ignored what could have been a major off-the-field incident involving a star player.

Tuesday night, the Milwaukee Brewers did something that their fans have become accustomed to as of late. They got absolutely thrashed, 17-4, by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In the seventh inning, Brewers "pitcher" Chris Smith plunked Manny Ramirez of the Dodgers with a pitch up high (not as high as the head, but high). The Dodgers led the game 12-3 at the time, but according to reports, no one at the game with a functioning brain really thought it was on purpose. At that point in a blowout, the losing team is more concerned with getting out of the game and using as few pitchers as possible.

(Especially when you're the Brewers, and most of the pitchers you have barely qualify as major-league caliber.)

In the ninth, with the score 17-4, Dodgers pitcher and former Brewers gas can Guillermo Mota flung a pitch way inside on Brewers slugger Prince Fielder. Fielder stared a hole through Mota, who was immediately ejected, but Fielder didn't charge the mound.

He saved his charging for after the game.



This isn't about being for or against emotion in baseball. It obviously has a place in the game, and it's okay for players to display it however they feel is appropriate.

There should be agreement, however, that charging toward the opposing team's clubhouse in an effort to deal with an on-field dispute goes beyond inappropriate. Fielder was dead-wrong to react the way he did, even in a sport where players feel it's necessary to throw baseballs at each other until umpires stop them.

Since they're fully aware that missing five of 162 games is not a good punishment, but is the best baseball has to offer, guys are usually content with this form of justice.

After Tuesday's incident, Fielder played dumb about things, and both sides defended their on-field behavior. The Brewers claimed they weren't targeting Ramirez (why would they when it's 12-3 in the seventh inning?), and the Dodgers didn't hide from the fact that Mota chucked one at Fielder.

"We don’t want the same scenario as in last year’s playoffs where the Phillies tried to intimidate us by throwing at Manny and we didn’t really retaliate," Martin said. "We don’t want to be considered as a team that doesn’t have our players’ backs. It’s about keeping the team unified and pulling the wagon altogether."

Despite the obvious evidence (video) of Fielder's behavior, and the Dodgers' implicit admission that they indeed had Mota throw at him, baseball has again reacted with incredible stupidity.

None of the parties involved will be suspended.

That's right.

No ban for Dodgers manager Joe Torre. None for the pitcher Torre sent out for the ninth inning, who obviously threw at an opposing hitter after teams were ordered not to engage in such behavior. None for the catcher who called for the pitch, and admitted afterward to a need to "protect" Ramirez.

(It's broken logic, really, because Fielder had nothing to do with Ramirez getting hit by a pitch.)

More inexplicably, none for Fielder, who tried to charge into the Dodgers' clubhouse after the game, only to be held back by security and level-headed teammates. Thank goodness for that, because it doesn't seem that Fielder was going in there for tea and fellowship.

There will come a day where fans can better understand decisions like this. There's no telling what the explanation would be if anyone asked a baseball official about this one. What can be promised, however, is that there is a 100 percent chance that explanation will not be good enough.

Fielder should be sitting, and it shouldn't be for a game or two. All baseball has done is encourage guys to settle disputes like this the wrong way. Then again, their disciplinary system has been doing that for many years, and it doesn't appear anyone is willing to change it.

UPDATE: HT to Tom Haudricourt, who notes that benches were not warned after Ramirez was plunked. Still, duh.

Current, Former North Dakota Hockey Players Arrested

People who like to rip on North Dakota (not me!) often bring up the idea that there simply isn't much to do there. The nightlife in Grand Forks and Fargo simply isn't considered vibrant enough for some, and while that's understandable, the quieter way of living can be attractive to some folks.

Anyway, I'm babbling. I tend to like visiting Grand Forks because it's such a great college sports town, and the North Dakota hockey team is usually the headliner.

On this day, they're a headliner for the wrong reasons, as former Sioux defenseman Joe Finley and current forward Matt Frattin were arrested early Tuesday morning for creating quite a ruckus outside a Grand Forks home.

A former UND hockey player and a current one were arrested about 3 a.m. Tuesday after a campus officer saw the men throwing cups, plates, a kitchen table and a lawnmower onto a Grand Forks street, UND Police Lt. Dan Lund said.

Joe Finley, 22, and Matt Frattin, 21, are both charged with disorderly conduct. In addition, Frattin faces a fleeing charge and Finley faces a charge of giving false information to officers. All the charges are misdemeanors.

Lund said Finley and Frattin were throwing objects from a residential garage on the 400 block of North Columbia Road, where one of the two men lives.

“It was their own property, so there was nobody’s property that was damaged other than their own,” Lund said. “They said they just kind of routinely destroy each other’s stuff.”

However, the pair managed to make a mess.

“There was glass from curb to curb from the dinnerware that they threw,” Lund said.

Um, OK.

But, wait. There's more.

When first approached by police, Lund said, Finley ran around a house but stopped when officers told him to. Frattin ran into a home, not stopping when instructed to, and was consequently charged with fleeing, Lund said.

Police said Finley showed them a credit card with someone else’s name on it. When asked if his name was the one on the card, Finley said it was, Lund said. At the jail Finley gave his real name.

Police said Finley told them somebody else gave him the credit card. Lund said police think the credit card belongs to a friend of Finley, but the matter is still under investigation.

I'm all for partying it up with friends, but this is further proof that nothing good ever happens after 1am. Just go to bed.