Braves Pitcher Wins Appeal After Throwing at Prince Fielder

Baseball's system for appealing suspensions is pretty stupid. Players can keep playing for what can sometimes be weeks while Major League Baseball drags their feet on hearing an appeal. Rarely are suspensions revoked completely, though they often will reduce the time a player has to sit out.

In the case of Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Jonny Venters, it seemed like a pretty simple case. Venters was involved in an incident July 17 against the Milwaukee Brewers. I'd show you video, but Major League Baseball thinks it's still 1954, and they won't allow people to embed game video.

To sum it up, Venters apparently got confused, thinking that home plate doubled as Prince Fielder's backside. The first pitch went over his head, and the second one hit him in the back.

Did I mention that it was 6-3 at the time in favor of the Brewers, and they had been knocking the Braves around for a couple straight nights?

Baseball initially decided this was intentional, and they suspended Venters for four games. Upon further review, there was apparently nothing wrong with Venters' behavior.

In what could be one of the dumbest things MLB has done in years, Venters' suspension was revoked Friday.

Gone.

Not reduced.

Gone.

From four games to zero.

Why?

It’s common for suspensions to be reduced, but not thrown out entirely. The decision came from John McHale Jr., Major League Baseball’s executive vice president of administration. Manager Bobby Cox, who participated in Tuesday’s hearing, was thrilled with the ruling.

“It was not intentional,” he said of the incident with Fielder. “It was completely accidental.”

During the 90-minute hearing., Venters and several Braves officials spoke, including general manager Frank Wren, Cox and pitching coach Roger McDowell.

“I just kind of explained what happened,” Venters said, “that I understood why we were there, how it looked, but that I’m not that kind of player. Guys who know me know I’m not that kind of player.”

The team’s video coordinator showed other errant pitches Venters threw this season, in situations where there would clearly have been no intent to throw at batters. Cox said Venters had hit more than 30 batters in his pro career, all but one left-handed (Fielder bats left-handed).

“That’s just the way I miss, the way the ball [travels],” Venters said.

Venters and Cox were both ejected after Venters hit Fielder in the back with a sinking fastball in the eighth inning. The ejections came after the home-plate umpire issued a warning following the pitch before, a slider over Fielder’s head.

This should serve as a lesson for pitchers all over baseball.

If you want to get away with throwing at hitters, simply fling a few wild pitches here and there, then loop some video of them together when you get in trouble.

Baseball's brass actually believes Venters happened to miss high and tight with consecutive pitches ... and it happened to be against one of the opponent's best power hitters, who had happened to hit a bomb in his previous at-bat.

It's a joke.

We saluted Brewers manager Ken Macha for finally getting pissed off enough to say something last week, but this is one of those moments where we wish we still had Ned Yost to kick around. No way Ned allows his guys to be thrown at as much as Fielder and Rickie Weeks have been this season. It's ridiculous that they get plunked this much, but it's even worse that it took so long for Macha to finally take his frustration public.

What's even more ridiculous is that baseball continues to make mind-boggling decisions that fly against player safety.

Want to throw at hitters' heads? Go ahead, as long as you've been wild before, so your video guy can spend way too much time putting together a defense tape.

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?

The Overwhelming Favorites: 2010 National League East Preview

If the pundits are to be believed, the NL East might as well cancel the season. The Atlanta Braves might have a nice team, but they can't hold a candle to the mighty Philadelphia Phillies. Neither can the Marlins, Mets, or Nationals.

That might sound extreme, but it's not that far off the map. The Phillies are a very good team, one that is capable of dominating this division, no matter how improved it is.

The big question surrounding the Phils is whether or not they can continue to avoid being crippled by injuries. This year, it seems that the injury bug is starting out on their bullpen, but they were a really good team last year despite having a shaky bullpen. Now, that shaky bullpen isn't healthy. Should be interesting to see how it plays out.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
1. Philadelphia
2. Atlanta
3. Florida
4. N.Y. Mets
5. Washington

The juggernaut: Yeah, the Phils have some issues in their bullpen, but it can't be much worse than it was last year, when closer Brad Lidge had a 7.21 ERA and allowed 72 hits in less than 59 innings. Still, Philadelphia won 93 games and made the World Series. The rotation is bolstered by the addition of Roy Halladay (Cliff Lee threw a ton of innings last year, and it's probably a good thing Philly moved on). Cole Hamels is due for a huge bounceback year, while J.A. Happ and Jamie Moyer are just fine at the bottom of the rotation once Joe Blanton is off the DL. Ryan Madson and Chad Durbin will have to fill some huge shoes in the bullpen, but they're capable. The lineup is lethal, led by Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Raul Ibanez. This is a 90-win team, even if they aren't much better in the bullpen.

The swan song: Bobby Cox has carved out a legend for himself in Atlanta. He has won nearly 2,500 games (87 wins this season will move him to that mark) and will be done after this season. The team he has should be good enough to contend for a playoff spot, even though they lost pitcher Javier Vasquez and didn't get much from the Yankees in return. Derek Lowe will anchor the rotation, and veteran Tim Hudson should hold down a spot. Youngsters Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens should play huge roles. The signing of Billy Wagner comes with some risk, as Wagner's career has been wrought with arm problems in recent years. Look for rookie Jason Heyward to have an up-and-down season, but the Braves should get solid offense from Brian McCann, Matt Diaz, and Yunel Escobar. They'll be fine.

The rest: Florida should be better, but they're still a low-budget team as they await their new Little Havana ballpark. Their fight against the high-brow Mets should be fun to watch, as New York aims to rebound from an unmitigated disaster that turned the opening of their new ballpark into a season-long hell. A healthy Johan Santana should help a great deal, but the Mets need the rest of their pitching staff to produce better, and they need more out of star third baseman David Wright, who hit just ten home runs last year. Citi Field took the brunt of the blame for that, even though it wasn't like Wright did anything on the road, either. Florida leans on ace pitcher Josh Johnson and shortstop Hanley Ramirez, but they have some intriguing young talent, too. Washington won't be bad enough to lose 100 games, but unless Stephen Strasburg arrives quickly, becomes a star, and multiplies himself, the pitching isn't good enough. Adam Dunn can mash, and Nyjer Morgan is a good table-setter atop the order.