When arrogance can turn to a fixed game....

(Blogger's Note:  I am having a lot of trouble with the new Penn State shit.  I don't know when I am going to be able to put a post together which might not get the police involved at my home.  I have a lot of trouble digesting this and not wanting to see the university closed and buildings burnt to the ground as a testament as to how much that community has invested in supporting pedophilia.  (Whether it wishes to admit such or not...)  I'll try to put something together -- I have a first draft that I'm starting up.  We'll see when - OR IF - I post it.)

On a much, MUCH lighter note:

There are some people who have some explaining to do to Rob Manfred and Joe Torre realsoonnow.

It's the seemingly-weekly series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

9th inning, bases loaded, two out for Boston, down a run at 3-2.

David Ortiz, "Big Papi" is at the plate, with three balls and one strike on him.

A wicked slider that didn't appear to be close by the time the pitch made the glove was called strike two.

Ortiz went ballistic.

Under the rules in Major League Baseball, umpire Ron Kulpa should've tossed Ortiz then and there.  Manager John Farrell did come out to try to "save" Ortiz, and took the thumb himself.

Keep this in mind.

I can think of only one reason that Kulpa did not eject Ortiz:  That, as long as the final pitch was within a time zone of the strike zone, it was going to be strike three.

That pitch was well low, Ortiz checks up, punched out.  Strike three, two out, Yankees eventually win 3-2.  The second replay showed Ortiz checked up.

Ortiz is still steaming, but at least gets back to the dugout.  Then he starts venting, and gets tossed.

We don't see this very often, but Ortiz came back out and he looked like he wanted blood.  Yes, he stopped short, but there comes a point where being that angry and having to be wrestled off needs to be actionable -- even if you are David Ortiz.

That said, he shouldn't be the only party banned from at least today's game.  One manager and at least one umpire if not two...

John Farrell never left the dugout until after Ortiz' ejection.  Farrell was still in the dugout for strike three, and was part of the SECOND argument as Ortiz was being restrained.

Under the Rules of Baseball, though the relevant Rule (7.03(6), as in this .PDF from MLB) only refers to an ejected PLAYER, it would appear that Farrell has committed no less than a forfeiture offense.  As such, he should be suspended, starting immediately.

But I can think of at least one umpire, if not two, who should go with him, for not applying that rule and forcing Farrell to leave before another pitch is thrown.

Kulpa should be suspended, so should his crew chief if it's somebody else.  Kulpa tossed Farrell on the 3-1 pitch, and the game should not have resumed with him in the dugout.

So there needs to be some immediate action on this one, boys.