Brett Lawrie likely to miss a few games ...

[TS Garp]

If Roger Goodell was the MLB commissioner, this would be 20-25 games.

Outside or not, you don't slam your helmet down at the ump's feet with that kind of aggression. What a tool.

[Ryno84MVP]

Lawrie gets 4 gms. Appealing

https://twitter.com/#!/ShiDavidi/status/202864790069190656

[chancellor]

Wow..if I were him, I'd drop that appeal at some conveient time before actually meeting with MLB. He got off pretty easy, IMO.

[B-Fly]

Wow..if I were him, I'd drop that appeal at some conveient time before actually meeting with MLB. He got off pretty easy, IMO.

Absolutely. Be thankful and see you in a week.

[virgonomic]

Absolutely. Be thankful and see you in a week.

Nah. This gives him the opportunity to say "professional athletes get upset when 2 balls are called strikes in a 1-run game". It will be reduced to 3 games. I doubt it's his sole decision to appeal. The club supports it.

ETA: Maybe they just wanted him for the Yankees series. 7-0 Jays. Who's pitching? Kuroda. Sig below.

[GwynnInTheHall]

here's the rub, sure Brett should have handled it better, but that umpire was retributive, he called him out because lawrie complained about the prior pitch and THAT should be grounds for suspension. Umpires should try to get the call right and not try to teach a rookie a lesson. they should also be required to admit and apologize for egregious blown calls to the manager and player involved. this-- I'm above you all mentality they (or some) posses has got to stop and maybe it'll take a punch to the face to get it done--at least selig would have to finally address it.

[JudeBaldo]

here's the rub, sure Brett should have handled it better, but that umpire was retributive, he called him out because lawrie complained about the prior pitch and THAT should be grounds for suspension. Umpires should try to get the call right and not try to teach a rookie a lesson. they should also be required to admit and apologize for egregious blown calls to the manager and player involved. this-- I'm above you all mentality they (or some) posses has got to stop and maybe it'll take a punch to the face to get it done--at least selig would have to finally address it.

We don't know this.

[wannabegriffey]

I don't understand why the decision and appeal system time frame is more than 24 hours.

[Erik]

this-- I'm above you all mentality they (or some) posses has got to stop and maybe it'll take a punch to the face to get it done

MLB won't be serious about this as long as they continue to employ Joe West.

[Riff Raff]

I don't understand why the decision and appeal system time frame is more than 24 hours.

Agreed. Video conference is pretty easy to do - the resolution should be much quicker than "some time next week".

[chancellor]

I don't understand why the decision and appeal system time frame is more than 24 hours.

Under the present labor agreement, I'm fairly sure all appeals must be done in person unless both parties waive that right.

[chancellor]

here's the rub, sure Brett should have handled it better, but that umpire was retributive, he called him out because lawrie complained about the prior pitch and THAT should be grounds for suspension.

Meh. Orders of magnitude different, IMO. Your mileage may vary, but Lawrie committed an act that was bad and could have been much worse (like, what happens if that helmet bounces up and hits the ump in the face) while the ump simply made a bad call. I agree that it sure appeared retributive, but even with that, it's nowhere near as bad as Lawrie's immature outburst.

[Roto Rooter]

Baloney. The ump didn't simply make a bad call. The Ump made a mockery of his profession by calling a clear ball a strike, so he could punch out Lawrie and show him who's boss.

[chancellor]

Baloney. The ump didn't simply make a bad call. The Ump made a mockery of his profession by calling a clear ball a strike, so he could punch out Lawrie and show him who's boss.

Which has been done for time immemorial in baseball. Is it good? Heck no. Throwing your batting helmet at an ump, however, is beyond bad - it's completely unacceptable.

I'm not saying the ump should receive no discipline, just nowhere near what Lawrie got.

[cavebird]

here's the rub, sure Brett should have handled it better, but that umpire was retributive, he called him out because lawrie complained about the prior pitch and THAT should be grounds for suspension. Umpires should try to get the call right and not try to teach a rookie a lesson. they should also be required to admit and apologize for egregious blown calls to the manager and player involved. this-- I'm above you all mentality they (or some) posses has got to stop and maybe it'll take a punch to the face to get it done--at least selig would have to finally address it.

If umpires had to apologize for making bad calls it would destroy the system. Yeah, you limit it to "egregious blown calls" but where is any line that can be drawn with any measure of anything between "egregious blown calls" and "blown calls"? Nothing requires players to apologize to umps when they go nuts (whether or not they were right), not sure why umps should be held to a higher standard.