Nyjer Morgan, the speedy centerfielder for the Washington Nationals, got himself into a heap of trouble tonight. The Nationals were playing the Florida Marlins and were down 15-4 in the fourth inning, when Morgan got hit by a pitch by starting pitcher Chris Volstad. Instead of casually playing the rest of the inning, the feisty Morgan stole second base, then ALSO stole third base in a 11-run blowout.
A Washington Nationals fan on WashingtonPost.com said it best:
"The Fish announcers are complaining that Morgan stole bases after getting plunked the first time. Oh no!
It was the fifth inning! If one team can score 15 runs in four innings, the other one can. If you don't want him to steal bases, throw him out. One more reason to despise that franchise."
Fast-forward to the top of the sixth inning. The first pitch Morgan saw was a fastball behind him, which REALLY got him pissed-off. After a second, he charges the mound, and he and Chris Volstad throw connecting punches at each other. First baseman Gaby Sanchez (Marlins) comes charging in and completely levels Morgan, who is still throwing punches.
Take a look:
Unbelievable. Morgan will easily be suspended for 7 games, if not, more, for his actions tonight (especially cursing the crowd after his ejection). Volstad will probably get a 5 game suspension, and Sanchez possibly 3 games.
My prediction of a seven-game suspension would be added onto the past seven-game suspension he got because he was involved in another incident last month.
We shall see the end results by the end of the week.
Update (9.3.10):
Morgan has been suspended for 8 games. Volstad has been suspended for 6 games. Gaby Sanchez has been suspended for 3 games.
I was right on the money on the Sanchez suspension, but was one game off for both Morgan and Volstad. How is that for accuracy?
As a Marlins fan, I have no beef with anything Morgan did. He was trying to score when he took out Hayes the night before, and the whole base stealing thing was ridiculous. I understand if you're the team up by 11 runs, but if you're on my team and we're down by that many then you better take bases when you can and get into scoring position. The idea that the losing team should just roll over half way through is more than a bit silly.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I have no beef with the Marlins going after him again either. For me, it still had more to do with the fact that he took out Bret Hayes for the season - our third catcher done for the year. The Marlins will be finishing the season with their #4 and 5 catchers, and they've got to protect those guys, so they go overboard and send a message by how they deal with Morgan. Nobody did anything wrong IMO, and it sure made the series a lot more fun. Hopefully it carries over through what's left of the season and these guys play like it matters.