FanHouse Suspensions

The Detroit Tigers are playing their best baseball of the season right now, winning their last six games and 10 of their last 13. Because of this recent stretch they've basically wrapped up the AL Central, putting 6 1/2 games between them and the second-place Minnesota Twins.

But even though they're winning games doesn't mean their frustrations can't get the best of them from time to time. After nearly blowing a save on Friday night in Tampa, Tigers' closer Fernando Rodney threw a baseball into the stands that landed in the press box. It was a pretty nice throw that earned Rodney a three-game suspension and a fine from Major League Baseball.

Over the last few years the Milwaukee Brewers have begun to develop into a threat in the National League. They're now a team that is a legitimate contender to win their division and possibly even the NL pennant, and a lot of the credit should go to the organization's ability to develop young talent. They've produced players like Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun and Yovani Gallardo as part of a solid young core for the organization, and they have more players waiting for their shot in the minors.

One of those players is pitcher Jeremy Jeffress, who some consider to be the best pitching prospect in the team's farm system. The 2006 first-round pick (18th overall) has run into some trouble in his career, however, particularly with marijuana. Jeffress has already been suspended once for testing positive for "a drug of abuse," which he later admitted was weed, and it looks like he just can't give the ganja up.

He's tested positive for "a drug of abuse" yet again, and now he's going to miss the next 100 games.

Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall got pinched for a two-to-three game (depending on his behavior) suspension on August 5th, for repeat violations of the NFL players code of conduct. He's out over $52,000 grand during that time. Furthermore, he needs to demonstrate that he understand the need to change his behavior and be more accountable. So where's he going for his suspension?

Jay's house, sayeth the Rocky Mountain News. Sleepover at Jay Cutler's place! No word on whether Champ Bailey is bringing the marshmallows.

It won't be all camping under the stars in the backyard and trading pogs for the Broncos' receiver, though. He's promised to dedicate himself to work. He's planning to "game plan" during the day while Jay's at work, and at night they're going to throw, to keep Marshall in playing condition. During that time, Marshall says he'll be staying in the basement. Yes, I know. Now he can blog.

In all seriousness, though, Marshall's got all the talent in the world, and as Mile High Report points out, this is a positive step towards proving he's dedicated to cleaning up his act. Showing that he's going to be spending his time working on his craft instead of getting into more trouble or 'rasslin' with any more family members/McDonalds' wrappers. Nice to see at least one guy seems to get that he needs to turn things around.

The White Sox were planning on giving Jim Thome the day off today as they finish their two-game set with the Athletics, but MLB went ahead and made the decision final, as they've suspended Thome for today's game after his ejection during a loss on Friday night.

Thome, who was scheduled to miss Tuesday's 2-game series finale against Oakland, said he was "a little surprised" by the punishment but he would not appeal Major League Baseball's decision.

The ejection was just the third of Thome's career.

Personally, I found Jim's ejection on Friday to be hysterical. Of course, that's probably because after reading the Dugout lo these many years, I've basically taken his Dugout persona and applied it to the real life JI

JIM THOME.

In my mind instead of arguing balls and strikes with umpire James Hoye, Jimmy was just mad because Hoye told him that sweater he'd knit for him was ugly, and it hurt Jim's feelings as he continually bumped manager Ozzie Guillen into Hoye.

As Paul Konerko put it afterwards, "It was like watching your dad get angry."

The day off is probably a good thing for Thome, and considering he's going to make $14.9 million this season, I don't think the fine will hurt much either. Jim's been struggling since Opening Day. After starting the season with two home runs and 4 RBI off of C.C. Sabathia, Thome's gone 5-for-40 with 14 strikeouts and only 4 walks.

Lost in the bar room brawl that was last night's Flyers/Penguins game (that's really the only way to describe the chaos and cheap shots that went on), was the significance that the game had off the ice. It was the 28th game of the Flyers' season and marked the last game that Philadelphia goons Jesse Boulerice and Riley Cote had to serve as part of their suspensions. If you remember, Cote was suspended three games for taking a shot at Matt Niskanen's head and Boulerice received 25 games for decking Vancouver's Ryan Kesler, which equaled the regular season record for suspension length. With two goons back in the mix, it may only be a matter of time until the next suspension is handed out in Philadelphia.

There's no word from the Flyers on whether or not these two will be back in the lineup anytime soon. Nonetheless, it leads me to wonder if there could be some serious confrontations the next time the Bruins and Penguins face off against Philly. It was an amazing exercise of self control that the Bruins did to not take any action during their first contest against the Flyers following the Bergeron hit. It will be unthinkable, at least to me, if there is no form of retribution this time around thanks to the nasty hit handed out by Scott Hartnell in that very game.

As Stephen Colbert would say, Boston and Pittsburgh -- you're on notice!

The teams will have some time to cool off, as the next meeting doesn't take place until January 12th when the Bruins visit Philadelphia. Pittsburgh will travel to Philly on the 24th of January.

The news that coach Marc Crawford's locker room marching orders may have led to Todd Bertuzzi's infamous attack on Steve Moore is painful, damning, embarrassing ... really, pick any adjective with a negative connotation for what it means for hockey. Jim Kelley of SI.com calls it a "PR nightmare." Even FanHouse's MJD centered today's "Debriefing" on the story, and the only time hockey enters that level of his conversation is when he wants to pull down his jockeys and dump on it.

The story is so big that it inspired Steve Shannon to run to the phone and call in to "NHL Live" on XM Satellite Radio this afternoon about the controversy. Shannon is the former coach of the currently defunct Motor City Mechanics whom the United Hockey League suspended in 2005 for allegedly offering his players a $200 bounty to take out an opponent. (Shannon denies the bounty was ever offered, and claims two of his players have signed affidavits that back him up.) On the air with hosts Don La Greca and EJ Hradek, he defended Crawford, claiming that a coach simply saying Moore must "pay the price" wasn't enough to damn him in light of Bertuzzi's eventual actions. "There's plenty of activity that can take place that can get a guy's attention," he said. "There's no reason to go after a guy otherwise, outside the rules. To put blame on a coach, I just don't think that's necessary."

La Greca pressed him on the issue, asking if Crawford shouldn't receive some punishment for encouraging the hit. Shannon continued:

"It has to go back to what he actually said. To say that somebody should 'pay the price' and turn that around into 'something illegal should happen, outside the rules of the game?' I don't think the term 'pay the price' means 'hurt somebody outside the rules of the game.'"

It was an interesting, impromptu moment for a show that's been making its share of headlines lately. Later, Hradek ended the interview with some unsolicited advice for the unscheduled call-in guest: Next time, increase the bounty. "$200 isn't going to get it done, Steve," said Hradek. Tongue-in-cheek. I think.

Randy Jones of the Flyers said he called Patrice Bergeron a few days after ramming the Boston forward head-first into the glass on Oct. 27 -- a hit from behind that earned Jones a controversial two-game suspension and Bergeron a potentially season-ending case of post-concussion syndrome. Jones left a conscience-stricken message on Bergeron's cell phone; he never heard back.

The expectation has been that Bergeron's response would be delivered by his teammates this evening at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, during the first meeting between Boston and the Flyers since the incident. Jones told reporters that he "knew the time would come," that he isn't worried about retribution and that he's ready to let this all slip into the NHL's storied history of "When Good Guys Go Goon":

"They can look at it their way and I respect that and understand that," Jones said. "I'm not going to sit here and keep dwelling on the situation. It was a month ago and I'm getting over it and I'm back playing worrying about my team and helping our team win."

But will the Bruins let him off without a slap on the wrist, the chin and the back of the head?

Hockey Nerd Tuesday is a weekly feature on NHL FanHouse that chronicles the stat-heads, gear geeks and fanboys (and girls) who spend an uncomfortable amount of time putting the "fan" in fanatic. Have a hockey nerd you'd like to see featured? E-mail Greg Wyshynski with the details.

Gareth is a 25-year-old from Canada who posts under the name "nights10102" on YouTube. After watching a string of violent incidents involving Philadelphia Flyers players this season -- Steve Downie, Jesse Boulerice and now Randy Jones's hit on Patrice Bergeron -- he's seen enough and wants the NHL to fine the coach, fine the general manager and fine the team "over a million dollars" for this thuggery. Here's a quote from the emotional NSFW video below; in an effort to maintain the family-friendly atmosphere of FanHouse, I have replaced his expletives with the less offensive "Niittymaki":

"Basically, what I want to know is why the (Niittymaki) the NHL hasn't fined the Philadelphia Flyers a whole (Niittymaki)-load of money. They've put a team on the ice that has no respect for the rules, has no respect for their fellow players, and has no respect for the fans or the NHL or anything at all. They're basically just a bunch of criminals."

As expected, Flyers fans didn't take too kindly to this constructive criticism, peppering the comments section of the YouTube page with rebuttals like "You are a waste of life. Go comb your hair with a shotgun," and the more colorful "(Niittymaki) a (Niittymaki) panty waste. You are a pethetic little worm. Get a life you (Niittymaki) (Niittymaki) puke." Gareth posted a rambling and neutered video response recently; that tepid, humbled counter-punch -- and the fact that in his latest video, he looks like Jon Favreau after a sleepless weekend in Vegas -- points to one conclusion: As the title of the video says, "Don't Mess With Philly!"

Previously on Hockey Nerd Tuesday:
The Rules of Engagement for Autograph Hounds
Vinny Lecavalier Should Consider Double-Locking His Doors

By the end of the day, we may know how the NHL decides to punish Philadelphia's Jesse Boulerice for having Canucks forward Ryan Kesler taste-test his stick without asking first. The predictions, naturally, are pouring in. FanHouse's Jes Golbez asks you for yours, and opines that Boulerice should be out until 2008. ESPN's EJ Hradek thinks he should receive the Downie Minimum of 20 games. William Houston of the Globe & Mail actually believes it should be a 40-gamer -- not likely, unless Boulerice was also running his own gambling ring on the side. Even Kesler appointed himself junior commissioner of the NHL for a few moments and called for a suspension of "a serious amount of games," while teammate Matt Cooke set the suspension at 25.

Suspending Boulerice is the easy part; unless the NHL seriously minimizes the incident with a paltry punishment, anywhere between 20-30 games will be seen as "getting it right." The harder part is taking the next step and punishing those who have also contributed to yet another black-eye for hockey's ever-tarnishing image. That's why it's time to...

Ivan Rodriguez could face a suspension after making inadvertant contact with home plate umpire Mike Winters on Thursday night in Seattle.

Pudge became upset because after Yuniesky Betancourt failed to keep up his end in a hit and run. After a wing and miss, Betancourt leaned out in front of the plate and interfered with Rodriguez's throw to second to try and get Adrian Beltre. Seeing the play live, Pudge had every right to be angry.

Still, Winters didn't call interference on Betancourt which prompted an argument from Rodriguez.

"Rodriguez was ejected because during the argument he got too demonstrative and in so doing inadvertently bumped into me," Winters said. "That's why he was ejected."

I have no idea if I-Rod will also be forced to wear a skirt.

This play was only one of two odd incidents in last night's Seattle victory over the Tigers. In the 5th inning Adrian Beltre hit a bases loaded single to tie the game at two, and as he tried to take second base on the throw home, Carlos Guillen missed the tag and he was called safe. Beltre then came off the bag, and again Guillen missed a tag on him. Beltre got to his feet and started towards third, as Guillen swung and missed with his glove a few more times.

Eventually Richie Sexson scored what proved to be the winning run for Seattle, but when the Tigers appealed the play at second before the next pitch, Beltre was called out. Bruce Froemming said Beltre never touched second, which is odd seeing as how Froemming called him safe at second. After viewing replays, it was clear that Guillen never did tag Beltre, but also that Beltre did in fact touch second base.

Just a very odd play, one that left both teams a little unhappy.

Previously at FanHouse:
David Wells Gets Suspended, Thinks He Might Be Wearing a Skirt Soon