BaseBrawl

Zack Grienke, one of baseball's best, got his collarbone broken yesterday.

He hit a player with a pitch. A brawl ensued. At the bottom of the scrum, when it was all over, was Grienke with a broken collarbone.

I HATE this stupid part of baseball. Quentin, the player who charged the mound, has been hit by Grienke's inside fastball before, and he's says Grienke does it on purpose. Grienke says he never throws at anyone on purpose.

My solution? IF the ball comes at the head of the batter, and it's a fastball, the pitcher is ejected immediately AND the manager is suspended without pay for a week. Intentional or not, you protect the batter and you send the message.

IF a player is hit anywhere else and stays in the game, he takes his base. IF he even threatens to go to the mound, he is ejected immediately suspended for a week without pay.

ANYONE who leaves their bench, and should not be on the field, is suspended for a week. EVEN IF IT'S THE WHOLE TEAM. You call up your triple A squad to be your team until the suspension is up.

IF a player, hit by the pitch, misses time because of injury caused by being hit by the pitch, the pitcher will be suspended for 3-5 starts without pay depending on the severity of the injury.

It should no longer matter if the pitch was intentional or not. NO ONE can measure intention. You can only measure the result.

Basketball has fixed much of their brawling problem by keeping players on the bench. Baseball can sort this out. Hockey fans love their brawls, but THIS IS NOT HOCKEY.

And this macho "carp" has went on long enough. Enough is enough. Baseball can easily fix this, and players who like to crowd the plate will now have an advantage. So what? Pitchers have had the advantage forever and look what that has gotten us.