According to the beat writers, Shane Victorino has been given a three-game suspension for his part in Friday’s brawl. He was the only player to receive a suspension- let that sink in for a minute.
Ramon Ramirez, Placido Polanco, Eli Whiteside and his grey hair all received fines. Victorino will appeal his suspension.
This… this doesn’t make any sense. Let’s recap: Ramirez hits Victorino because he was flustrated (Manuel’d), Victo reacts, gathers himself, and pauses in front of Whiteside… all while Ramirez sprints toward the confrontation. Polanco, coming to the aid of his teammate, gets sacked by Whiteside. For the rest, I’ll refer you to our Zaprudering of the encounter.
To be fair, Victorino did re-enter the fray – after tossing aside umpire Mike Mulchinski – and plow someone, but Pablo Sandoval also threw a punch. And it can be argued that Polanco and Whiteside escalated the affair that Ramirez started. I’m baffled.
Perhaps Victo’s reputation precedes him: We all remember what happened against Hiroki Kuroda in 2008. Kuroda faces off against Roy Halladay and the Phillies at 10:10 P.M EST tonight.