Sending the veteran to anger management classes would be about as an effective a punishment as the one MLB handed down.
SAN DIEGO - Padres pitcher David Wells was suspended for seven games and fined $3,000 Thursday by the commissioner’s office for his animated argument with an umpire last weekend.
In handing down the punishment, Bob Watson, baseball’s discipline czar, cited Wells’ “violent and aggressive actions,” including throwing a baseball at the backstop as he left the field.
Not surprisingly, “Boomer” was as irritated with the punishment as he was on Saturday, when he was ejected by umpire Ed Hickox for questioning calls in the fourth inning of an 8-5 win over Atlanta after Jeff Francoeur hit a two-run homer.
The 44-year-old lefty criticized Watson and said the game is changing so much that “pretty soon we’ll all put skirts on and we’re all going to play softball.”
Wells asked the players’ union to appeal, so the penalty can’t start until after a hearing and a decision. The Padres open the second half with a one-game lead over Los Angeles in the NL West.
Suspending a starting pitcher for seven games, means if his team manages it right, the player will only miss one start. The suspension therefore is a joke, not much unlike one handed down by the NHL to one of its violent players earlier this year. The only hurt inflicted will be on Wells wallet,(I’m talking if the seven-game suspension includes his salary rather than the $3000 fine) but based on his quote, I don’t think David has learned anything from the experience.