The Seattle Mariners might as well go up to the plate without their bats right now, they might have a better chance. Mired in the midst of a 22 inning scoring drought nothing seems to be going right for the currently hapless M’s. Richie Sexson, a giant of a man, albeit one who is hitting .209, had a hunch he might get hit when he went up to bat in the 4th, after Felix Hernandez had previously plunked two batters. Kason Gabbard threw his first pitch, high and inside, but not hitting Sexson and Big Sexy lost it. He tossed his bat down immediately and charged the mound throwing his helmet first at Gabbard and then wrestling him to the ground.
As far as brawls go, this one ended up with little else exciting, sure Eddie “Please Retire” Guardado restrained Felix from joining the melee, (for which the Mariners franchise owe him dearly), and then there was Gerald Laird being carried out of the fray by noted peacemaker Milton Bradley. Otherwise, relatively tame. Sigh.
Rangers manager Ron Washington after the game denied that there was any intent. “If we were trying to hit him, we would have hit him. If you go look at the replays, Gabbard didn’t even come close. Sexson was just frustrated, and things got out of control. You look at the replay — that ball was over the middle of the plate. He overreacted.” As for throwing the helmet, Washington said, “I thought that was bull. How tall is he? Six-foot-13? Run at a little guy and throw a helmet, that’s just frustration. The guy, he’s a competitor; he’s just frustrated.”
Expect to see Sexson in the clubhouse for a couple games as MLB is sure to send him off with a suspension. And of course, it still made no difference as the Rangers housed the Mariners once more. Is there a team that needs Bonds more than the Mariners? (OK, maybe the Blue Jays)
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