MVN - Most Valuable Network

Rangers Quote(s) Of The Week: Tom Grieve Edition

What, you were honestly expecting something else in this week’s space? Dream on!

“That pitch to Sexson wasn’t even close to hitting him. But I guess when you’re hitting .209, and you can’t drive in any runs, you’re going to try and take it out on the pitcher.”

“If Kason Gabbard’s going to hit anybody, he’s going to hit one of their good hitters. He’s not going to hit Richie Sexson.”

“You got a chance to hit [Raul] Ibanez, you got a chance to hit [Adrian] Beltre - two good hitters. You got a guy coming up there that can’t hit water if he fell out of a boat, and you think he’s going to throw at him?”

“That is a gutless, 6-foot-7, .200-hitting, formerly good player. What a joke.”

“If he doesn’t get suspended for a week for that gutless move, I’ll be completely shocked. Number one, for charging the mound on a pitch that wasn’t even close, and then getting twenty feet away and throwing a helmet at him like a girl. What a joke.”

Former Texas Rangers outfielder and general manager - and current television color commentator - Tom Grieve, issuing his assorted humorous thoughts on last Thursday evening’s brawl at Safeco Field between left-hander Kason Gabbard and Seattle Mariners first baseman Richie Sexson.

Sexson, who initially received a six-game suspension from league disciplinarian Bob Watson that was later trimmed to five games on appeal, will not appear in the three-game series that begins tonight between the two division rivals at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Baseball Prospectus injury guru Will Carroll offered up his own set of ruminations on last Thursday’s extracurriculars in his Monday morning “Under The Knife” column:

I’m on record as thinking that the suspension system in baseball is a mess. The one thing I think has to be changed is the way suspensions are handed out for situations that end in injury. Kason Gabbard’s capable of defending himself, but in his first start after coming off the DL with a back injury, Richie Sexson decided to attack him after a high pitch that wasn’t close to his head. Gabbard left the game shortly after the brawl, the result of a knee to his leg, UFC-style, while he was being held down by Sexson.

Word is that Gabbard will make his next start on Tuesday, but let’s say he didn’t. I think it’s only right that in that kind of situation, a suspension for the attacking player should mirror the time lost to injury. It’s better than this ridiculous system in place now, where suspensions seem random and are reduced after appeals. It’s called a teleconference, Mr. Watson.

Attached below is special bonus audio - Tom Grieve’s Friday afternoon interview with the Hardline on popular Metroplex sports talk radio station KTCK 1310 AM The Ticket:

Enjoy.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 4:28 pm and is filed under Quote Of The Week, The Season. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.