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Sexson Got What He Deserves
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Gargantuan Mariners first baseman Richie Sexson had his punishment reduced yesterday to 5 games for “violent and aggressive actions” towards
OK, got it? Forget about the goofy commentators for a minute and let’s talk about the incident and the punishment.
First off, Sexson is a 6’-9” monster, so you really can’t blame Gabbard for attempting to go into the fetal position before Richie got to him. But look at that pitch. Go back up there for a second, if you have to, and watch the pitch. It was nowhere near him!
Sure, it was obviously high. It would have been over a mortal’s head, but for Gargantor it was right at eye level. I’m sure it was pretty scary for Sexson, but he wasn’t in real danger.
Also, take a look at the score. The Rangers were up 4-0. I am a strong supporter of purpose pitches and retaliation as long as no one is getting seriously hurt, but this was not a purpose pitch.
This reaction was all frustration. The Mariner’s are horribly underachieving after being nationally hyped after the Bedard trade.
Sexson’s numbers were in the dumps last year and he’s trying to rebound this year with no success so far. He’s batting .202, which is even worse that his 2007 season average of .205. 
The former powerhouse seems to have found some kryptonite and apparently, for one night against the Texas Rangers, he thought Kason Gabbard might have been behind it.
That being said, I fully support Sexson’s actions and I think it was worth every second of the 5 game suspension.
The suspension is necessary, of course, or it wouldn’t have as much of an impact. You can’t have every slumping hitter going Sexson on pitchers, but when they do you really want it to mean something.
The Mariners won’t miss his bat in the lineup so he might as well try to fire everyone up somehow. Stranger things have given a team an offensive spark (see Freddy Bynum’s return).
Frankly, I would have liked to see a couple extra rib-shots or a more dramatic pile-driver-type tackle, especially from someone with Sexson’s size. Hitting a pitcher in the back with a helmet doesn’t have much power, though did seem to add to his suspension.
Overall, the Sexson freak-out doesn’t rank in the history of mound chargings, but it was a well timed move as a desperate effort to ignite some passion into a slumping team.
(Photo: AP)
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