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Nyjer Morgan is back giving postgame interviews, and he is better than ever.

Larry Brown Sports’ Larry Brown spotted a YouTube video that features audio of Morgan’s postgame exchange with WTAM of the Cleveland Indians Radio Network.

Rather than spoil a good time, we give you the two-minute clip below, filled with a healthy dose of exuberance and “Woo!”

Classic T-Plush.

Morgan begins with, “You said it. You said it. Woo, woo!” The elated Indians player then discusses the moment he clubbed a rare home run on Sunday night, giving Cleveland the eventual deciding run in a 6-5 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Morgan beams, “Hey, I’ve been working my trot since high school. They don’t come often, but when I get it, I’m [going to] let you know when I round second.”

Brown reminds that Morgan isn’t exactly a mainstay in Cleveland: “The outfielder also known as Tony Plush was recalled by the Cleveland Indians last week to fill in for Michael Bourn. He has been playing sporadically since being recalled, and he got in a full game on Sunday against the Rays.”

Given another opportunity, a player such as Morgan wasn’t going to worry about much more than just having a ball. He continues, “I know it’s our livelihood and everything, but you can’t lose track that it’s still a game.”

The 33-year-old, who went 3-for-4 in Sunday’s game, continued by saying he just wants to help the team in any way that he can, a statement that is right at home to so many athletes lending the usual array of postgame banter.

As we know, Morgan isn’t your ordinary athlete, as evidenced by this blast from the past wherein he explains his alter ego:

The outfielder is now batting .341 in just 41 at-bats this season. His status as an Indians player seems to rest on things such as Michael Bourn‘s form and his own consistency.

There is no question that Morgan continues to be one of the more electric players in MLB, yielding so much entertainment when he is involved on the field and such hilarity when he is questioned off it.

Home runs may be rare, but the bat flips and shouts of “Woo!” will be prolific as long as Morgan is bumping around MLB.

Tony Plush is going to do him, and we absolutely like it that way.

Hit me up on Twitter: Follow @gabezal

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Thanks to this bit of clutch hitting, the Milwaukee Brewers reached a League Championship Series for the first time since 1982. With his up-the-middle single, Nyjer Morgan helped propel Milwaukee to a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks to earn a berth in the 2011 NLCS. 

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Last night, notorious baseball villain Nyjer Morgan managed to put himself into the positive spotlight for the first time in his baseball career—for all of three minutes. The Milwaukee Brewers most certainly deserved to celebrate their well-earned, thrilling Game 5 victory in extra innings to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks and advance to the NLCS.

However, for Brewers and baseball fans alike to hail Morgan a “hero” is sorely misguided.

Morgan has been an average baseball player his entire career, spanning six seasons in Pittsburgh, Washington, and Milwaukee. His regular season career batting average is .288—above average, certainly, but far from raising eye brows.

The guy is a threat on the base paths—stealing 42 bases in 2009—but is also a liability, as he was caught stealing a league-high 17 times that season.

However, this article isn’t arguing the merits of Morgan’s playing career. After reading an article hailing Morgan to be a permanent member of Brewers lore, going so far as saying “we can’t help but love him,” I felt as if somebody needed to step in with a rebuttal.

The guy is a black eye to the game of baseball. He is a disgrace to all the good baseball players do, and should never, ever be regarded as a role model.

Let’s look at his track record. In August 2010, Morgan was suspended by Major League Baseball for throwing a baseball at a fan at Citizens Bank Park after a heated exchange.

Less than two weeks later, Morgan rammed Marlins catcher Brett Hayes, separating his shoulder on a play at the plate he had no chance of being called safe.

The next night, he incited a bench-clearing brawl after a pitch was thrown behind him in retaliation for his play at the plate.

Which bring us to last night, when Morgan, by way of his series-ending hit it in the 10th inning that lifted the Brewers to a 3-2 victory over the Diamondbacks, made everyone forget about his track record for all of three minutes before he managed to be thrust back into the negative limelight.

The alleged “hero,” live on TV while TBS attempted to interview him, let out several euphoric “F-bombs,” repeating the phrase a few times before being restrained. 

Brewers fans, do not be mistaken. This is not a knock against your franchise. In fact, I will be rooting for you in the NLCS, as I strongly believe in the baseball model the franchise has adopted.

However, Morgan needs to be castrated from baseball. Whether or not he wants to acknowledge it, as a Major League Baseball player, he is a role model, and thus needs to behave accordingly. The guy is an imbecile, a sore spot for a sport that has managed to do a great job emerging from what is perhaps the worst time in its history.

While Morgan may be a decent baseball player, do not ever mistake him for a hero. 

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Tonight, the Milwaukee Brewers (7-5) come into Washington, D.C. to face off against the Nationals (5-7). Normally, this matchup would be mind-numbingly bland for any non-Washington or Milwaukee fan, but the presence of Nyjer Morgan makes this series an interesting one to watch—that is, if Morgan plays. 

Nyjer Morgan is reportedly not in the starting lineup for the fifth-straight game in tonight’s series opener. He is hitting .476 in 12 games for the Brew Crew—his third team since being called up to the big leagues in 2007 with the Pirates. Morgan was hitting .359 in 49 games for Washington after they traded for him and current closer Sean Burnett, in exchange for their closer Joel Hanrahan and OF Lastings Milledge.

Nyjer broke his hand in August of ’09 and was never the same for the Nats, as he hit for a .253 AVG and a poor .319 OBP where he spent most of his time in the leadoff spot last year.  

Although it is not clear why Morgan, the former Nat, will not be starting again tonight, it doesn’t mean that his former team shouldn’t be on high alert in this series. Morgan’s reputation proceeds him, and Nyjer is a well-known hothead. I don’t anticipate that Morgan will cause a bench-clearing brawl similar to the one he started in Florida, but if he at least starts one game in this three-game set, I expect Morgan to make his presence known.

The only other question now is: Will Nyjer make his former team regret handing him his walking papers—so to speak (trade)—or will he reassure them that they made the right choice?

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Opening Day 2011 is less than a week away, and the Washington Nationals have yet to officially name their starting center fielder. Unofficially, the Washington Post is reporting that Rick Ankeil will get the nod, essentially banishing Nyjer Morgan to Syracuse to start the season.

Apparently the Nationals have chosen power over speed, which does not exactly jive with what they have been doing in the offseason. If this was the plan from the beginning, couldn’t they have kept Josh Willingham and played either Jayson Werth or Mike Morse in center?

I know Morgan had a terrible season in 2010, but Rick Ankeil actually played worse.

(And for those of you who aren’t statistically inclined, bare with me.)

Morgan sported a WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of .9; Ankeil’s WAR was at .7, which basically means that Morgan contributed .9 more wins to his team compared to a “average replacement player” (think Willie Harris) and Ankiel contributed .7.

Defensively, Morgan is a far better player than Ankeil. In 2010, Ankiel posted a UZR of -.5 compared to Morgan’s 3.0. For those of you not familiar with the UZR stat, that means Ankiel is a slightly below average defender, and Morgan is an above average defender. In 2009, Morgan posted a UZR of 27.6, which is the equivalent to the Plastic Man with a glove.

Center field is one of the most important defensive positions, and the Nats have chosen to put a liability there. And for what? A marginal offensive player. For a player who has hit 17 home runs combined in the last two seasons.

Offensively, Rick Ankiel is the better player, but only slightly. In 2010, he posted a better OBP than Morgan, but just slightly–.321 to .319. But a lot of that can be attributed to luck, or lack thereof.

Morgan’s putrid seasons was made even worse by his unluckiness. Morgan’s batting average on balls put in play (BABIP) was .304, which is around the league average, but way below the average of players with the type of speed Morgan possesses. In 2008 and 2009, Morgan’s BABIP was .364 and .355, respectively.

BABIP is not a skill-based statistic. The average is around .300, for both good and bad players alike. The key is putting balls in play, and in 2010, Morgan’s contact percentage was just as high as it has been in his career: around 85 percent.

So it can be argued that Morgan’s disastrous season at the dish in 2010 may have had more to do with bad luck than bad play.

Ankiel actually posted a BABIP of .319, well above the league and his career average, and despite his luck, he hit only .253. This can be attributed to his low contact percentage (74 percent). His low contact percentage can be attributed to his poor discipline at the plate. Ankiel swings at pitches out of the zone 33.2 percent of the time. Morgan is a little more disciplined swinging at balls only 31.2 percent of the time.

In all, Morgan contributes more to the team overall, is a better defender, and a more disciplined hitter whose 2010 season may have been an unlucky aberration—at least the stats say so.

And after processing all those stats, if you are confused, it’s okay; now you know how I felt when I heard Ankiel was starting.

(Stats courtesy of fangraphs.com)

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It won’t be too long now before Nationals’ General Manager Mike Rizzo has completed the revamping of the team’s lineup.

Whether or not he succeeds in finding that top-of-the-rotation starter, that extra reliever or a thumping first baseman, won’t be known for some time yet.

For the most part, Nationals’ fans are a forgiving lot. Over the years, both Rizzo and former GM Jim Bowden have made some pretty bad personnel moves and they all were taken in stride.

Last season, however, fans lost patience with center fielder Nyjer Morgan.

If you look up “circuitous” in the dictionary, its definition reads, “The way that outfielder Nyjer Morgan runs towards fly balls.”

Morgan is also listed as a definition for “temper tantrum” and “fighting.”

But fans lived with all of the Morganisms as long as he hit. When that stopped, so did the fan’s patience.

See, Nationals’ fans have grown weary with the cadre of players the team has used in center field since 2005.

In the team’s final season in Montreal, Brad Wilkerson hit 32 home runs. In his first year in Washington, he batted .248-11-57. He was sent packing as part of the Alfonso Soriano trade that winter.

Late in 2005, Marlon Byrd played well in a late season trial and earned at least part of the center field job in 2006. He disappointed, batting only .223/.317/.350.

Nook Logan replaced him late in the season and batted .300/.350/.349, earning the job in 2007. It didn’t work. He batted just .265 with a .304 on-base percentage and was traded to Detroit that winter.

Brandon Watson was given a try but struggled to bat over .180 in parts of a couple of seasons.

The Nationals acquired Mets’ prized prospect Lastings Milledge in exchange for Brian Schneider and Ryan Church. He showed some promise in 2008, batting .268-14-61 with 24 stolen bases. It was assumed that he would have his breakout season in 2009.

Some breakout season.

He missed a meeting in Florida just prior to the start of the 2009 season, which riled management and ownership both, batted .167 in the first week of the season and was demoted to Triple-A Syracuse, never to be heard from again.

Willie Harris covered the position until Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett were traded by the Pirates to Washington for Joel Hanrahan and Milledge that May.

Prior to coming to Washington, Morgan hit well for the Pirates, averaging .292/.351/.397 with 30 stolen bases over a 162-game season. But in his 49 games with the Nationals in 2009 (he broke a finger while sliding into third in late August), he batted .351/.396/.435 with 24 stolen bases.

He played a gifted center field and it was assumed that he would remain there for years..

Then along came 2010.

In mid-May, the Orioles’ Adam Jones hit a ball that Morgan tried catch at the top of the right-center field wall. It bounced back onto the field, just out of his view.

Morgan, however, thought the ball went over the fence. He threw his glove to the ground and spent a good deal of time grumping and grousing and moaning and groaning before realizing the ball was in play.

It was too late, however, as Jones motored around the bases for an inside-the-park home run.

Oops.

Later in the season, Morgan was suspended for an altercation with a fan in Philadelphia. He threw a ball into the stands and unintentionally hit a fan. It cost him—and the Nationals—eight games.

Oh, and he stopped hitting.

In 509 at-bats, Morgan batted just .253/.319/.314 with 34 steals in 51 tries. He led the league in caught stealing for the second time in his four-year career. He misplayed more fly balls than usual and all too often didn’t catch up to them as he had in the past.

At the time of his outfield temper-tantrum, he was batting .274/.351/.417 and had overcome a very slow start. Over the next week, he went 2-23 with six strikeouts and was never the same player.

So what does the future hold for Nyjer Morgan and the Nationals?

Manager Jim Riggleman has made it clear that he plans to use Morgan in center in 2011, but only as a part of a platoon. 

And that, my friends, is a wonderful thing.

The simple fact is that Nyjer Morgan just can’t hit left-handers. Last season, the 29-year-old batted .273/.333/.337 against righties with 29 steals in 41 tries (71%); against lefties, however, he was abysmal, hitting just .200/.280/.252 in 135 at-bats (have you ever seen a worse slash line?). Against left-handers, Morgan is just a 50% base stealer.

For his career, the splits are even more dramatic. Against righties, he has hit .308/.361/.387 with 79 steals. When he faces left-handers, his numbers drop to .200/.292/.269.

Though he doesn’t hit particularly well with two outs and runners in scoring position (.239/.292/.321), Morgan doesn’t see those situations often as a leadoff hitter.

In games that are close or tied, however, he does well, batting .320/.384/.445.

Riggleman has said a couple of times that he intends to platoon Morgan and will likely move Jayson Werth from right to center when the Nationals face left-handed pitchers.

Based on a typical righty-lefty platoon, Morgan would get about 450 at-bats and Werth 155.

Here are their combined numbers based on their career splits:

Batting Average/On-Base Percentage/Slugging Percent

.303/.381/.412

Hits: 195

Doubles: 34

Triples: 8

Home Runs: 8

Runs Batted In: 50

Stolen Bases: 45

Based on their career numbers, the two players will combine to give the Nationals a strong center field presence. Both bring a quality glove (Morgan with his unlimited range and Werth’s canon arm), speed on the base paths and Werth will provide the power.

Among their division rivals, the Nationals center field combo is certainly better than the Braves (Nate McLouth, .190/.298/.322) and Marlins (Scott Cousins, .297/.316/.459).

The Mets’ Carlos Beltran can be an elite player, but age and injuries makes him no better than Morgan/Werth at this stage of his career. And while Philadelphia’s Shane Victorino will provide more power and runs batted in, his batting average and on-base percent are more than 50 points lower.

There is no question that Nyjer Morgan is a flawed player. But by only facing righties, those flaws are in some cases mitigated and in others hidden altogether. His self confidence will soar and his defense will become stronger and more consistent.

And when Jayson Werth takes over when the team faces a left hander, well, you just need to sit back and enjoy a star at work.

Fear not, Nationals’ fans—another year of Nyjer Morgan is a good thing. If Michael Morse plays every day in left, he can easily hit .275-20-85 and play above average defense. And Morse doesn’t need to platoon; he hits right-handers just as well as lefties.

The only outfield part that is missing is Werth’s replacement when he moves over to center 40 or so games a year. The just acquired Rick Ankiel hits lefties even worse than Morgan, and pinch-hitter supreme Matt Stairs bats left-handed.

A year ago, I would have nominated Justin Maxwell for the job, but a .144/.305/.288 slash line from last season is just too hard to forget.

To be sure, Nyjer Morgan is not the Nationals’ long-term answer in center field. He won’t be the guy climbing the outfield walls at Nationals Park in three or four years. But for now, Morgan and forty games of Jayson Werth is certainly good enough to help the team transition into a winner.

That said, there are going to be times when you just have to close your eyes and avoid the Nyjer-mare in progress.

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Last Night Rewind

• The limited slate of games last night did yield some solid performances from the Giants, who took over first place last night. Jonathan Sanchez struck out 12 in seven innings of work yesterday while allowing only one run on four hits. Better still, after walking seven in his last outing he did not walk a batter in last night’s game.
• Rodrigo Lopez has been up and down over the better part of the season, but he has looked solid in September. In his three starts, he has surrendered six runs in 19.1 innings of work and given up only just one home run. Lopez worked seven innings last night in getting the win over the Reds. He is a matchup play, but one that may be intriguing in the final weeks.
• In what has to be considered an interesting move at best, Chris Young will get the start for the Padres this weekend. Young will return from the DL after having surgery on his shoulder in August of last year. Young pitched well in his rehab outing last weekend, and the Padres are looking for any shot in the arm that they can get right now.
• Delmon Young had himself a strong game last night, recording three hits in five at-bats, while adding a home run and a couple RBI. His three hits helped raise his average up over .300 and the home run was his 18th of the year. This is also a guy that now has more than 100 RBI on the season. Not bad for a guys with an ADP over 200!
• Nyjer Morgan, unfortunately, had his suspension reduced to just one eight-game set. Morgan showed consistent immaturity in gaining those suspensions, and it is somewhat unfortunate that they made the move. Fantasy owners will likely lose him for the first part of the finals, and probably already have better and more reliable options available. More just an FYI.

Friday Notes

• A.J. Burnett is 2-2 against Baltimore this season, and the 2.48 ERA is one of his better numbers against any team this season. He took the loss against them the last time out, giving up four runs in seven innings. Brian Roberts has the best numbers against him, posting a .326 average. Only Adam Jones at .242 comes across as a player that you would normally start that could be avoided.
• The Yankees have killed Kevin Millwood this season. Millwood has gone 0-2 in three starts with a 7.56 ERA against them. In 16.2 innings against them, he has given up 25 hits and 14 runs, along with five home runs in those outings. Jorge Posada’s 5-for-21 is the only number to leave behind.
• The Blue Jays have a .312 average against John Lackey this season, and Lackey has ended up with a 7.71 ERA as a result. Adam Lind and Fred Lewis have put up the best numbers, with both hitting better than .450. Aaron Hill is only 3-for-21 and Vernon Wells is just 6-for-29.
• If there is a team that you want to avoid Felix Hernandez against, it would be the Rangers. Hernandez is 0-3 in four starts against them, putting up a 6.38, ERA and allowing four home runs in 24 innings of work. Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton are both below .200 against Hernandez, but the rest of the lineup has solid numbers.
• Jose Lopez is 10-for-18 against C.J. Wilson, but he has the best numbers against the Texas starter. Chone Figgins is 5-for-19, while Ichiro Suzuki is only 6-for-23. Wilson, after winning four straight starts, has given up 10 runs in his last 8.1 innings of work.
• Randy Wolf has solid numbers against the bulk of the Giants lineup. Edgar Renteria and Juan Uribe have the best numbers against him and both are only hitting .273. There is no single player on the Giants with an average north of that.
• Hiroki Kuroda is 0-1 in three starts against the Rockies, posting an ERA over 6.00 in those starts. Troy Tulowitzki is just 3-for-16 while Todd Helton is only 1-for-10 against him. The rest of Kuroda’s numbers thoguh are ugly against them. Keep him down if you can.
• While Wandy Rodriguez has struggled this season against the Reds, giving up eight runs in 10.1 innings against them, he has been lights out at home. He has posted a 2.71 ERA at home with allowing batters to hit just .210 against him. Jay Bruce is only 1-for-17 against him, and Brandon Phillips checks in at .219 against him. The rest of the lineup is solid.
• Weird to think that Kyle Davies may be a good option tonight. Davies is 2-0 this month, giving up two runs in 12 innings of work. Asdrubal Cabrera has decent numbers, going 5-for-15 against him, but Travis Hafner is 1-for-9, and Shin-Soo Choo is only 2-for-13. In a tight position, look to Davies. He has upside here.
• Spot Start: Davies, Bumgarner, Kennedy

Weekend Notes

• Riding the Jeremy Guthrie train has been fun, but he has been killed by the Yankees this season. In two starts, he has given up 12 hits and 10 runs in 11.2 innings pitched. While going 6-2 over his last eight starts is good, the numbers here do not add up. Start your Yankees and avoid him here. Avoid the 1-for-18 of Mark Teixeira, but Nick Swisher is a .542 hitter against him.
• Vernon Wells has five home runs in 35 at-bats against Josh Beckett, and Aaron Hill is hitting far better than .400 against him. Lyle Overbay and Adam Lind are both solid producers as well. Only the catching tandem of Jose Molina and John Buck should be benched.
• Tim Hudson has pitched well against the Mets this season, going 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA in his starts. In 20 innings, he has allowed only 18 hits and one home run. Carlos Beltran has hit .373 against him, but he is the only true regular hitting over .300 against Hudson. Might see Angel Pagan here, as he is 6-for-12 against Hudson.
• Carlos Lee, Hunter Pence, and Michael Bourn are all hitting better than .300 against Bronson Arroyo. Pence is the big winner, checking in at .370 in his at-bats. Arroyo finally got a win in his last start after losing three straight. He has been solid on the road, going 9-5 with a 3.89 ERA. Despite the numbers of these three, a good spot start.
• John Danks has allowed only two earned runs in 13 innings against the Tigers this year. No great numbers for the Tigers against him either. Jhonny Peralta is at .226, while Brandon Inge is at .238. Ryan Raburn is only 3-for-16 against Danks. Look to avoid your Tigers where you can in this one.
• Andy Pettitte will take the mound after successful rehab starts. Pettitte was pitching very well prior to the injury, and will draw the Orioles, a team he has fared well against historically. Owners looking for the pick-me-up should grab him for the start.
• Jon Lester goes into his start against Toronto with a 6.60 ERA against them this season. When you peel back the one bad start of nine runs in two innings, the numbers are much better. Lester is 6-1 in his last seven starts and has a 3.60 ERA for the month.
• Clayton Kershaw goes in to Sunday’s start against the Rockies with a 3-0 record against them this season. He has struck out 30 while allowing just three runs in 26 innings. Tulowitzki has struggled, hitting only .192 in 26 at-bats and even Carlos Gonzalez is only 1-for-9. Only Dexter Fowler at .353 cracks the .275 mark against the lefty starter. Avoid your Rockies where possible.
• Spot Starts: Figueroa, Sanchez, Vargas, D. Hudson, Niemann

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The Washington Nationals have 19 games remaining in the 2010 season.  If they win three of them, they will avoid losing 100 games for the third straight season.  It’s little solace for Nats fans that harbored illusions of a wild-card berth when the team got off to a 20-15 start.

Since then, the Nats have gone 40-68, a .370 winning percentage.  All those losses make for a long season, and if you pile on Stephen Strasburg’s injury, Nyjer Morgan’s bouts of immaturity, and Adam Dunn‘s looming contract status, one could understand if this Nationals team continues to limp down the stretch, playing out the string in another miserable season record-wise.

It’s human nature to underperform in unpleasant working conditions, but Nats fans don’t want to hear that after they were promised at the beginning of the season that this year was “about results.”  Fans are tired of hearing the same platitudes heaped upon the opposing starting pitcher, and the “we played hard” mantra night after night after night.

After Sunday’s loss—No. 83 on the season—a 6-5 decision to the Florida Marlins, manager Jim Riggleman held an “All Hands On Deck” meeting with his players and coaches.  It’s something he’s done before this season, but after what the thought was a lackluster effort from his squad, he felt like he needed to get some thing out in the air.

“I just thought our energy level, our body language early in the game, was not up to the standards it’s going to take for us to be a ballclub that goes to the next level. I just didn’t feel like we were getting after it early,” Riggleman said.

He asked for input from his coaching staff as well, and described the meeting to reporters after the game.  “This is what I see, this is what the coaches see, this is what (general manager) Mike (Rizzo) sees, this is what the fans see, so if anybody in the room thought that was acceptable, then they need to be made aware that we certainly don’t think it’s acceptable.”

While the words were appropriate given the situation, and the sloppy play against the Marlins—and five consecutive losses—one has to wonder if they were effective to their intended audience.

But has this group of players already tuned him out?  Riggleman actually said in his postgame press conference, “Sometimes when the same person keeps giving the message, it starts to fall on deaf ears.”

Seven-plus months, and a 162-game schedule makes for a very long season.  But how many times do you need to remind players that are playing for their jobs to play hard?

“I think the losing wears on you, but it’s a 162-game schedule, it’s a nine-inning ballgame,”Riggleman said. “That’s what you sign up for, that’s what you give.”

Riggleman then gave an unsolicited critique of the situation in the Nationals clubhouse.

To hear his critique, please visit Nats News Network.

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Nyjer Morgan’s latest suspension for charging Marlins P Chris Volstad for throwing behind him drew a ludicrous eight game suspension from Bud Selig, in addition to his previous seven game suspension currently under appeal.

Volstad allegedly threw behind Morgan in retaliation for a heinous crime: Stealing two bases in a row when his team was down by 10 runs.

Oh no. He’s lucky he doesn’t get suspended for that, too.

Apparently there’s some unwritten baseball rule somewhere that states that if your team is down by a zillion runs, you’re not allowed to try to claw your way back. At least the Marlins think so, and so Volstad intentionally threw behind Morgan.

If you were Morgan, wouldn’t you be just a little bit angry at someone intentionally trying to injure you with a baseball in response for trying to light a fire under your team?

They’re also unhappy with him for knocking over catchers at home plate. Which is something that no other baseball player has ever done. Certainly not Boston’s Ryan Kalish, who bowled over Indians catcher Carlos Santana and ended his season with a horrific knee injury. Better suspend him too.

If the two suspensions he’s facing hold up after appeals (they’re always reduced, so they won’t), he’ll be out for a total of 15 games. Fifteen games suspended for doing things that happen every season with little or no incident.

He doesn’t understand why they’re throwing the book at him, and I don’t either.

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The Florida Marlins have publicly stated that whatever media sources are reporting a brawl during their game last night are false. Major League Baseball says that since there were no fans at the Marlins game last night, there are no witnesses to prove otherwise. 

The Marlins have become synonymous with having a very low attendance average. On television, there are not any fans in the seats and thus a ton of orange seats are left exposed to the cameras. Last night was no exception. 

When Nyjer Morgan charged the mound last night, both benches were cleared and just about everyone on both teams were involved in the brawl. But it seems like those were the only people around to see what happened. 

You may ask what about the television cameras and the live broadcast of the game? Well, according to Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, he says that what was seen on television was a staged commercial. It was all a fake advertisement during the inning. 

It doesn’t seem to add up even in the Commissioner’s office. Bud Selig has refused to comment on what “reportedly” went down in Miami.

The eight game suspension to Nyjer Morgan issued today was due to the inappropriate language used in the commercial. Baseball officials are still looking for the possible one fan in attendance at the Marlins vs. Nationals game. The fan holds the key testimony as to what really occurred on the Thursday night in Miami. 

Looks like this is where having fans of your team actually comes in handy! Sadly, it doesn’t seem like there is such thing as a Florida Marlins fan. 

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