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

[kepdawg]

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

- Tom Grieve about Richie Sexon

Sexon charged the mound after Kason Gabbard threw a high pitch over the plate.

[kepdawg]

LINK (http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/05/brawl-breaks-out-grieve-slams-sexson.html#comments)

From the Ranger blog on DMN:

Reader's comments on Tom Grieve's rant.

********

grieve unplugged round 1

“That ball wasn’t even close.”

“Where did that come from?”

“You know the thing that’s hard to understand in this game is Hernandez is the guy that’s drilled two guys. He drilled Laird. He drilled Kinsler. That pitch to Sexson wasn’t even close to hitting him, but I guess when you’re hitting .209 and you can’t bat in any runs you’re going to try and take it out on the pitcher.”

“I have no idea what Sexson was thinking though.”

“That’s just… That’s just a great example of a team that’s struggling, a team that can’t score runs trying to stir it up, trying to get some emotion into their performance.”

“I have no idea where that’s coming from.”

“You would think it was the Mariners who were getting drilled tonight. It’s Hernandez who has drilled the Rangers.”

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

********

And now an inning later this gem:

"I shouldn't have said Richie Sexson threw the helmet like a girl. I don't think even girls would have done that. So to any girls watching, I apologize."

[g$$]

You go Tom! Former player came out in him & I agree with everything he said. Sexson is a big goof w/ power & LOTS of holes in swing. Huge disappointment over last few years.

These teams will play a lot more games this year. That could get very interesting.

"I shouldn't have said Richie Sexson threw the helmet like a girl. I don't think even girls would have done that. So to any girls watching, I apologize." --Tom Grieve

Wow!

[Rabbit'93]

I didn't like Tom G before last night. That was awesome. He kept getting shots in 10 mins after the incident. Classic.



However if a 6'8" dude comes running after me I'm running the other way.

[Rabbit'93]

Just saw sportcenter....even the anouncer on there just threw Sexson under the bus. About charging the mound "it's one of the few hits he's had all year". Awesome.

[3afan]

Originally posted by Rabbit'93
....
However if a 6'8" dude comes running after me I'm running the other way.

heck yeah - me too!!!

[Texasfootball2]

I was up watching the game. I totally agree with Tom. The sad part of the whole thing is that Gaber had to leave the game after one more batter with an injury he sustained in the brawl, and he had a one hit gem going. I hope Sexon gets suspended for 10 games.

[Rabbit'93]

Just saw sportcenter....even the anouncer on there just threw Sexson under the bus. About charging the mound "it's one of the few hits he's had all year". Awesome.

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by Texasfootball2
I was up watching the game. I totally agree with Tom. The sad part of the whole thing is that Gaber had to leave the game after one more batter with an injury he sustained in the brawl, and he had a one hit gem going. I hope Sexon gets suspended for 10 games.

I just hope that he sits longer than Gabbard...I really hope he doesn't have to miss a start after that bull crap...that was one of the cheapest things I've seen in sports in recent memory. For a guy that had a good reputation in baseball before last night, I lost just about every ounce of respect I ever had for him.

[Texasfootball2]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
I just hope that he sits longer than Gabbard...I really hope he doesn't have to miss a start after that bull crap...that was one of the cheapest things I've seen in sports in recent memory. For a guy that had a good reputation in baseball before last night, I lost just about every ounce of respect I ever had for him. :ditto:

[BwdLions]

Originally posted by Texasfootball2
I was up watching the game. I totally agree with Tom. The sad part of the whole thing is that Gaber had to leave the game after one more batter with an injury he sustained in the brawl, and he had a one hit gem going. I hope Sexon gets suspended for 10 games.

I agree, that was the worst part of it. Gabbard was pitching a great game. I used to like Sexton, but not any more.

[Txbroadcaster]

I am not going to start hating Sexson cause of this one incident

The night before he was in hospital with sick son and admitted some of the his actions was caused by stress...He admitted the helmet throwing was crap, and I think he knows today after watch the film that he reacted to something that was not there

IMO the worst oine was Felix..the pitcher hit two rangers, then is out there just talking all type of crap

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by Txbroadcaster
I am not going to start hating Sexson cause of this one incident

The night before he was in hospital with sick son and admitted some of the his actions was caused by stress...He admitted the helmet throwing was crap, and I think he knows today after watch the film that he reacted to something that was not there

IMO the worst oine was Felix..the pitcher hit two rangers, then is out there just talking all type of crap

If he was under that much stress due to his son, he shouldn't have been in the lineup to begin with. He's having a hard time hitting .200 when he's on his game; how in the world does he think he can be a contributor if he admits his head isn't fully there?

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
If he was under that much stress due to his son, he shouldn't have been in the lineup to begin with. He's having a hard time hitting .200 when he's on his game; how in the world does he think he can be a contributor if he admits his head isn't fully there?

Cmon Crzy, he was trying to be there for the team..bad situation with son, but team is in losing streak, so he tried to be a good teamate

agian what he did was crap and he should be suspended, but I am not going to hate hi forever because of this one thing

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by Txbroadcaster
Cmon Crzy, he was trying to be there for the team..bad situation with son, but team is in losing streak, so he tried to be a good teamate

agian what he did was crap and he should be suspended, but I am not going to hate hi forever because of this one thing

What if one of his teammates had gotten hurt instead of Gabbard? All of the sudden, he's not even a good teammate because his actions hurt the team worse.

Trying to be there for the team? Take another day off for crying out loud if you're not mentally there...better that than have your team be shorthanded for a week or longer because of what you did when you admit that you knew that you were distracted going into the game!

How did anything that he did last night show a semblance of being a good teammate? Just being in the lineup? I'd argue that knowing what we saw, that he was in the lineup more for selfish reasons than the benefit of the team.

[Txbroadcaster]

see this is what I hate..judging someone AFTER the fact..if last night he would have hit a 3 run homer to win the game the story would be oh how amazing it was for him to comeback from child in hospital the night before and be there for the team

Agasin what he did was STUPID..VERY STUPID..But I think he was TRYING to be a god teammate when he made the decision to play last night. Unless he went to the plate saying I am charging no matter what then it was a bad judgmental error that led to the decision to charge.

I still commend him for being there for the team and playing thru a tough situation, I dont commend him charging for no reason

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by Txbroadcaster
see this is what I hate..judging someone AFTER the fact..if last night he would have hit a 3 run homer to win the game the story would be oh how amazing it was for him to comeback from child in hospital the night before and be there for the team

Agasin what he did was STUPID..VERY STUPID..But I think he was TRYING to be a god teammate when he made the decision to play last night. Unless he went to the plate saying I am charging no matter what then it was a bad judgmental error that led to the decision to charge.

I still commend him for being there for the team and playing thru a tough situation, I dont commend him charging for no reason

Well, the reason I'm judging him after the fact is because he openly admitted that he knew he had other things going on in his head and that they probably impacted him last night.

Look at it this way...he lied to his manager...I guarantee you that if a player leaves an hour before a game the night before due to a serious emergency, when he returns the next day, the manager is going to ask him about the situation and ask if he's mentally ok to play. Sexson obviously told SOMEONE on the team that he was fine, and then says afterwards that he knew he wasn't...that's NOT a good teammate.

On the second part of your statement, I think his quotes from this mlb.com article sum it up pretty well:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080509&content_id=2667691&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

"I know throwing a helmet is the wrong thing to do," Sexson said. "I know in the end that wasn't the right thing to do, but I lost it. You start thinking about a lot of things there. The whole time I was going to the plate, I said, 'I don't mind getting hit, but keep it down.'

"I knew the situation. Everybody in the ballpark knew what was going on there. Hit me, and I take first base, but don't throw at my head. I'm 6-foot-8. How difficult is it to hit me in the middle of the back or my thigh?

"If he hits me in the face, what are we talking about here? At the time, you are so angry you don't even know what happens for the next five minutes. It's a rage at that point. I wouldn't have been angry if he had kept the ball down."

He clearly went up to the plate thinking the entire time that if a ball was thrown up, he was charging, and he thought about it so much that a high but over-the-plate pitch caused him to black out last night and go into a rage. Premeditated.

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
Well, the reason I'm judging him after the fact is because he openly admitted that he knew he had other things going on in his head and that they probably impacted him last night.

Look at it this way...he lied to his manager...I guarantee you that if a player leaves an hour before a game the night before due to a serious emergency, when he returns the next day, the manager is going to ask him about the situation and ask if he's mentally ok to play. Sexson obviously told SOMEONE on the team that he was fine, and then says afterwards that he knew he wasn't...that's NOT a good teammate.

On the second part of your statement, I think his quotes from this mlb.com article sum it up pretty well:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080509&content_id=2667691&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb


"I know throwing a helmet is the wrong thing to do," Sexson said. "I know in the end that wasn't the right thing to do, but I lost it. You start thinking about a lot of things there. The whole time I was going to the plate, I said, 'I don't mind getting hit, but keep it down.'

"I knew the situation. Everybody in the ballpark knew what was going on there. Hit me, and I take first base, but don't throw at my head. I'm 6-foot-8. How difficult is it to hit me in the middle of the back or my thigh?

"If he hits me in the face, what are we talking about here? At the time, you are so angry you don't even know what happens for the next five minutes. It's a rage at that point. I wouldn't have been angry if he had kept the ball down."

He clearly went up to the plate thinking the entire time that if a ball was thrown up, he was charging, and he thought about it so much that a high but over-the-plate pitch caused him to black out last night and go into a rage. Premeditated.


So you have never thought you was well enough be it sickness or stress to work or play a game then after the day or game realize you probably was not ready? Again I dont call that lying or being a bad teammate, I call it trying to tough out a bad situation and not able to

[eagles_victory]

Thing is that the health concern for his son was settled before the game and his son was doing fine. Im not saying Im going to hate him forever but that is no excuse for any of it.

Throwing a helmet what if that hits Gabbard in the head or the face and causes some serious damage. The main thing that bothered me is the pitch wasnt even close that tells you right there that he is going up to the plate just waiting for a reason to charge the mound. Had the pitch hit him or buzzed him and he wants to go out and fight like a man then I have no problem. But on a pitch that wasnt even inside and to throw a foreign object.

IMO his suspension should be long because look what Delmon Young got when he tossed not even a throw but more of a toss at the umpire. Now I know a bat and a helmet are different things but Richie threw this helmet hard with a lot of downward force and could of hurt Gabbard. Not to mention that he put everyone else on the field in danger including his own teammates you never know what people are going to do in this situation. I mean look what happened in the background of the Yankees Sox brawl where Zimmer got thrown down.

Lastly back to the son excuse having something like that happens makes a lot of people put stuff in prospective and appreciate what they have. I know I have played a couple basketball games when my mom was in the hospital and if something like that happened because of my state of mind of knowing what my mom was going through I would of been way less likely to start something then I would have in a normal situation. Maybe thats just me but I dont understand how frustration about one of your loved ones being in pain would make you want to put someone else in pain as well.

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by Txbroadcaster
So you have never thought you was well enough be it sickness or stress to work or play a game then after the day or game realize you probably was not ready? Again I dont call that lying or being a bad teammate, I call it trying to tough out a bad situation and not able to

Actually no, I never have, but I do understand that it could happen to somebody.

But he didn't "think" he was fine and realize afterward that he still had other things going on. He admitted that it was on his mind to start the night...that's not realizing afterward; that's realizing beforehand and still convincing someone to let you play.

[jimmyceatworld]

Originally posted by Texasfootball2
I was up watching the game. I totally agree with Tom. The sad part of the whole thing is that Gaber had to leave the game after one more batter with an injury he sustained in the brawl, and he had a one hit gem going. I hope Sexon gets suspended for 10 games.

Hitting just over .200, it might help the team the more he misses lol.

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
Actually no, I never have, but I do understand that it could happen to somebody.

But he didn't "think" he was fine and realize afterward that he still had other things going on. He admitted that it was on his mind to start the night...that's not realizing afterward; that's realizing beforehand and still convincing someone to let you play.


and maybe trying to cpnvince himself he was ready to play as well..your making it sound like he went to park that day intent on starting crap

I think he thought he would be hit, a high pitch made him react and he charged..and for no reason...he should be suspended, and for a good while, but again I am not going to go from respecting him to thinking he is dirt for one stupid play that I bet he regrets

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by Txbroadcaster
and maybe trying to cpnvince himself he was ready to play as well..your making it sound like he went to park that day intent on starting crap

I think he thought he would be hit, a high pitch made him react and he charged..and for no reason...he should be suspended, and for a good while, but again I am not going to go from respecting him to thinking he is dirt for one stupid play that I bet he regrets

No, I don't think he went to the park intent on starting something, but I do think he went to the park determined to play without regards to his teammates. What I'm questioning is the argument that he was just trying to be a good teammate.

There must have been 1,000 guys last year who thought that they might get hit and saw a high pitch. Not a single one of them charged. Sexson did. He literally allowed his emotions to put him into a "rage" on the field...that kind of stuff gets people killed outside of sports. It's totally inexcusable, and I hope that as part of his suspension, he's required to go to anger management classes. I personally find not remembering what happens for five minutes because you're in angry rage to be very, very scary, and I can't help but think that the guy has to have preexisting issues to get to that point.

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
No, I don't think he went to the park intent on starting something, but I do think he went to the park determined to play without regards to his teammates. What I'm questioning is the argument that he was just trying to be a good teammate.

There must have been 1,000 guys last year who thought that they might get hit and saw a high pitch. Not a single one of them charged. Sexson did. He literally allowed his emotions to put him into a "rage" on the field...that kind of stuff gets people killed outside of sports. It's totally inexcusable, and I hope that as part of his suspension, he's required to go to anger management classes. I personally find not remembering what happens for five minutes because you're in angry rage to be very, very scary, and I can't help but think that the guy has to have preexisting issues to get to that point.

Sorry but I do think he was trying to be a good teammate..did not work out and in hindsight he should not have played, but I still think in his mind he thought he was doing the team right

as far as preexisiting issues, well if so they have been very well hidden because up until last night even Tom Grieve said he is considered one of the best guys in the majors

and I guess we all should be as lucky as you that ytou have never truly gotten mad, because I know I have blown my top before

[g$$]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
Well, the reason I'm judging him after the fact is because he openly admitted that he knew he had other things going on in his head and that they probably impacted him last night.

Look at it this way...he lied to his manager...I guarantee you that if a player leaves an hour before a game the night before due to a serious emergency, when he returns the next day, the manager is going to ask him about the situation and ask if he's mentally ok to play. Sexson obviously told SOMEONE on the team that he was fine, and then says afterwards that he knew he wasn't...that's NOT a good teammate.

On the second part of your statement, I think his quotes from this mlb.com article sum it up pretty well:

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080509&content_id=2667691&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

"I know throwing a helmet is the wrong thing to do," Sexson said. "I know in the end that wasn't the right thing to do, but I lost it. You start thinking about a lot of things there. The whole time I was going to the plate, I said, 'I don't mind getting hit, but keep it down.'

"I knew the situation. Everybody in the ballpark knew what was going on there. Hit me, and I take first base, but don't throw at my head. I'm 6-foot-8. How difficult is it to hit me in the middle of the back or my thigh?

"If he hits me in the face, what are we talking about here? At the time, you are so angry you don't even know what happens for the next five minutes. It's a rage at that point. I wouldn't have been angry if he had kept the ball down."

He clearly went up to the plate thinking the entire time that if a ball was thrown up, he was charging, and he thought about it so much that a high but over-the-plate pitch caused him to black out last night and go into a rage. Premeditated.

Agreed. The guy just lost it & evidently should not have been in line-up w/ head not being right anyway. That pitch was nothing but up & even got some plate. He was ready to charge, period.

[3afan]

Sexson gets 6-game suspension for igniting brawl against Texas Rangers

03:27 PM CDT on Friday, May 9, 2008
Associated Press

NEW YORK – Seattle slugger Richie Sexson was suspended for six games and fined Friday by Major League Baseball after charging the mound and throwing his helmet at a Texas pitcher the previous night.

Bob Watson, baseball's vice president in charge of discipline, cited Sexson for "violent and aggressive actions."

Sexson asked the players' association to appeal, and any suspension will be delayed until after a hearing.

Seattle's Felix Hernandez and Texas' Gerald Laird and Sidney Ponson also were fined.

Sexson charged the mound and flung his helmet at Rangers pitcher Kason Gabbard after the left-hander threw an eye-high pitch to him in the fourth inning of Seattle's 5-0 loss. While benches cleared, no punches were thrown. Sexson was ejected.

Tensions began to build in the top half when Hernandez hit Ian Kinsler, who had homered in the second, in the back with a fastball. Kinsler turned toward Hernandez, who put his arms out then stared at Kinsler as the second baseman walked to first.

When benches cleared, Hernandez was restrained by three players, including former Mariners closer Eddie Guardado, now with Texas.

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by 3afan
Sexson gets 6-game suspension for igniting brawl against Texas Rangers

03:27 PM CDT on Friday, May 9, 2008
Associated Press

NEW YORK – Seattle slugger Richie Sexson was suspended for six games and fined Friday by Major League Baseball after charging the mound and throwing his helmet at a Texas pitcher the previous night.

Bob Watson, baseball's vice president in charge of discipline, cited Sexson for "violent and aggressive actions."

Sexson asked the players' association to appeal, and any suspension will be delayed until after a hearing.

Seattle's Felix Hernandez and Texas' Gerald Laird and Sidney Ponson also were fined.

Sexson charged the mound and flung his helmet at Rangers pitcher Kason Gabbard after the left-hander threw an eye-high pitch to him in the fourth inning of Seattle's 5-0 loss. While benches cleared, no punches were thrown. Sexson was ejected.

Tensions began to build in the top half when Hernandez hit Ian Kinsler, who had homered in the second, in the back with a fastball. Kinsler turned toward Hernandez, who put his arms out then stared at Kinsler as the second baseman walked to first.

When benches cleared, Hernandez was restrained by three players, including former Mariners closer Eddie Guardado, now with Texas.

Sad thing here is I bet if Gabbard leaves immediately due to the injury as opposed to trying to pitch through it, Sexson gets suspended for at least twice as long...he got off very easy.

[g$$]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03
Sad thing here is I bet if Gabbard leaves immediately due to the injury as opposed to trying to pitch through it, Sexson gets suspended for at least twice as long...he got off very easy.

I don't think Gabbard's injury severity had anything to do with length of suspension. Sexson used his helmet as a weapon & started a brawl. They compare cases & apply to similar incidents.

6 games is pretty light for what he did though.

[crzyjournalist03]

Originally posted by g$$
I don't think Gabbard's injury severity had anything to do with length of suspension. Sexson used his helmet as a weapon & started a brawl. They compare cases & apply to similar incidents.

6 games is pretty light for what he did though.

I don't think that it did, but I think it probably should have.

[Global Swarming]

That pitch was one that he normally swings at anyway. The guy's an idiot. He should have been arrested for assault. You do that on the street and you're off to the clink.

[lostaussie]

Originally posted by crzyjournalist03

He clearly went up to the plate thinking the entire time that if a ball was thrown up, he was charging, and he thought about it so much that a high but over-the-plate pitch caused him to black out last night and go into a rage. Premeditated. i agree

[RMAC]

He's not throwing at you when he's got a game on the line. That's just plain stupid. Sexon needs to realize he's not as good as he used to be. He pitched to both guys ahead of them that are better hitters.