Earlier Thursday, MLB announced that the Cardinals’ Yadier Molina would receive a five-game suspension for the incident in Milwaukee Tuesday night involving umpire Rob Drake; Molina bumped Drake and may have spit in his face.
Molina decided not to appeal the suspension after talking to his agent and to Cardinals ganeral manager John Mozeliak. He has a bruised right hand that he suffered while trying to block a pitch in Wednesday’s game, and it had been determined earlier today that he would not be in tonight’s lineup.
So, since he can’t play anyway — and might have to sit for a few games — he apparently decided to just sit them out suspended. According to CBS Sports’ Danny Knobel, Molina issued this apology:
In statement announcing he won’t appeal, Molina says “I am sorry for my actions and apologize for letting my emotions get the best of me.”
Molina will miss the Cardinals’ four-game series in Florida against the Marlins, starting tonight, and the first game of their home series against the Brewers in St. Louis, which begins Monday.
That Molina is Yadier Molina, and he's been suspended for five games - and presumably fined - for an incident with umpire Rob Drake Tuesday night. Upset with a called strike, Molina flipped out, bumping Drake, yelling at him, and (accidentally) spitting in his face. Molina had to be held back, although I'm curious what would've happened if he hadn't been. They always hold the players back. What are they holding the players back from? Is a player actually going to slug an umpire in the head? Players are sissies. They wouldn't do anything. Umpires have all that gear on!
The usual process after a suspension is handed down is for the player to appeal, so Molina might appeal. If he appeals, he might even get the suspension reduced. I wouldn't count on it, though. The Cardinals' backup catcher is Gerald Laird, and he's worse than Molina, so whenever Molina gets around to serving his suspension, the Cardinals will be worse because of it.
