No Winners As a Result of This Disqualification

There’s probably a whole generation of people completely unaware that such a thing as a “Disqualification List” in major league baseball.  When you can make scores of people aware of a list this important, that’s how you know you’ve done something so heinous as to offend the senses of an entire country.

My favorite part of Frankie Rodriguez being put on the “list” is hearing Kevin Burkhardt talk about the prohibited activities list in Frankie’s contract that holds the key to whether his disqualification, which deprives him of salary and service time, will hold up or not.  And the only think I keep thinking is … if the words “player is prohibited from beating up old people” has to be written into a contract, what does that say about society?  In the 80’s, there were only a few things that any contract needed to say:

• Player is prohibited from riding motorcycles or similar thrill-seeking vehicles.
• Player is prohibited from skydiving or other dangerous activity.
• Player is prohibited from giving away the ending of Hill Street Blues for teammates who taped them.

Now, special clauses have to be put in for special people like Frankie.  “Do not pummel old people, children, or small animals”.  This is necessary?  Well, obviously it is these days.  Especially when you’ve got a players union who thinks the Mets actions are “without basis” and will most assuredly ask the world what its definition of “pummel” is.

At least Frankie used his only shred of honor to admit that it was the fight that blew up his pitching hand.  Yeah, character.  Pass it on.

Luckily there was a game to concentrate on for a couple of hours.  The good news: No relievers were harmed in the making of this loss.  The bad news: they lost.  Hunter Pence turned Johan Santana’s complete game into just your run of the mill “L” with two home runs.  And David Wright failed in his attempt to go the entire month without an RBI.  But to get all the way to the 17th of the month without one is something one has to work at, and Wright gave it a great try.  He commemorated the occasion by giving a framed copy of the lineup card to Hisanori Takahashi, who promptly bashed it over Wright’s head in a rage caused by the fact he didn’t get into the game.

Nice to know Takahashi has already learned the subtle nuances of closing.