Brett Lawrie received a four game suspension from Major League Baseball.

The penalty was imposed Wednesday and included an undisclosed fine.
Lawrie is appealing and can playing until there is a decision. He was in the starting lineup Wednesday night against the Yankees.

The third baseman was ejected by plate umpire Bill Miller after arguing a called third strike in the ninth inning of Tuesday night’s 4-3 loss to Tampa Bay.

I’m not surprised. The penalty will probably be reduced on appeal.

A Chicago native, Hickey didn’t play high school baseball. But after competing in 16-inch softball and semipro baseball, he was invited to a Comiskey Park tryout and offered a minor league contract. He pitched three minor league seasons before making his major league debut.

He had been the White Sox’s pregame instructor since 2004.

Hickey’s best year came in 1982 when he posted a 3.00 ERA in 60 appearances. He was a high walk, low strikeout pitcher, but managed to give up nineteen fewer hits than innings pitched in his career.

My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Hiroki Kuroda and Kyle Drabek square off in Toronto as the Yankees visit the Blue Jays. Both pitchers sport similar ERAs, and both are well below their FIP. With two good offenses on the field, this could easily turn into a slugfest, as both pitchers allowed six home runs so far.

One of the pitchers traded for Gio Gonzalez is making his mark as well, as Tommy Milone leads the Athletics against Yu Darvish and the Rangers. Milone makes team earn their runs as he allowed only 12 walks in 43 2/3 innings this season. Darvish allowed twice that many, and they are creeping up again as he walked seven batters in his last two starts.

Enjoy!

The Phillies had already decided Vance Worley wouldn’t make his start Wednesday against the Cubs, but now he’ll miss at least one more start as the team placed him on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation.

Let’s hope this is one of the times a team catches a bad elbow before the injury requires major surgery.

Obviously there is only so much you can tell from just watching a player, but I kept my eye on him most of the game, even he wasn’t the center of attention or involved in a play. Lawrie fidgets a lot. He seems to radiate intensity and energy. This can be somewhat off-putting, like when he fidgets during the national anthem when everyone else is still, but the upside is that his body looked alive far more than everyone else on the field, with the possible exception of Lorenzo Cain. Comparing Lawrie with Moustakas for example, Lawrie just oozes energetic power compared to Moustakas’ solid, staid affect.

Lawrie’s intensity manifested itself negatively when he got into an argument with the umpire about a check-swing strike three call. It looked like he almost got ejected (which would have really irritated me, it was just the third inning), but he pulled himself back in time and stayed in the game. There are all kinds of stories/rumors about Lawrie’s personality and antics, but he plays with fire on the field.

That fire likely gets him suspended for his antics Tuesday night.

The event, which will take place on July 24 at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago, will host executives from MLB’s Central Office, all 30 Major League clubs, MLB Network, MLB Advanced Media and Minor League clubs.

The trade fair will provide job seekers and entrepreneurs alike with the chance to network directly with club and sponsorship decision-makers for employment and business opportunities, and will also include activities such as workshops and roundtable discussions.

This sounds like nothing more than a fancy job fair to me. Are people who are not diverse not allowed to attend?

Last night, after a Mets pitcher plunked Ryan Braun, Terry Collins took David Wright out of the game so he would not be hit. Wright took exception to this:

Wright erupted. Emphatically yelling at Collins, demanding to stay in the game before storming down the tunnel and in to the clubhouse. Wright later returned and next to Collins on the top step, spoke passionately about the situation, as Collins stared intensely at the field.

Vinny Cartiglia reviews notes how both player and manager acted correctly in this situation:

David could have easily been drilled with a fastball on the wrist, elbow, or the head and needed a DL stint to which we would all have been furious that he was left in the game. Wright is very important to this club and there is no reason he should have been put in harms way during an 8-0 game. And so, I am glad Terry did what he did.

On the flip side of that coin, I get why Wright was upset. He’s the leader of this club and official or not, he is the captain.

Of course, the real right thing to do was not plunk Braun in the first place. The HBP came after a home run in a lopsided game, so it seemed retaliatory. Hitting someone when because you’re down 8-0, especially someone who hadn’t contributed much to the offense that night, seems Bush League.

Under former GMs Bill Stoneman or Tony Reagins, Tuesday’s move seems unlikely, certainly in May. But Dipoto has brought in his own people and has his own vision for this team, one which doesn’t always align with the way Scioscia and Hatcher viewed things. He vowed back in November to increase the Angels’ emphasis on on-base percentage. Scioscia and Hatcher continued to preach patience only as a means to an end — getting a good pitch to hit — not as an end in itself — a walk.

Dipoto admitted that disconnect was part of Tuesday’s move, that the team needed to be better at scoring runs by means other than the “safely hit ball.”

The Angels philosophy under Scioscia is put the ball in play. Since the start of the 2001 season, the Angels batters struck out 10676 times, fewest in the majors by 351. If you look at this from a pitcher’s perspective, more balls in play lead to more hits. The team also drew the third fewest walks in the majors (the Royals drew the fewest). The Angels put the ball in play, and because they had some good hitters, it worked.

Note that since the start of 2011, the Angels are still low in drawing walks, but the are ranking higher in strikeouts, 8th fewest. That may be personnel as much as philosophy.

The Rockies beat the Giants 5-4 on Marco Scutaro‘s ninth inning solo home run. Tim Lincecum pitched what is becoming a typical outing for him. He struck out seven in seven innings, but gave up four runs. Opponents are hitting .354 against Tim with runners in scoring position. The Giants also squandered many opportunities as they went two for 17 with runners in scoring position.

Brett Lawrie is looking at a suspension:

Lawrie was ejected for arguing after he struck out looking in the Blue Jays’ ninth. Lawrie took several steps toWard Miller, wound up with his right arm and threw down his helmet.

The helmet bounced up and struck Miller around the right hip – a suspension from Major League Baseball is all but certain. Toronto manager John Farrell came out to restrain his 22-year-old third baseman, who’s in his first full season in the majors. After Lawrie returned to the dugout, Farrell was ejected for arguing the call.

When you’re around an umpire, keep your equipment to yourself.

Josh Hamilton went 1 for 2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly to raise his batting average to .402. He now has about a 1 in 36,000 chance of hitting .400 for the season.

Josh Johnson pitched like an ace for the second start in a row, holding the Pirates to two runs in seven innings. He waked one and struck out six, showing his great control. His ERA remains high at 5.36, but the game dropped it about 1/2 run.

Hanley Ramirez collected three hits, including two doubles as he remains hot. He’s now 17 for 63 in May, .270, after hitting .207 in April. The return of Johnson and Ramirez to star status were key to the Marlins competing this season. It looks like it’s finally happening.

The Marlins beat the Pirates 6-2.

He received plenty of support Tuesday night as the Brewers hit three home runs, Travis Ishikawa going deep twice. They win 8-0.

Adam Jones and Curtis Granderson kept up their home run barrages, each going deep tonight. For Granderson, it was his 13th. Jones hit number 11.

Mike Trout his his third home run as he also collected three hits, scoring three times. His .316/.369/.561 slash line lives up to his hype.

Boston takes the game 5-0, and has won five in a row.

“I can’t really tell you what the problem was, but some Hot Stuff got misplaced,” Johnson said. “It was on his shoulder and evidently – I don’t know how it got to where it got, but it was uncomfortable, to say the least.”

The sense in the Nationals’ clubhouse was no one would have pulled a prank on Strasburg on the day he pitched – nobody would be that dumb. Baseball clubhouses are full of jocularity and pranks, but they don’t take precedence over winning.

Maybe Donna Summer was in town.

Update: The Mariners botch a double play, leaving Ortiz on second, and he comes around to score to give Boston a 4-0 lead.

Dayan Viciedo hits a ball to the wall in rightfield, but it’s caught and the Tigers win.

DavE. Robertson has been placed on the disabled list with a strained left oblique. He hasnt walked into the clubhouse yet, and theres no word on how long hes expected to be out.

Cody Eppley replaced him on the roster.

Eppley had great strikeout and walk numbers in the minors, but those have yet to translate to the majors.