Friday Night Musings

Over the years, I've seen some questionable instances of "charging the mound" by overly offended hitters, but none as jaw-dropping as Richie Sexson's decision to attack the Rangers' Kason Gabbard on Thursday night. Gabbard's pitch, while high, didn't come within a yard of hitting Sexson. But it nonetheless caught the attention of Sexson, who was obviously thinking about some batters who had been hit earlier in the night. MLB responded quickly by announcing a six-game suspension for Sexson, which he will appeal. I hope that the six-game ban is upheld; Sexson deserves to sit out every one of those half dozen games, if not more...

Kei Igawa looked simply awful in his return to the big leagues tonight. The Yankee left-hander left most of his pitches up and in the middle of the strike zone, allowing the Tigers to batter him for 11 hits in three-plus innings. Given his performance tonight, it appears that Igawa learned little about the importance of keeping the ball down during his early-season stint in the minor leagues. It's hard to believe that Igawa was as successful as he was in Japan; are the Japanese hitters so incompetent that they can't handle high curve balls and change-ups?...

Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi has taken his fair share of hits over his tenure in Toronto, but let's credit him for making two good moves on Friday. In adding veteran bats Brad Wilkerson and Kevin Mench at low cost, he acquired two players capable of contributing in a platoon role. Wilkerson is not the player he once was in Montreal, but he still has legitimate power against right-handed pitching and enough versatility to play the outfield corners and first base, while Mench has always been able to handle left-handers. The Jays still need more offense, but Wilkerson and Mench are two small steps in the right direction.