Let's review.
Kerry Wood blows a gasket against an umpire over legitimately awful balls and strikes material. Suspension: 5 games (under appeal).
Carlos Zambrano hits Jim Edmonds with two pitches (only one of which was clearly intentional) and makes an ass of himself by screaming at Edmonds after the big galoot hits another freaking home run. Suspension: 5 games (under appeal).
LaTroy Hawkins carries a personal feud with Tim Tschida to the extreme, has to be restrained by at least four coaches, makes an ass of himself on television. Suspension: 3 games (under appeal).
Sammy Sosa gets caught with a corked bat he admits was his that he simply mistakenly took into a game situation. The incident is replayed ad nauseum for days and will become a part of any possible retrospective on the season. Suspension: 7 games (after appeal).
Alex Rodriguez, arguably the game's most marketable player, screams obscenities on national television, gets into a fistfight that causes both benches to empty and shows little remorse. The incident is replayed ad nauseum for days and will become a part of any possible retrospective on the season. Suspension: 4 games (under appeal).
I've already made my beef about how Sosa's suspension was too lenient. And I don't need to mention again that Matt Morris should at least be fined by the league for throwing at Corey Patterson and not even having the decency to lie about doing it (even if he missed). But to give A-Rod and Jason Varitek four games apiece for last Saturday's Beantown Brawl (Beantown is like Chi-Town... nobody from there with any self-respect whatsoever would ever actually use the term, but I digress) is absolutely ludicrous in light of penalties leveled against Wood and Zambrano this season.
Just to clarify: I didn't have as much of a problem with Saturday's rumble as some people. In fact, I kind of enjoy watching the replays. I just think it's asinine to level a stiffer penalty on Wood, who did nothing to make anyone look foolish except himself, than on Rodriguez, who just taught a whole new generation of baseball fans the F-word.
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