Nyjer Morgan's seven-game suspension for an alleged incident with fans in Philadelphia has been eliminated upon appeal, but his eight-game suspension for a series of events that culminated in a brawl in Florida has been upheld, according to a source familiar with the decision.Thus, the total 15 games the Nationals outfielder was originally due to miss will be reduced to eight. Morgan will begin serving his time tomorrow and will miss this weekend's series at the Phillies, plus next week's series against the Astros and the first of a three-game series against the Braves.
Bob Watson, Major League Baseball's vice president for on-field operations, heard Morgan's appeal during a meeting Friday at Nationals Park that lasted more than four hours. After considering Morgan's side of the incident at Citizens Bank Park and gathering more evidence, Watson determined it didn't merit any suspension. Varied accounts of the incident said Morgan had been engaged in ongoing talk with fans and threw a ball into the center-field bleachers that struck a fan who wasn't paying attention.
Watson did uphold his original, eight-game suspension for a series of events that came after the August 21 game against the Phillies. That suspension was handed for intentionally running into Cardinals catcher Bryan Anderson during an August 28 game at Nationals Park, shouting at fans at Sun Life Stadium in Miami on August 31, charging the mound and inciting a bench-clearing brawl with the Marlins on September 1 and then shouting and making gestures at fans as he left the field after getting ejected from that game.
Morgan, who started the Nationals' last 12 games while appealing the suspensions and waiting for Watson's ruling, was also fined a total of $15,000 for all of his actions, according to the source.
24 comments:
Tough break for the Phillies. They get stuck taking on a Nats lineup that won't have Nyjer and his .636 OPS. Then Nyjer returns in time to make outs by the barrelful for the Braves.
From his picture, Nyjer looks pleased with the outcome of his appeal.
Nyjer should have been suspended for the rest of the season so he could go home and think about what an A$$ he is!
Speaking of Phillies and the Astros series. Thought id share this email i received from Travel Zoo - Nats ticket price reductions for those two home series:
http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/was/ticketing/groups_events.jsp?group=travelzoo&partnerId=travelzoo_was_septgames_091510
It's probably for the best that Nyjer doesn't play again in Philly.
Go Nyjer!!!
I love Nyjer - screw the racists that don't like him!
Nyjer can play on my team any time!
Yeah, I'm one of those "racists" who think Bernadina's a better all-around CF.
But it doesn't matter what the anonymous non-racists or the likes of me think. Nyj will return triumphantly to the top of the lineup, and to CF, when the suspension lifts. Next spring, he will be anointed as the starting CF by Rizzo and whoever the manager is at the time. The Flying Dutchman has been banished to LF, permanently.
Me? I'm going to enjoy my 8-game vacation from Nyjer.
At last, sane heads prevail: Nyjer gets the suspension he deserves for his unsportsmanlike conduct, while the alleged and highly suspect "fan incident" is rightfully dismissed.
I admire Nyjer - certainly more than the armchair GMs that post here - but he did go overboard during those few days. It's clear he wants to succeed, and I believe he wants to help the team more than himself. But the hockey behavior has got to be replaced with sound baseball instincts if that's going to happen.
Good point about the hockey behavior. He also needs to learn how to think as a hitter, and in general play for the team, not just on it. If he doesn't get it by the middle of next summer he's most likely gone.
I like Nyjer and hope they keep him, but the man is 31--he probably knows 95% of all the baseball he'll ever learn, already. I hope he gets a clue about not getting picked off, but you don't learn how to catch fly balls in your 30s, generally. Not well, anyway.
of course, now watch him get lasik over the winter and all this goes away...
The Nyjer I watch has made some mistakes, sure. But he makes spectacular catches and manufactures runs in smart ways. He's not an idiot. It's like the filter people see him through is of someone who is a bonehead, so you miss the good stuff. About which there is plenty. There is no doubt but that he cares about making stuff happen. Even on days when the rest of the team is low.
I'm glad they dumped the Philly fan suspension .
Take away the bad boy behavior and the numerous bonehead plays and what have you got? A declining, 31 year old player who is having his anti-career year and can't steal bases at a successful rate.
I would be very happy if he were not re-signed, but a one year contract, for a low amount, in hopes that at least his OBP rebounds to a respectable level, is not a bad gamble. However, if during the seson he continues to struggle at the plate (there is no doubt he will continue to struggle on the basepaths - he always has), I would hope the Nats would be wise enough to cut him loose.
As a Nyjer detractor for practically the whole season, the last 12 games has shown that without all the overboard hockey style approach to baseball, he can at least comport himself as a baseball player. A very mediocre baseball player but a baseball player non the less.
His OBP is still horrendous, he can make an average play in CF look exciting and he still can't hit a cut-off man.
We need a bonafide CF'er and a bonafide lead off man.
Nyjer is terrible at getting on base, bats for less power than Livan Hernandez, and gets caught stealing/picked off so often that he's basically a break-even proposition on the basepaths despite his speed.
It doesn't take an "armchair GM" to see these things- they're right there on his stat line- nor to know that it makes him an absolutely terrible offensive baseball player.
And pointing out that the Nationals' leadoff hitter is an absolutely terrible offensive baseball player does not make someone a "racist."
I also like Nyjer and am glad that the Philly suspension did not hold up. I'm still curious on which input the initial ruling was based (Internet chatter, report from the fan in question, reports from actual eyewitnesses?). Seems to me that some were quick to jump on him without having complete information, but I suppose that's the Internet age talking.
The same idiot that thinks anyone who doesn't like Nyjer is a racist is the same warped thinking that prevailed around Obama.
NatsJack in Florida perfectly described Nyjer. His stats speak for his worth to this team except an argument could be made to have him back in 2011 as a bench player.
Nyjer Morgan's WAR for 2010 is .5 which is worth about $2.2 mil; his salary is $450,000. In 2009 his WAR was 4.9. Clearly he has some glaring holes in his game but there is a chance that his overall value is at least somewhere between these 2 and as such he would likely be a good return on investment for next year.
Let's not be so quick to throw Nyjer out and let's not blame him for judgment errors which should be controlled by the manager.
Nyjer cannot be my center fielder for one reason only. He has no arm. That, if nothing else should keep him off a contending team. All the other stuff is bad, but if he had an arm, I could get over it. Everyone else in baseball knows this, so why is Rizzo laying out for the guy?
320R2S15,
Johnny Damon has no arm either but it didn't stop him from starting in the outfield for 3 World series champions (2 in center field); the point is you can't have a perfect player at every position and over all if Morgan can come close to what he did in 2009 he gives you good return on investment.
Cowboy up, Tony Plush! :-)
320R2S15: you're arguing with reality. He IS your center fielder till he gets traded or retires. :-)
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