Yankees: NYY fans need to see Rob Manfred finally punish Astros properly

The Astros incited a benches-clearing brawl on Sunday and it’s time they get punished.

Alright Mr. Manfred. You can save a shred of your reputation if you decide to do things right this time around.

The Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics got into a benches-clearing brawl on Sunday after A’s outfielder Ramon Laureano was hit for the second time in the series by the same pitcher (Humberto Castellanos).

Laureano was understandably upset for getting beaned for the second time during the weekend and had some words for Castellanos, catcher Martin Maldonado and the Astros dugout (as he was walking up the first base line). Then, came further provocation from Houston’s side, with hitting coach Alex Cintron gesturing “come get some.”

That’s when all hell broke loose.

A suspension is coming for Laureano. While we’d love to see him get off the hook, we can’t be living in a lawless society. He started the violence and lost his cool, so there are going to be consequences for that.

But for Castellanos, Maldonado, Cintron and manager Dusty Baker? Manfred better levy suspensions for those four, with Maldonado and Cintron getting the heaviest sentences.

Cintron is an assistant coach. He has no business yelling at (or insulting) a player from the dugout. He provoked Laureano, which is just about as unacceptable as it gets. As for Maldonado, you can see him fighting multiple players WITH his catching equipment on after getting in Laureano’s face shortly after the slugger was hit by a pitch. Yes, players were gathering due to the tense incident, but Maldonado was getting overly physical.

Castellanos should be suspended for hitting Laureano TWICE in this series. Joe Kelly got eight games for hitting nobody and talking trash. We better see discipline for the young pitcher. Not too hard.

And lastly, Baker needs to be taught a lesson. FIVE A’s batters were hit in this series compared to zero Astros players. Houston was swept in a four-game set and clearly couldn’t keep their composure or properly play baseball. That falls on the manager.

We understand he’s in a tough spot coming in as the skipper after one of the biggest scandals in history was orchestrated by this roster, but it’s not anyone’s problem he made that choice. You’re going to deal with a stressful and trying year whether you like it or not. Saddle up and play baseball. Quit whining about it and trying to escalate tensions when you have no business doing so.

This will be Manfred’s THIRD and final chance to do right by the players and fans. No matter how you look at this, the Astros played a role in starting this fiasco during a season in which brawls are BANNED because of the pandemic. There were supposed to be strict penalties in the event a benches-clearing incident happened, right?

Let’s see it.

Yankees: Revisiting the Yankees missing out on Mike Trout in 2009 Draft

The New York Yankees really wanted to draft Mike Trout in 2009, they swear! But the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim stood in the way.