Bourn suspended, will appeal

Michael Bourn has been suspended two games by MLB for bumping umpire Alfonso Marquez last weekend, in addition to being fined. Alyson Footer notes that Bourn will appeal, so the suspension will not begin tonight.

Update from McTaggart, in which there's a quote from Easy Eddie:

"I called Michael this morning to make him aware of the suspension and fine, and he was going to the Players Association to file an appeal. They'll schedule a hearing out of New York at some point in time, either face-to-face or by some type of video conferencing, and until that point comes, Michael will be available...

...We feel the contact was [incidental] and Michael did not intend to bump Alfonso Marquez. We disagree with the severity of the punishment, and hopefully it gets reversed or reduced at some point in time."

Alfonso Marquez: Kind of a jerk

So we've spent some time talking about umpire Alfonso Marquez who, in the course of two games, ejected Michael Bourn, Brad Mills, and appeared to lose his rag in front of Humberto Quintero.

Levine:
After a pitch was called a ball on a critical at-bat for the Padres' Tim Stauffer, Quintero said something without turning around to plate umpire Alfonso Marquez. Marquez then stepped in front of Quintero and said something.

“Q was not showing him up for me,” Mills said. “He wasn't turning around and he kept his mask on, so I really didn't know what was going on, but when he gets up and gets in front of Q, then yes” Mills was defending his catcher when he came out.

Quintero thought Marquez's stepping in front of the plate was uncalled for.

“He doesn't have to do that,” Quintero said. “I talked to him with respect.”

Let's also just remember that it was Alfonso Marquez who asked Kenny Rogers to do him a favor and remove that "dirt thing" off his hand in the 2006 World Series.

McTaggart's notebook is full of news

So Brad Mills got hisself thrown out of the game and talked about getting thrown out yesterday:

Mills was ejected by home-plate umpire Alfonso Marquez, who had thrown out Michael Bourn a night earlier for arguing a call at first base. Mills argued with Marquez in the top of the fifth inning Sunday, when a pitch thrown by Roy Oswalt to Padres pitcher Tim Stauffer was called a ball. Stauffer wound up hitting a two-run double on a 2-2 count.

In the bottom of the inning, Stauffer threw a similar pitch down in the zone that was called a strike, prompting Mills to yell from the dugout at Marquez, who threw him out. Mills came onto the field and argued with Marquez for a few minutes before walking off the field to a standing ovation.

Coincidentally, Mills spoke at length before Sunday's game with reporters and said the idea of managers getting thrown out on purpose to pump up a team is overrated, though it does have its place.

"If you've got a legitimate argument, then you can pile on," he said.

Oh, and if you remember, it was Alfonso Marquez who tossed Michael Bourn because he has trouble with hand-eye coordination.
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However, Mills thinks Marquez may have been right:
"It looks like he might have been out. I want to defend my player. I'm glad to see him show that emotion, don't get me wrong. If he thinks he's safe, I'm going to defend him, but it looks like [Marquez] might have gotten that one right. I'm not going to sit there and say otherwise if I think otherwise."
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Easy Eddie is wicked surprised by how bad the offense has been:

"Yeah, I'm baffled. You go through all the emotions. Of all the words you could use, we can't become resigned to this is what it is, because then we're basically saying some guys with pretty substantial track records of success are now failing, and we have to accept that. I don't think it's an acceptable fact. I think they have to battle their way out of it, and I think there's a lot left in the tank for guys struggling the most right now. We have to try to get a way out of it, and I think there's a lot left in the tank for the guys struggling the most right now."