MLB news from the past week.
Giancarlo Stanton hit in the face; benches clear in Milwaukee
Thursday's game in Milwaukee featured a scary sight. Giancarlo Stanton took a fastball in the face under the left eye in the fifth inning from Mike Fiers. Stanton required stitches for his facial lacerations, but may not require surgery. Losing Stanton hurts the Marlins' already slim playoff chances; he's played in every game and was putting up an MVP-caliber year. Fiers stayed in the game and pinch-hitter Reed Johnson (since Stanton was ruled to have swung at the pitch that hit him) was hit on the hand, and he too was ruled to have swung. The situation degenerated into a benches-clearing fracas with Casey McGehee and Mike Redmond losing their cool with the umpires and getting ejected (video here). In the sixth inning, Anthony DeSclafani plunked Carlos Gomez and was immediately ejected and subsequently fined and suspended; he plans to appeal. Initially, one might say it was retaliation, but Buster Olney and others on Twitter say the pitcher's actions suggest otherwise.
Watch Desclafani in last night's game: http://t.co/pBiVfRbory Nothing he or teammates did suggests the HBP of Gomez was intentional.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) September 12, 2014Fish Stripes posted numerous reactions to the incident.
If that wasn't bad enough, Chase Headley also got hit in the face against the Rays.
Jeff Wilpon faces lawsuit from former Mets employee
The suit alleges that COO Wilpon fired the team's head of marketing for being pregnant outside of marriage. Leigh Castergine, the plaintiff, says Wilpon was "morally opposed" to her being a single mother; she was terminated after reporting Wilpon's behavior to HR. The WSJ elaborates further.
Cuban slugger Yasmany Tomas closer to MLB eligibility
Tomas is 6'4", 240 pounds and has all the power in the world, as the video in the link will show, but is prone to big swings and misses. He is known as a high-risk, high-reward player and has been unblocked by the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. A showcase is expected late next week.
Dodgers throw the ball all over the place
When was the last time you saw something like this, especially from the Dodgers? Naturally, Yasiel Puig is the center of it all.
Chris Davis suspended for amphetamine use
Davis tested positive for Adderall, the stimulant that got teammate Troy Patton suspended. Adderall is used to treat symptoms of ADD, but Davis didn't have a Therapeutic Use Exemption like other major-leaguers did. He will miss the rest of the season and any playoff games.