Sheffield got punched

Last night on Jason Varitek's two-run triple in right field at Fenway Park, a Red Sox fan reached out and sucker punched Gary Sheffield for no apparent reason. Simultaneously another fan threw their beer at Sheffield as well. Sheffield picked up the ball, shoved the fan, and threw the ball back in towards first base. Sheffield, who thought he had a busted lip, and had noticeably been punched in the face on the replay, went back after the fan with his fist cocked. The bullpen security guard ran between the two and separated them before a fight ensued. The New York Yankees bullpen ran over and a shouting match broke out for a while. The sucker punch fan was ejected, but not arrested. The Boston Red Sox released a statement promising more signs and more security on Friday to remind fans not to interfere with play.

Here's my problem with things. What right does a fan have to assault a player? I understand the NBA having a problem with Ron Artest going into the stands after the wrong person, but Sheffield had the right person, and that person punched him in the field of play. Sheffield also has the right to defend himself. In a country that has laws that support any person that asserts the right to defend himself, the fan is lucky that Sheffield thought twice about beating his dumb ass down. MLB is doing an investigation and they have talked about suspending Sheffield for his reaction. Why not suspend the fan for obviously punching a undefended player?

I know people want to support their home team, but they shouldn't advocate assaulting visiting players physically. Let your team win the game. Fans are nothing more than spectators. They have no real involvement in the game other than making noise. After the flare laced brawl at the soccer match in Milan this week, MLB really needs to remember player safety is more important than the fan experience.

The Colorado Rockies Stumble out of the Gate

Of the 30 teams in major league baseball only 11 are under .500, the Colorado Rockies only have one win that came on opening day. Not that it's a surprise to anyone, but the Colorado Rockies are the last place team in all of baseball. To say that they suck would be letting them off the hook. Manager Clint Hurdle has to be beyond frustrated with his squad. He stated that "major league baseball isn't a try league, it's a performance league." He couldn't be more correct, unfortunately the Rockies pitchers haven't performed well so far. The Rockies pitching has allowed 49 runs in their first 5 games.

Their pitching staff has issued a ridiculous 34 walks in only 45 innings pitched. With that much traffic on the basepaths it's no surprise they have given up 49 runs. The bullpen is a joke again this year with reliever Scott Dohmann being the lead jester. In his 1 2/3 innings pitched he has given up 9 earned runs to sport a 32.40 earned run average. By himself he gave up four homeruns on the week. In the opener he gave up solo shots to Xavier Nady and Ramon Hernandez of the San Diego Padres. In the 10-8 loss to the San Francisco Giants he gave up a game winning 3-run homerun to Marquis Grissom in the bottom of the ninth. Not to be outdone the next day he gave up a grand slam home run to the ever dangerous Michael Tucker who was 1 for 12. The grand slam was the first of Tucker's career.

Some may think the Rockies pitchers may be suffering from the dead arm period right after spring training, but come on the strike zone is always the same dead arm or not. If the Rockies pitching woes continue they will be out of playoff contention by June. They have only 1 quality start from a starter this season. The bullpen is already being overused. Their starters haven't made it out of the 5th inning in three starts already. The Rockies never have trouble scoring runs. The Rockies have scored 32 runs in their five games. The Rockies cannot always outslug their opponents, last year proved that.

Last season the Rockies were 4th in the NL with 833 runs scored, 2nd in the NL in batting average at .275, 2nd in the NL in hits with 1531, 3rd in slugging percentage at .455, and 2nd in team OPS at .800. This is a great hitting team that suffers from atrocious pitching. Last year the pitching staff was last in the NL giving up .290 batting average to opponents, last in the NL in with a 5.54 ERA, last in OPS (On Base % + Slugging %) allowed at .845, last in the NL in walks with 697 or 4.3 a game, last in the NL in Strikeouts with 947 which was almost 400 behind the NL leading Chicago Cubs. Let's do a little math here. They scored an average of 5.14 runs a game while giving up an average of 5.54 runs and 4.3 walks. That is exactly why they finished 68-94, and that was only 1 more win than their inaugural season as an expansion team. This season is looking a lot like last season already.