Cliff Lee has been suspended for the first 5 games of the regular season for throwing at Arizona catcher Chris Snyder in the third inning of Mondays game. The incident appeared to be related to a confrontation between the two in the first inning, when Lee ran to cover home plate on a Chris Young RBI single and ran into Snyder, causing him to fall down. Lee stated that he didn’t intend to throw the ball at Snyder at all. “I was trying to go inside, a couple got away from me, and the guy hitting got mad and came towards the mound and I got thrown out of the game in the process,” Lee said. “That’s it in a nutshell.”
The 2008 American League Cy Young Award-winning left-hander, expected to be the team’s No. 2 starter behind last year’s Cy Young runner-up, Felix Hernandez, was on schedule to pitch in Oakland on April 6. If Lee appeals the suspension and it is lowered by one game, then Lee will not miss his turn in the rotation. Either way, Lee will not be the #2 starter the first time through the rotation. Though I do not condone throwing at hitters the suspension given to Lee will make no difference in sending a message to pitchers that this action is not acceptable. Information from Doug Miller of MLB.com was used in this story.
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