The ethics of throwing at hitters

Scott Diamond's reaction aside, he
really shouldn't have been surprised
that he was ejected Thursday night.

Scott Diamond was suspended Friday for six games for throwing Thursday at Texas star Josh Hamilton. Roy Oswalt, who started the whole rumpus by nailing Joe Mauer in the back, got nothing.

(I was away from any broadcast; my knowledge of the events is based on Twitter feeds and published reports.)

I am sure that both pitchers threw at their targets. Diamond and Oswalt are notable for their command. If Sam Deduno hits a batter, there's a pretty good chance it was an accident; if Diamond or Oswalt hit a man, odds are they hit their target.

Oswalt's explanation for hitting Mauer — that he was trying to get Mauer to bite at a pitch in off the strike zone on 3-0 — is an insult to the intelligence of his audience. Everybody in the league knows Mauer isn't swinging at a pitch out of the zone on 3-0. He only rarely swings at anything 3-0. (In his entire career, Mauer has had four official at-bats end at 3-0.)

On a 3-1 count, or 3-2, yeah, a pitcher might try that against Mauer. On 3-0, it's silly. Oswalt isn't that dumb. He's simply that disingenuous.

Diamond is getting suspended less for retaliating for the Mauer plunking as for how he retaliated — with a pitch somewhere in the noggin area. (I've seen it described as over Hamilton's head and behind his head.)

Odds are that, had Diamond drilled Hamilton in the rib cage, umpire Wally Bell would have then told both benches OK, you've had your shots, now end it. Bell almost certainly didn't warn the benches after Mauer was hit specifically to give the Twins a chance to retaliate. Diamond drew the ump's ire, and the suspension, for throwing above Hamilton's shoulders.

This wasn't particularly smart on Diamond's part, because his ejection forced the Twins to go into their bullpen early and hard, and that had ramifications for following games.

The suspension itself is relatively meaningless. Diamond immediately appealed the suspension, and I assume he will drop the appeal when the timing is right — as in when an off-day in the schedule means he'd have five days of rest anyhow. The Twins have said they want to limit Diamond's innings, so missing a start wouldn't be all that terrible a development anyway.

Oswalt speculation

From the comments:

Any thoughts on why all the speculation centers on Oswalt and nobody is talking about the Twins outfield situation? The Twins have two outfielders (Span and Cuddyer) and two d.h.s who masquerade as defenders when they grab a glove. Cuddyer could probably use a day off and Span may not play today. I'd love to find a right-handed power bat who can play passable defense to spell the regulars. Such an upgrade is much more important than renting Oswalt at an outrageous price for a couple of months.

The Oswalt speculation is irrelevant to anything.

It's May. We're more than two months away from the trading deadline. I'm not sure the Astros' owner would allow Oswalt to be traded to begin with; if he does allow it, it's not going to be a hasty deal. They'll extract several pounds of flesh, and they should.

So why any speculation connecting Oswalt to Minnesota? (Incidentally, I don't see such speculation outside of Twins-specific coverage; the national baseball media sees more likely suitors.) A few possible factors:

• The locals don't really trust the current rotation.
• The Mauer contract (and the expanding payroll) has us all giddly thinking of the Twins as Yankee-like, or at least Red Sox-like, spenders.
• Oswalt is a somebody.

I'm more or less in agreement on the lack of a true outfield reserve, and I may do a post on the subject in the next few days. But fourth outfielders by definition aren't name players, and only a real geek (such as me) is likely to get fired up over the difference between Ryan Langerhans and Dustin Martin.

Roy Oswalt vs. Joe Mays

I about gagged Friday evening when I heard Dick Bremer seriously suggest that Roy Oswalt is a comparable pitcher to Joe Mays, formerly of the Twins.

Let's see: They're both "small" right-handers, and they use first names of three letters, the second being "o." Beyond that .. not so much.

Roy Oswalt, in his ninth season, has a lifetime record of 132-68 after Friday's loss to the Twins, a career ERA of 3.20 and two 20-win seasons. He's been in double digits in wins each of his first eight seasons. He's been on three All-Star teams, finished in the top four in the Cy Young voting four times. He's led the National League in wins, in ERA, in winning percentage, in starts.

Joe Mays' career ended after seven major league seasons, several of them partial seasons, with a won-loss record of 48-70 and an ERA of 5.05. His best year, 2001, isn't close to Oswalt's best three.

Reason No. 1 Roy Oswalt is a better pitcher than Joe Mays ever was: Oswalt misses bats. Oswalt has, over his career, struck out 7.4 men per nine innings; Mays, 4.6. Reason No. 2: Mays missed the plate. Mays averaged 3.0 walks per nine innings; Oswalt, 2.1.

Bert Blyleven's comp of Bret Saberhagen is more accurate — the difference between Oswalt and Sabes may well be that Oswalt's managers didn't abuse him during his early 20s, as Saberhagen's did.

Declaring Oswalt and Mays to be equivalent pitchers is an insult to Oswalt — or a sign of mindless blather.