Josh Beckett

As of right now on Espn.com's Sportsnation poll, 49% of the almost 80,000 people that voted think that Josh Beckett was punished too harshly for alleged throwing at Bobby Abreu's head during a game. The punishment Beckett invoked was a 6-game suspension and an undisclosed fine.

I want everyone reading this to keep in mind that starting pitchers pitch once every five games. Also keep in mind that Abreu had called time-out as Beckett was winding up to pitch. It is very unhealthy and sometimes dangerous for pitches to stop their motion once they've started, so Beckett might very well have just let go of the pitched and it sailed. No, I'm not trying to cover for Beckett, nor do I like him very much at all (since he's on the Red Sox). But I do know that he's a very talented pitcher, and that he has never hit anyone in the head with a pitch before.

So, the pitch was accidental, but the league wants to let Beckett know that he can't let it happen again. Especially since that pitch led to both benches clearing.

Another reason for the punishment was that Beckett took "aggressive" actions during the bench clearing incident. So it wasn't only the pitch.

Did you remember what i said about the five day rotation for starting pitchers? Good. because effectively, Beckett is only being suspended for two games. He's not on the field everyday. During his suspension he will be in the same place as his off days, on the bench, waiting for his next start.