Does Bob Watson Hate the Red Sox?

Terry Francona and Theo Epstein were shocked at the recent 6 game suspension levied by MLB Disciplinarian Bob Watson. Especially since Watson basically overruled the umpires' decision on the field. Umpire Joe West neither ejected or warned Beckett after his errant pitch came in high and tight on the Angels' Bobby Abreau. In fact, West stated that he actually thought Beckett "handled himself well" during the altercation.

That said, behind closed doors I'm sure the Red Sox brass aren't all that surprised at Watson's decision. After all, this isn't the first time Bob Watson has used his power unfairly against the Sox organization.

Bob Watson's Timeline of Tyranny:

• June 1979: After a mid-season trade with Houston, Bob Watson plays 84 games with the Red Sox before signing with the New York Yankees in the off-season and claiming that Boston was not accepting of black players
• October 1995: Watson is named General Manager of the New York Yankees
• February 2002: Major League Baseball names him Vice President in Charge of Rules and Discipline
• May 2002: Watson penalizes both the Sox Trot Nixon and Frank Castillo of the Rays for fighting yet only consults with Rays' Manager Hal McRae (not the Red Sox) before handing down the fines and suspensions
• July 2002: Tampa Bay Ray's Pitcher Estaban Yan hits Sox Manny Ramirez with a pitch yet Yan is neither fined or suspended by Watson even though both benches were already warned earlier in the same game.
• October 2003: During game 3 of the ALCS, Sox Pedro Martinez hits Karim Garcia with a pitch inciting one of the game's most famous brawls. Then Yankees' Pitcher Roger Clemens threw one up and in on Manny Ramirez, the benches cleared and New York Coach Don Zimmer charger at Martinez angrily. Watson fines Pedro Martinez $50,000 for the incident, and Ramirez $25,000 but Don Zimmer receives only a $5,000 penalty.
• October 2003: Also, neither Yankee Outfielder Karim Garcia nor Yankee Pitcher Jeff Nelson are fined by Watson for what Boston Police called an "unprovoked attack" on a Red Sox employee in the Yankees' bullpen near the end of that same game. Both were later charged with assault, but the MLB Disciplinarian saw no reason to fine or suspend the players.
• July 2004: Yankees' Pitcher Tanyon Sturtze sucker punches Red Sox Outfielder Gabe Kapler. Kapler responds with clearly less force than Sturtze, but Watson gives them equal fines and suspendions even though Sturtze had started the altercation with Kapler. On top of that, Trot Nixon, who rushed to the aid of Kapler and pulled Sturtze off of him, is also suspended for 3 games and fined. Then, only after appeals to the ridiculous sentences did Watson relent on Nixon and Kapler's suspensions.
• April 2005: Red Sox Manager Terry Francona is suspended 3 games for his role in a beanball incident with the Tampa Bay rays, yet a month later Yankee's Manager Joe Torre receives only a one game ban after a similar incident between New York and Detroit
• August 2007: Watson sends one of his underlings into the Boston dugout during a game to make sure that Red Sox Manager Terry Francona is wearing his uniform correctly. Fancona is shocked because he is wearing the proper attire but he is also being distracted from during a very important game. Watson later passes the 'Francona Rule', banning managers from wearing pullovers instead of their team jersey.
• April 2008: Finally, in light of the recent 6 game suspension of Josh Beckett, it is interesting to note that Watson only suspended Yankee Pitchers Joba Chamberlain and Kyle Farnsworth 2 and 3 games respectively for throwing at Red Sox player's (Youkilis & Ramirez) heads!
  

Notes from the Coast:

With Defensive backs Asante Samuel and Eugene Wilson hitting the open market and probably leaving the Patriots soon, there is a rumor that Ty Law may want to come back to Foxboro. In his 13th season, Law is defintely on the down-side of his career but still might perform effectively within the Pats' defensive schemes and could help tutor young players like Brandon Merriweather and Mike Richardson. Also, a return to the Patriots could improve Law's chances of entering the NFL Hall of Fame one day.

• I think Bartolo Colon was a nice pick-up for the Red Sox. The cost is minimal and as Theo always says, it's a long season and you can never have enough pitching. Now with Schilling out for an undetermined amount of time, the Sox will have Colon, Buchholz, Tavarez, and Snyder to help fill in the gap.
• The Sam Cassell watch continues. Should a Clipper buyout occur, it appears the Celtics are the team Sam Cassell would most want to sign with. However, time is crucial because Cassell must be on another roster by March 1 to be eligible for the playoffs. Also, once a buyout is finalized Cassell still would have to sit through a 48-hour period to clear waivers and like sharks in the water, both the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets also appear interested in Cassell's services and have as much as $2-$4 mill more to offer him under their exceptions.
• Interesting to note how the New York Jets are the first team to covet (and at times illegally pursue) Patriots' personell, yet when Jets' Linebacker Jonathan Vilma was granted permission to seek a trade this off-season, the only team he was told not to talk to was the Pats.
• Why is having the best record so important to the Celtics? Because whoever finishes with the second best record in the East has to play LeBron James and the much improved and healthy Cavaliers in the second round of the NBA play-offs.
• Congrats to Terry Francona on his much deserved contract extension. Hard to imagine that his year Francona will become the first Red Sox Manager to skipper the team for 5 consecutive years since Joe Cronin did it 60 years ago. Tito even passes three Managers (Dick Williams, Darrel Johnson, and John McNamara) who all took the Red Sox to the World Series.