On Monday New York Yankees relief pitcher Scott Proctor was suspended for four games for throwing behind Seattle Mariner Yuniesky Betancourt on Sunday. Both benches ran onto the field, as did the Yankees bullpen. No actual fighting occurred besides verbally. When Betancourt pointed his bat at Proctor following the pitch, Proctor gestured for Betancourt to charge the mound. This occurred after Yankees first baseman Josh Phelps needlessly plowed over Mariner catcher Kenji Johjima, and after Mariner pitcher Jarrod Washburn hit Phelps in the back with a pitch as retaliation.

The suspension on Major League Baseball’s part was appropriate. It is commonly known throughout baseball that if a player on another team does something blatantly to harm a player on yours (IE a takeout slide) it is necessary for your pitcher to protect his players and hit the perpetrator with a pitch. After Washburn hit Phelps with a pitch, it should have been over. Proctor is generally a good control pitcher (8 walks in 16 innings) and it was obvious that he was going after Betancourt. Hopefully Proctor will learn from his mistake and won’t do it next time. These confrontations are bad for the game. Manager Joe Torre was also suspended for one game.

In other Yankee news Japanese import Kei Igawa was sent down to the minors today to make room for rookie starting pitcher Matt DeSalvo. Igawa had been struggling this season, with a 2-1 record but his true colors show with his 7.63 ERA.  27 runs were allowed in 30 innings, an unacceptable number for a Major League pitcher. Those 46 million dollars spent to bring over Igawa doesn’t look to be money well spent right now for the Yankees.