Outside The Confines: Suspension upheld for Nick Castellanos

I normally don’t question suspensions too much. Usually if something leads to a bench-clearing brawl, there’s any kind of violence involved, or general bad behavior is afoot, there’s typically cause for some kind of suspension.

The problem is that no one can seem to agree on what a suitable suspension should be. Does the punishment always fit the crime, or are suspensions largely arbitrary? In the case of Nick Castellanos’ two-game suspension for being too enthusiastic after scoring a run, that led to a scuffle between St. Louis and Cincinnati, the punishment really seemed too much.

For one, he was celebrating. Also Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, who grabbed Castellanos after the event (which set off the bench-clearing that followed), received no punishment whatsoever. This week Castellanos’s punishment was upheld, much to the chagrin and confusion of pretty much everyone in baseball.

• Joseph Salvador looks at the response to the Castellanos appeal being denied.
• If you’re a fan of the analytics-driven ESPN broadcasts, you’re in luck. Katie Hughes shares that the Padres/Dodgers game on April 25 will have the analytics broadcast as an option.
• Our Sara Sanchez shares the emotional experience of attending a game in person after a season away.
• MLB is happily bragging about its viewership over the first two weeks of the season, writes Jimmy Traina.
• Tom Verducci takes a deep dive into the very serious discussion of player mental health issues.
• MLB continues to struggle with COVID-related troubles, shares Ken Rosenthal.
• This isn’t a great look for MLB.

• Ultimately it was suspended...

• David Schoenfield wonders if the Yankees are just having a rough start or if there’s a deeper issue afoot.
• Eno Sarris wants to test your Statcast knowledge. (The Athletic subscription required.)
• Luke Hooper looks at the wide-release of MLB The Show 21 and why it’s so exciting for video game fans.
• David Roth chips away at Sandy Alderson’s annoyance over all those articles about the Mets terrible history with harassment. (Baseball Prospectus Premium required.)
• Justin Choi digs into what is working so well for Rays pitcher Michael Wacha.
• Well this is silly and cute.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. Make it so.