Casey At The Bat: What to do with Nyjer Morgan
Morgan was hit by a pitch in his side early in last night's game, which Morgan admitted he expected. What bothered the Marlins was how Morgan then proceeded to steal second and third in a game the Nationals led by 11. That prompted Chris Volstad to throw behind Morgan in his next at-bat, which lead to the bench-clearing brawl.
Morgan's season has been littered with some poor judgements. Against the Orioles, he threw his glove down after Adam Jones hit a ball past him in the outfield. Morgan tried to make a play at the wall, couldn't, and the ball hit caromed off the wall. Morgan threw his glove in anger which allowed Jones to score on an inside-the-park home run.
Late last month, he was suspended seven games for throwing a ball at a fan who had been heckling him at a game in Philadelphia. Throwing a ball at a fan is uncalled for, regardless of the reasons. Worse, Morgan missed his intended target, and instead the ball hit an innocent fan. That fan suffered a bruised head, fortunate that it was not more serious.
On Aug. 30, Morgan went out of his way to run into Cardinals catcher Bryan Anderson, who was nowhere near the plate when Morgan collided with him. Morgan was benched the following day by Nationals manager Jim Riggleman for an act he called "unprofessional."
In my opinion, baseball has to send a strong message and sit Morgan out for the rest of the season, and make him enter some kind of counseling program. He seems to have obvious anger issues. His actions have caused injuries to fans and fellow ball players (Hayes suffered a separated shoulder due to the collision, and he is probably done for the season).
Baseball players have a very strong brotherhood, and I have no question someone else will throw at Morgan again to show how they do not approve of how he acts on the field. To save potential future injuries to players and fans, MLB commissioner Bud Selig should sit Morgan for the rest of the season and get him the professional help he seems to so desperately need.
