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Crawford Appealing 2-Game Suspension

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 6, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - LF Carl Crawford will have the Devil Rays' full support as he appeals the two-game suspension handed down Wednesday by Major League Baseball.

Executive vice president Andrew Friedman made a pre-emptive call to MLB's discipline czar, Bob Watson, before the suspension and $1,000 fine were meted out, and Manager Joe Maddon expressed his disappointment with the penalty.

'I think it was an unfortunate incident all the way around,' Friedman said. 'We called MLB to lobby on Carl's behalf, and I'm hopeful that through the appeal process his suspension gets reduced.'

The Rays believe the call that triggered Crawford's explosion Monday night, in which umpire Paul Nauert deemed Crawford out at first base even though Orioles 1B Kevin Millar had pulled his foot off the bag before the throw arrived, was clearly a bad one. As such, they hoped Crawford would be cut some slack by MLB.

'I think it's a little bit excessive,' Maddon said. 'If you take the entire play into consideration and what motivated the action, I think it's a little bit excessive.'

It wasn't clear Wednesday when Crawford's appeal might be heard. The Rays probably would prefer to have him miss time this weekend against Toronto because their next five series are against teams in playoff position or close to it.

Crawford said he anticipated being suspended but wasn't sure how many games he would get, and now he'll 'just have to deal with it.'

'What I did was wrong,' he said. 'You don't ever want to get into it with an umpire like that, because something bad is going to happen - probably a suspension. I just hate it had to come to that.'

With his suspension delayed until the appeal can be heard, Crawford was in the starting lineup as usual Wednesday night. Prior to the game, he was honored as the Rays' nominee for the 2007 Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes a player's on-field achievements and 'devoted work in the community.'

JURISPRUDENCE: NiShea Dukes, the estranged wife of Rays OF Elijah Dukes, filed a complaint in Hillsborough County Circuit Court on Wednesday saying her husband hasn't made timely child and alimony support.

NiShea Dukes' attorneys are asking that Dukes be found in contempt for willful failure to pay the court-ordered support. She says she hasn't received any payments since Aug. 10. The latest payments were due Saturday.

THE A-TEAM: If Maddon is going to rest any of his regulars in the next couple of weeks, it likely will come against Toronto this weekend. Maddon feels strongly that non-contending teams should field their best lineup against teams gunning for the playoffs to preserve the integrity of the race.

'I'm very cognizant of that,' he said. 'When you are the team that's in the hunt, you do check and see who's playing for the teams that are trying to beat the teams that need to be beaten. I'm very much aware of that and I respect that.'

FARM FACTS: Triple-A Durham opened its best-of-five series against Toledo with a wild 11-8 win. Starter J.P. Howell was charged with seven runs, but only one was earned.

Single-A Columbus ripped Augusta 11-2 to start its best-of-three series behind the pitching of 17-game winner Heath Rollins, who allowed one run in seven innings.

ANOTHER AWARD: RHP James Shields is the Rays' nominee for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award, which recognizes on-field performance and work in the community. Fans can vote at www.mlbplayers.com to narrow the ballot from 30 nominees to six finalists.

Marc Lancaster

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