I cannot understand this suspension. First, Sheffield was safe at first, and it did not take an instant replay to figure that out. He looked safe at full speed.
Second, C.B. Bucknor tossed Sheffield from the game simply because Sheffield threw his helmet on the ground as he crossed the bag and realized he had been called out. He didn't throw the helmet at Bucknor, and he did not confront Bucknor (or really even yell at him)...not until he had already been tossed from the game.
He's not allowed to be frustrated about a call? Even though Bucknor did not see him safe, surely he knew the call was close and he might get an argument. Did he toss Sheffield to preempt an argument?
And third, a suspension? Even if Sheffield had been out (which he wasn't), and even if he was justifiably tossed by Bucknor (which he wasn't), when did he cross the line? He gave Bucknor an earful, for about 15 seconds, before being pulled away by Joe Torre. That's not much of an argument.
I watched the game live on t.v., and I was surprised at the out call and absolutely shocked when Sheffield got thrown out. The time between the out call and the toss could not have been more than 1 second. I expected major league baseball to quietly reprimand Bucknor for the short fuse. Instead, Sheffield gets a suspension. Everyone appeals, of course, and Sheffield has followed suit. I wouldn't be surprised if this is a rare instance in which the player wins the appeal.
You wanna suspend someone? Suspend Bucknor for bush league umpiring. Instead, of course, Bucknor will be at the All-Star game. So will Sheffield.
