Thursday was an exciting day for one Molina, as Jose ripped an extra-innings triple for the Blue Jays. Thursday was also an exciting day for another Molina, albeit in a worse kind of way. Tim Brown:
Molina gets five-game suspension
That Molina is Yadier Molina, and he's been suspended for five games - and presumably fined - for an incident with umpire Rob Drake Tuesday night. Upset with a called strike, Molina flipped out, bumping Drake, yelling at him, and (accidentally) spitting in his face. Molina had to be held back, although I'm curious what would've happened if he hadn't been. They always hold the players back. What are they holding the players back from? Is a player actually going to slug an umpire in the head? Players are sissies. They wouldn't do anything. Umpires have all that gear on!
The usual process after a suspension is handed down is for the player to appeal, so Molina might appeal. If he appeals, he might even get the suspension reduced. I wouldn't count on it, though. The Cardinals' backup catcher is Gerald Laird, and he's worse than Molina, so whenever Molina gets around to serving his suspension, the Cardinals will be worse because of it.