King Kaufman's Sports Daily

Baseball's justice system is in need of an overhaul. We have the answers. Plus: The killer timeout strikes again.

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April 3, 2008 | Columnist Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star hopped on one of this column's favorite hobbyhorses by way of grousing about the Blue Jays getting beat Tuesday by New York Yankees center fielder Melky Cabrera, who was supposed to have been suspended for the first three games of the year after a spring training fight. Cabrera is playing while he appeals the suspension.

The fight, in which Cabrera allegedly punched Tampa Bay Rays prospect Evan Longoria, happened March 12.

"That's 21 days ago," Griffin writes. "Appeals are heard in the offices of Major League Baseball in New York. We are in New York. The hearing on the appeal should have been held Monday, or at least [Tuesday] morning. It's ridiculous.

"Anyway, the way major league rules work, Cabrera had the right to appeal and, thus, was allowed to play in the opener. He will probably wait for this weekend against the Rays or when the Yanks travel to Kansas City and drop the appeal, immediately serving his three days against an inferior opponent. Baseball justice?"

Yeah. Baseball's court system is obviously way overdue for an overhaul. In the old days, a player would appeal, then there'd be a hearing at the league office whenever his club's train pulled into New York. That resulted in a lot of players serving their suspensions against the New York teams. That is, when they didn't drop the appeal strategically, as Griffin suggests Cabrera might do, to serve against a bad team.

Baseball's gotten better about that in recent years, though it's still at times amazingly poky about getting around to the hearing. In today's world of videoconferencing and whatnot, there's really no good reason why any appeal hearing couldn't be held within a day or two.

It's not as if either the defense or the prosecution has to marshal a complex case. The league handed down Cabrera's penalty several days after the fight because someone at the commissioner's office spotted him punching Longoria on the tape of the incident. Cabrera's defense: "I didn't hit anybody."

If he didn't hit, you must acquit! Get a statement from Longoria, run the video, hear what Cabrera has to say and make a ruling. Tick tock.

But even if baseball takes my advice on that -- and nobody ever takes my advice on anything, no matter how brilliant it is, which is why we still have free throws and punts -- there will still be a problem.

Next page: Let the offended team benefit. Plus: Another killer timeout