String Him Up

Another Off-Monday means the Giants are quiet as they get ready for a must-sweep series against the Brewers.

Doesn't mean baseball was quiet.

Across the pond from Pac Bell, a very ugly incident took place. Anyone here bothering to read this knows what I'm talking about. And my personal take is pretty much what most are saying. Frank Francisco needs to be dealt with harshly. VERY harshly. If he pitches again in 2004, it's a travesty. He probably shouldn't pitch in 2005 either.

Look, you're a professional ballplayer. Sports is an emotional world. People love their teams, some of them get drunk (less than you'd think, but it only takes one...). They're gonna say some horrible things. But I don't care if the fans are saying your three year-old daughter is having sex with their dog, your job is to ignore them. They are drunk. They are louts. You make a lot more money than they ever will.

Francisco couldn't handle it. He threw a chair into the stands.

He should go to jail.

It's that simple. The chair flew into the stands, apparently hit it's intended target on the head, then bounced and hit an unintended female target in the face, breaking her nose.

Francisco should go to jail.

Not just suspended, which ought to be obvious, but jailed. Behind bars. And sued. Trust me, he will be sued. But we need to keep our anger in check. The woman with the broken nose will sue. She should. But she should only sue Francisco. Not the Oakland As. Not the Texas Rangers. Not MLB. Francisco. Not as deep a pocket, but he threw the chair, so he should pay the price.

This is where we hold our breath and look to see if the fine line of decency is crossed and what starts out as an ugly incident turns into a frivolous lawsuit by an ambulance chaser. Francisco threw a chair at her and broke her nose. He should pay her, I don't know, maybe a few hundred thousand dollars. A year's salary. My fear is her lawyer will want her to become a millionaire over this, and that crosses the line.

We'll see.