The suspensions after last night’s brawl between the Wingnuts and St. Paul Saints are as follows for Wichita: Byron Embry, 4 games; Stephen Pearson, 2 games; Felipe Del Rosario, 1 game.
I talked to Embry in the clubhouse a few minutes ago because I was told he regretted saying some of the stuff he did, notably “I’ve got to kill you,” and “I’m crazy.” And he was a little upset at me for printing his comments, which he said were the primary reason for his four-game suspension. He mostly regretted saying those things on the record and I think we cleared the air.
I took my time going into the clubhouse after the game last night because I knew the Wingnuts, Embry in particular, were still “in the moment.” When I did go in, I asked Embry if he needed a few minutes and he said that he did. So I waited and when he thought he had calmed himself, we did an interview. I didn’t rush him. But it’s possible that he thought I would just go away and when it was clear that I wasn’t going to, he called me over before he was really ready to talk.
I debated whether to blog some of the extra quotes from Embry, Wingnuts manager Kash Beauchamp and St. Paul manager George Tsamis, but after talking to Embry I decided against it. He admitted today that he still wasn’t totally within himself when we did the interview, and I think the point got across through the one quote of his that I did print. The damage has already been done — he’s got a four-game suspension to deal with and today’s a new day.
As a reporter, even one who’s paid to be unbiased, it’s hard not to take sides. I cover the Wingnuts and deal with them pretty much every day, so I found myself agreeing, right or wrong, with a lot that they were saying. I printed Embry’s most inflammatory quote probably to not give the appearance of bias. In reality, I’m not biased at all. But I was a little bit caught up in the moment last night, too. Especially after talking to Tsamis, who isn’t Beauchamp’s biggest fan and had no problem sharing that with me.
Still, Embry has to watch himself in that situation. If a major league organization was thinking about picking him up and read his quotes after the game, do they turn the other way? I think four games is a relatively light suspension for Embry, but I’m not sure how the American Association handles discipline.
Two things I do believe, however — Embry and Sullivan are friends and if Embry would’ve wanted to hit Sullivan, he would have. Sullivan is the godfather to Embry’s oldest child and the two have been teammates frequently during their careers. The most important part of Embry’s game is intimidation, though. And when he steps on the field, he has no friends. That’s what I hear about Sullivan, who, by all accounts is a great guy off the field but an ultra-competitive player who can rub people the wrong way.
Also, I agree with Wingnuts people that St. Paul was wrong to take offense to the Disney music being played during the Saints’ batting practice. I have never seen a game at St. Paul so I can only assume it’s true that they award the “Player of the game” to the opposing player who had the worst game — and that Wichita second baseman Brenan Herrera was selected in a game there last weekend. Also, apparently when Michael Thompson hit a home run it was announced over the P.A. “too bad he has to go back to Wichita.” Weak.
But it’s great that the Wingnuts have a rival, and it’s even greater that the rival is St. Paul, the flagship independent franchise. No offense to the rest of the league, but a Wichita-Pensacola Pelicans rivalry wouldn’t have quite the marquee value. If you want a team hating you, you want it to be the Saints because that probably means you’re a threat to their basically perennial spot at the top of the standings.