Posted on 09/16/2004 6:11:49 AM PDT by sinkspur
Frankie Francisco deserves mercy
By RANDY GALLOWAY
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
FORT WORTH, Texas - Frankie has done wrong. He threw that chair.
He missed the big mouth sitting behind the bullpen, but hit the guy's wife.
Blood happened. A nose broke.
An arrest was made. Frankie had to go downtown. He posted bail.
The woman hired a lawyer. The lawyer is louder than the woman's husband. If I read him right, the Rangers' bullpen was on a meth-crazed rampage that night.
Sounds like a civil lawsuit is coming. Imagine that. It's about the money.
The commissioner of baseball has yet to speak. But Frankie will take the fall, we know that. So will other Rangers.
Media outrage is pouring in, coast to coast.
Frankie Francisco, a nice kid by all accounts, is the new bad guy of baseball.
Give him a 50-game suspension. Sixty games. Lifetime. Sportswriters are on a "hang `em high" crusade.
But I've got a better idea for Bud Selig.
Give Frankie a break. First-time offender, clean record.
It's just too bad the chair missed that punk who was doing all the mouthing, and gesturing for pitcher Doug Brocail to come on over the rail and try to take him out.
OK, you can't write that. It's not proper. Outrage against Frankie is what the media is supposed to show.
But honestly, I got no outrage.
Frankie screwed up. But stuff happens.
Mr. Selig will have to pounce. He will have to be tough, or else the media watchdogs will take a bite out of him.
But if Bud really wants to make Frankie pay a heavy price, then I suggest instead of a long suspension, he make life miserable for Frankie.
Sentence the kid to a form of local community service. Allow Frankie to continue to try to make a living in a hard game, but also place him under house arrest. Well, sorta.
Because Bud doesn't know the local landscape that well, I'm here to make suggestions.
Mr. Selig, if you want Frankie to truly regret he ever picked up that chair, sentence him to the following:
A full NBA season of sitting next to the Mavericks' P.A. man.
Polishing that stupid bell at the ballpark.
Working seven Cowboys' home games as Rowdy.
Working one Cowboys' home game as a starting cornerback.
Serving one month as a member of the Dallas City Council.
Teaching defense to Alfonso Soriano.
Raising money for Tom Hicks to pay off the first $7 million installment to George Steinbrenner.
The Mavericks' spokesman who has to explain Tariq Abdul-Wahad.
Hair stylist for Kevin Mench.
Selling season tickets for the Stars, starting today.
Explaining Bill Parcells to Julius Jones.
Drawing up a defensive game plan for the Mavericks.
Spokesman for Fox Sports Southwest, defending the network's "you really didn't see what you saw" decision Monday night. If there's no replay allowed, was there really a chair thrown?
Cup holder for Quincy Carter.
In charge of planning a victory party for the SMU football team.
I'm telling you, Bud, when it comes to Frankie, all of the above would be a "that'll teach him" lesson.
But if Mr. Selig isn't buying my plan, the next step will be to establish a "Free Frankie" fund.
Frankie will need a good defense lawyer.
I asked Jim Lane of Fort Worth on Wednesday how he would defend Frankie, after having seen all the video evidence.
"Sometimes lawyers will joke that the victim got what he deserved," Lane said. "If that chair had hit the guy instead of the woman, well ..."
But Frankie missed.
"I think I'd have to go the temporary insanity route," Lane said. "That the fan drove him crazy.
"But I might be more inclined, having seen the replays many times, to plead for mercy instead of justice."
There you have it, Mr. Selig. Frankie done wrong. But is there any mercy in your heart?
Plus, one of the pitchers likely to be suspended pitched a save against the Athletics, who now lead the Rangers by only four games.
He should be kicked out of Baseball forever.
Felony conviction.
A little jail time. (Less than a year - it IS a first offense.)
High fines.
Seven-figure punitive damages.
These asses are paid millions and millions and millions of dollars. If they can't take the verbal abuse that comes with the mega-millions, let 'em go do something more valuable for our society.
Like sweep floors.
Or dig ditches.
This guy needs to spend at least 2 years in jail. The last thing this country needs is yet another example of a violent person hurting someone and getting off scot-free.
Absolutely, anything less is a sham.
More than a game, each player is a role model for the larger community. He should be barred from the league for his crime, and any writer trying to sugarcoat the assault should be ashamed.
Sorry. No sympathy for the player. Sure, it's tough getting ragged on by the fans. Too bad, but it's a fact of life for players.
Pitching a metal chair into the crowd just isn't right. What if it had hit some kid? No, it hit the wife of the creepy guy doing some of the yelling and broke her nose.
Assault and battery, plain and simple. Tough luck for the player, but he's the one who threw the chair.
Do I like these fans? No, not much. That's why I don't attend games in person any more. I got tired of the foul language and the beer being spilled on my back. I watch on the tube these days.
There's another story in Star Telegram that quotes other pitchers from the Tigers and the Red Sox, who say they've almost gotten into it with those same fans. They say they've had beer poured on them and one said "I think one of them peed in a cup, then threw it on us."
So give these cretins a big financial settlement.
The best thing the Rangers can do is win the AL West. That'll shut 'em up.
If Albert Belle was not kicked out of baseball, Frankie Francisco won't be.
I agree that some of the spectators are way out of control - but you can see that all the way to little league with parents getting into fights!
I saw the incident. Frankie was in the wrong all the way.
Punishment? Sure.
A lawsuit? Sure.
The loudmouth fan will come away with a good chunk of Frankie's pay for this year.
Criminal action? Sure.
Frankie oughta get a charge of assualt and battery, pay another big chunk of this years pay, and get probation and community service for a good long while.
If you can't take the ragging by the other teams fans you better get out of the game.
Well, Frankie is hoping he gets away with a lesser sentence. If he get's a felony conviction he will get deported automatically and can't set foot in the U.S. anymore. Tough luck for a young kid making a mistake.
Where WAS Security? They had complained several times about those creeps and NOTHING was done. And yes, other teams have complained about it as well.
Shame is that Frankie is a good guy from all reports and because of some creep lost his cool (Which is UNACCEPTABLE).
Oh, I see...a two-tiered system...one set of laws for us regular folks, and another for the rich and famous.
No, thanks.
But I'll bet these fans are going to be watched like hawks from now on.
Umpires were very close Monday night to declaring a forfeit and giving the game to Texas. There was a lot more going on down there than just a player throwing a chair.
Nobody, a high-paid player included, should have to tolerate profanity and racial slurs.
Can anyone say "Loose Cannon"?
'Nobody, a high-paid player included, should have to tolerate profanity and racial slurs.'And thus he has a right to physically assault them? Nonsense. He was one hundred percent in the wrong, and the assualt charges are just, even if the name-callers had been right in his face.
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