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Outrighted CA Sandy Martinez to Buffalo (AAA)

Major League Baseball suspended LHSP Cliff Lee for 6 games; Lee appealed the suspension

I really don’t like this at all. Lee made one pitch, without warnings being issued, that did not hit a batter, and he gets suspended for a start? This isn’t as bad as the Jaret Wright/Pedro Martinez fiasco a couple years ago, but I think it’s completely unfair just the same. I don’t know if Lee’s intention was to throw at Griffey, but the fact that it was Ken Griffey, Jr. standing in that batter’s box and not any other player on the Reds certainly made MLB’s decision to suspend Lee easier.

More on Blake vs. Boone

Andy Call of the Canton Repository nails the Aaron Boone situation:

A study of numbers indicates Boone would not be a significant upgrade from incumbent Casey Blake, especially not at the cost. Signing Boone would require a multiyear contract worth several million. Blake’s salary for 2004 is $352,400. He won’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2005 season.

Now of course, if the Indians signed Boone to play second base (assuming you can’t re-sign Ronnie Belliard), he might be worth a multi-year contract. But if you’re looking at this from a cost-benefit analysis, replacing Blake with Boone doesn’t make much sense at all.