In a completely unsurprising move, Major League Baseball has fined Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo for his comments about Philadelphia Phillies left-handed pitcher Cole Hamels. Those comments, reprinted in full here, included words like "chicken[bleep]," "gutless," and "fake tough."
The amount of the fine was not disclosed, but it was presumably a small amount, as CBS' Jon Heyman described it.
just to clear this up, hamels is paid during his 5-game ban. he was fined, but fines for this are usually 5, 10 grand tops
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) May 8, 2012
We wrote about this in depth earlier today, and nothing in this ruling surprises us at all. If Mike Rizzo had picked up the phone and answered Adam Kilgore with a 'no comment,' his wallet would be a little heavier today. Likewise, if Cole Hamels hadn't broken the fourth wall, he'd be making his next scheduled start rather than being pushed back a day in the rotation.
Curtain down, and that's a wrap, people.