Brad Mills was suspended from last night's blitzkrieg victory over the Cubbies, and the Astros will somehow have to manage without Aneury Rodriguez and his 13.50 ERA for three games.
↵But my question is this: do suspensions really matter in baseball? From a player's perspective, the answer is an overwhelming "yes".
↵A Pujols-less Cardinals team or Braun-less Brewers team obviously makes a huge impact. Heck, even a suspension to a 2-hole or 7-hole hitter hurts a team. But, it all depends who gets suspended.
↵A player like Aneury Rodriguez seems pretty expendable to the Astros; he's pitched in just over three innings, and to be honest, hasn't exactly been very accountable.
↵With the suspension of Rodriguez, the Astros depth took a hit.
↵But what are the chances that the Astros actually need Aneury Rodriguez? The only plausible scenario would be an extra-inning game, where bullpen arms are short. Basically, the chances of the Astros needing Anuery Rodriguez to win a game are pretty slim.
↵This is why I'm in favor of suspensions...at least when they bear little expense to performers of the team.
↵That's why I don't mind seeing Brad Mills tossed or suspended. He's doing exactly what he needs to do--find a way for these rookies to play inspired baseball. And after last night's 16-hit, 11-2 barrage, I think he accomplished his goal.