Wait a minute here....

The punch!  We've all seen it a hundred times or more since it happened a few days ago.  Rougned Odor absolutely clocked Jose Bautista in what is usually a faux brawl where a player feels "disrespected" by another and they start yelling and cursing at one another until the Calvary arrives "to save the day."  On the surface, no big deal.  Nobody was seriously hurt.  Odor looks "big and bad" because he sucker punched Bautista (yes, it was a suck punch because those confrontations NEVER involve actual punches) and Bautista gets kudos because he has proven a better chin than most boxers and MMA fighters out there.  He took the punch "heard round the world" and was still standing afterwards.

Not the point though.  I personally am NOT happy with the coverage of this punch.  All the accolades that have been given, by players, fans, and media is frankly bothersome to me.  Let me play out a couple of "What If" scenarios here:

1. What if Bautista was truly knocked out (a real possibility with a punch thrown like that) and possibly fractured his skull?  How would the media and players have received this then?  Please keep in mind, this ALL stems from a ridiculous retaliation from a bat flip.  Yes, a stupid bat flip at the end of an emotional playoff game.  How would you all feel then?  Now some of my "tough guy" peeps out there will be like: "I wouldn't feel any different.  Just desserts, blah, blah, blah."  Yup, until it is either A) your player or B) YOU!!!!

2. What if this would have been two NBA players?  What would the narrative have been then?  Is there ANYONE out there that believes the narrative would have been the same?  Stop kidding yourself!!!!  Baseball has long gotten away with things that other sports, in particular, the NBA would NEVER get away with, and frankly, that needs to stop.

Odor needs to be suspended severely, hopefully, sending a message that this type of boorish behavior is not acceptable and will not be tolerated.

What says you?