Escobar suspended 3 games

The Blue Jays announced that shortstop Yunel Escobar has been suspended for 3 games after he put a gay slur on his eye black during Monday's game.

The eye-black had "tu ere maricon" written on it. The message can be translated to "you are a faggot", even though a Spanish interpreter told the Toronto Star that the message can be interpreted in a few different ways.

Analysis: Well we all know that Escobar has a bit of an attitude and I believe that the Jays are going to deal him this winter knowing that. They also have some young talent over at shortstop, so he'll probably be dealt.

Justin Morneau claimed on waivers

The Twins announced that first baseman Justin Morneau was claimed on waivers by an opposing team a few days ago, but Minnesota didn't work out a trade, meaning that Morneau will remain a Twin.

Morneau will earn $14 million this year, and is owed about $2.8 million for the remainder of the year. He has hit .274 with 17 homers and 25 doubles in 446 plate appearances this season. Morneau has dealt with several concussion issues over the last few years, but this marks the first time since 2009 that Morneau played in 100 games.

Analysis: This is the right move by Minnesota. Put Morneau on waivers, see what you can get for him, and if the price isn't enough, take him off waivers. Problem is that if they choose to put him on waivers again, they cannot revoke him, meaning that he would automatically go to the claiming team.

Aceves suspended 3 games following disagreement with Valentine

The Red Sox have had a horrible season. They have traded away many of their star players, and their clubhouse has gotten the reputation as one of the worst, if not the worst, in the game. Today, Boston announced that they suspended their closer Alfredo Aceves after an incident where he disagreed with Manager Bobby Valentine.

Apparently Aceves wanted to come in the game to close out the game but Valentine ultimately gave Andrew Bailey the call. Aceves was visibly upset in the clubhouse, and slammed the door on his way out of Bobby Valentine's office.

Diamond suspended 6 games

Twins starter Scott Diamond has been suspended for 6 games following an incident on Friday with Josh Hamilton. Diamond threw near the head of Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton.

Colon suspended for 50 games following positive drug test

Athletics pitcher Bartolo Colon will be suspended for 50 games following a positive drug test. Colon tested positive for testosterone.

Colon brought his career back to life last season after undergoing an experimental stem cell treatment on his injured shoulder. He eventually made a few starts with the Yankees and signed with Oakland last winter.

He has pitched to a 3.43 ERA in 24 starts and 152 1/3 innings for Oakland this season. He signed a one-year, $2 million contract, therefore making him a free agent at the end of the year.

Brett Anderson joined Oakland's rotation last night, and he will join Brandon McCarthy, Tommy Milone, and Jarrod Parker in the rotation for the remainder of the year. Dan Straily, Tyson Ross and Travis Blackley could also make a few spot starts, meaning that Oakland does indeed have some rotation depth.

Analysis: Tough break for Oakland. Colon was having such a great year and he might be a big loss for the Athletics. Luckily, like I mentioned before, Oakland does have some rotation depth so this isn't the end of the world. Now, I'll be surprised if Colon doesn't call it quits because he really doesn't have anything to play for now.

Melky Cabrera suspended 50 games

MLB has suspended outfielder Melky Cabrera for 50 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. MLB has confirmed that the substance was testosterone and the suspension will take effect immediately, costing him the rest of this season and the beginning of the next.

"My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used," Cabrera said. "I accept my suspension under the Joint Drug Program and will try to move on with my life. I am deeply sorry for my mistake and I apologize to my teammates, to the San Francisco Giants organization and to the fans for letting them down."

Cabrera has had a breakout season in 2012, and was on track to get a big payday in the fall when he becomes eligible for free agency. Both Melky and the Giants have recently put contract extension talks on hold after discussing for quite a long time. Cabrera has hit .346 with 11 homers in 501 plate appearances this season for the Giants, and made his first All-Star team as well.

Analysis: Wow! Many of us believed that Melky found his swing this season sort of like how Jose Bautista did a few years ago. This is huge for the Giants, and I feel bad for them. Melky has been a fan favorite this season, and his production will definitely be missed. Now it looks like San Francisco will have to try and find production at other parts of the field, because this is a crushing blow that may even end their season.

Marlon Byrd suspended 50 games

Free Agent outfielder Marlon Byrd has been suspended for 50 games after testing positive for PED's. He will be put on the restricted list and will remain there until August 20.

Byrd was released by the Red Sox earlier this month. He is a career .278 hitter with 82 home runs and 445 RBI's over 11 major league seasons.

Joel Peralta suspended for 8 games

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Joel Peralta has been suspended for 8 games because he had a foreign substance on his glove a few nights ago. Peralta was ejected from Tuesdays Rays-Nationals game for having too much pine tar on his glove.

Peralta has filed an appeal, meaning that he will be able to continue to be available to pitch until the appeal process is complete.

He has a 3.72 ERA with two saves in 35 appearances for Tampa Bay this season. He spent the 2010 season with the Nationals, the team that busted him for the substance on his glove.

Analysis: I like this move by the MLB. This is definitely setting a precedent and is making Peralta look bad. If you didn't know this, pine tar can be used to give more movement on the ball, so if a player uses it, he'd be cheating.

Freddy Galvis suspended 50 games

Phillies infielder Freddy Galvis has been suspended for 50 games after he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs this afternoon.

Galvis has been taking over for the injured Chase Utley, and was hitting .226 with three home runs and 24 RBI before he suffered a back injury earlier this month. The injury was diagnosed as a fractured vertebra and was expected to sideline Galvis for at least another month.

Galvis will be able to serve his suspension while on the disabled list, so he may not miss too much time on the field. However, the suspension will cost him about $150,000 in salary.

Analysis: This basically demonstrates how the way things have been going in Philadelphia this year. Injuries have plagued the team and a stupid move like this for Galvis to take illegal drugs is now going to force the Phillies to get more second base depth.

Lawrie gets four game suspension

That's mature.

Toronto Blue Jays third base man Brett Lawrie has been suspended by the MLB for four games after throwing his helmet at the umpire after disputing a called third strike call by home plate umpire Bill Miller. Lawrie was going to appeal his suspension but decided to drop his appeal earlier today. He will start his suspension today and he will miss the upcoming series against the Mets.

Cole Hamels suspended five games

Suspension: Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels has been suspended five games by the MLB after he admitted to hitting Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper on purpose. After the game, Nationals General Manager called the plunking of Harper "gutless", "classless"  and "fake tough." The suspension will not actually force Hamels to miss any of his starts. The Phillies have a scheduled off day on Thursday, and they can manipulate their rotation so Hamels can pitch on Sunday and not miss a start.

Is this really necessary? 

Analysis:  I hate Cole Hamels and for some reason I don't exactly love Bryce Harper either but Hamels deserved this suspension. Why would you purposely hit him? Because he's doing well? It doesn't make any sense. The Phillies are lucky that Hamels won't miss any of his starts because of Thursdays off day. I happened to agree with Nationals GM Mike Rizzo here. This is a classless, gutless act that was performed by a pitcher who seems like he enjoys rivalries and intensity. Ex: He called the Mets "choke artists" in 2007. I am also surprised to see the way Harper reacted. He kind of shrugged it off and said Hamels is a great pitcher and its all good. When he blew a kiss to a minor league pitcher as he was rounding the bases last year, I knew he was gonna have an attitude. I figured after an incident like this he would be talking crap about the Phillies and having more of a say in this incident.

Guillermo Moto suspended 100 games.

Is a 100 game suspension enough for Mota?

Suspension: The MLB has officially announced today that they have suspended Giants relief pitcher Guillermo Moto for 100 games after testing positive for the performance enhancing drug called Clenuterol. This is Mota's second suspension of his career. He was also caught testing positive for PED's when he was on the Mets in 2007. He was suspended for 50 games and it appears like he hasn't learned his lesson.

Analysis:  This guy always gets in trouble, and its a shame because he has a good arm. He has had some altercations with catcher Mike Piazza in the past. In Spring training during the 2002 season, Mota plunked Piazza and was removed from the game. After Mota was removed from the game, Piazza proceeded to grab him by his neck and other players were forced to separate the two from a bigger altercation. IN Spring Training of the 2003 season, Mota hit Piazza again and Piazza charged the mound. Both players were ejected and Mota received a four game suspension. In 2007, as I mentioned earlier, he was suspended 50 games for testing positive for PED's. The Mets stupidly resigned him to a 2 year, $5 million contract because they were desperate for some bullpen help. Overall, it appears that the MLB has become tired of Mota and his history and they feel that suspending him for 100 games might teach him a lesson.