Joel Peralta Suspended 8 Games

Friday, Peralta did what major-league players occasionally do, step four:

For more on the Rays, please visit DRays Bay and SB Nation Tampa Bay.

Joel Peralta was booted from a game the other day when Davey Johnson asked umpires to inspect his glove, and they found a foreign substance. Pitchers aren’t allowed to mess around with anything other than their own blood, sweat, and tears, and even those aren’t allowed to get on the baseball. Peralta’s glove was confiscated, Peralta himself was ejected, and Johnson and Joe Maddon became involved in a delightfully old-person war of words.

But while the highlight so far has probably been Johnson referring to Maddon as “a weird wuss,” Peralta hasn’t been laughing. He’s been facing discipline from the league, and now we have a ruling:

A collection of quotes regarding the cold war between Davey Johnson and Joe Maddon. This is fun:

↵

But that’s not all — now MLB’s honchos are getting involved:

The umpiring crew last night confiscated Peralta’s glove in order to use it as evidence for a review by Major League Baseball. The glove was shipped, via FedEx, from Washington to New York for league officials to examine. MLB’s determination will decide Peralta’s fate.

The typical suspension for pitchers found guilty of using a foreign substance is 10 days, but because the league is still awaiting the glove, no ruling has been made.Insert FedEx joke here.

Rays manager Joe Maddon wasn’t happy. How unhappy was he?

Maddon implied that most teams do the same thing:

Joel Peralta is a valuable setup guy for the Rays, and Tuesday night, he was asked to protect a 5-4 lead over the Nationals in the eighth inning. He warmed up, he took the mound, he warmed up some more, and then ... he didn’t pitch. Davey Johnson came out of the Nationals’ dugout and asked the umpires to inspect Peralta’s glove. The umpires inspected Peralta’s glove, confiscated it, and ejected him from the game.

The official explanation?