Completely thumbing his nose at the umpiring crew who worked Sunday’s game at Anaheim, Major League Baseball vice president for discipline Bob Watson hit Josh Beckett with a six-game suspension, slapped the Angels’ collective wrists and called it a day. Apparently, Watson saw something in the video tape of Beckett’s encounter with Bobby Abreu that the four men on the field missed.

Or, it could be that Watson has so little confidence in his umpires that he feels it necessary to supercede their judgment. Either way, isn’t it comforting to known that MLB can still foul up a one-car parade better than any other league?

MLB could avoid such incidents as Sunday’s, when Abreu stepped out of the box with Beckett starting his windup, being granted time and then seeing Beckett follow through with a pitch over his head. Make it a matter of official policy that umpires should work harder to keep batters in the box. As it is, the moment batter steps out, he routinely is granted time out even, as was the case Sunday, the  pitcher has gone into his windup.

As for the pitchers, make them speed up their between-pitch meditation sessions, even if it means using, say, a 10-second pitch clock that starts the moment he’s on the rubber.

As for this call, it won’t effect Beckett all that much beyond pushing back one of his starts by a day. But to drill him with the six games while letting the Angels off with next to nothing - fines for Mike Scioscia, Torii Hunter and Justin Speier, all of whom were ejected; a one-game suspension for hitting aoch Mickey Hatcher - is beyond absurd.

Tags: Angels, Bob Watson, Bobby Abreu, Josh Beckett, Justin Speier, Major League Baseball, Mike Scioscia, Red Sox, Torii Hunter