There was another bizarre "anthem standoff" that led to three ejections ahead of the Angels-Rays game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The gimmicky ejection tactic happened between Angels pitchers Brent Suter and Chase Silseth and Rays pitchers Steven Wilson and Manuel Rodríguez. All four stayed standing along the foul line long after the anthem was over. Silseth withdrew and returned to the dugout and the other three were ejected after refusing to move as play was about to begin.
Suter was unavailable to pitch, having started on Friday and the two Rays pitchers are both currently on the IL.
My take: These are dumb. I don't get it. You're intentionally getting yourself thrown out of a game you can't play in? And it's not a "standoff" because there are no consequences to the player or the team for getting tossed. Silseth knew this and was available for the Angels, so he retreated before getting tossed. Just odd theater,
THE ASYLUM
Anthem 'standoff' ejections
There was another bizarre "anthem standoff" that led to three ejections ahead of the Angels-Rays game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The gimmicky ejection tactic happened between Angels pitchers Brent Suter and Chase Silseth and Rays pitchers Steven Wilson and Manuel Rodríguez. All four stayed standing along the foul line long after the anthem was over. Silseth withdrew and returned to the dugout and the other three were ejected after refusing to move as play was about to begin.
Suter was unavailable to pitch, having started on Friday and the two Rays pitchers are both currently on the IL.
My take: These are dumb. I don't get it. You're intentionally getting yourself thrown out of a game you can't play in? And it's not a "standoff" because there are no consequences to the player or the team for getting tossed. Silseth knew this and was available for the Angels, so he retreated before getting tossed. Just odd theater,
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