TV » MASN2

Radio » WFED-1500 AM; WWFD-820 AM

Nationals center fielder Nyjer Morgan must wait a little bit longer to find out if his separate suspensions worth 15 games will be reduced or upheld. Morgan had his appeals hearing with Major League Baseball’s Bob Watson at Nationals Park today. It lasted several hours, according to baseball sources, with no verdict rendered. So Morgan will play tonight against the Florida Marlins, whom he battled last week in a testy series in Miami. Wes Helms, a Florida infielder, made the most pointed comments after Morgan drilled catcher Brett Hayes (separated left shoulder) and the next day took part in a bench-clearing brawl. Because first baseman Gaby Sanchez accepted his three-game suspension from that brawl for clothes-lining Morgan and starts it tonight, Helms takes his place at first. Awkward.

No expectation on when a final ruling will come down. Washington manager Jim Riggleman mentioned that Atlanta Braves reliever Jonny Venters was suspended for four games earlier this season, but appealed and after his hearing didn’t get an official ruling for three or four days. Riggleman was also concerned that umpires might over-react tonight if anything remotely controversial happens – a few pitches too far inside, words between players, a hit batter, etc. But does he expect any carryover from the brawl?

“No, not at all. I think that whole thing is over with,” Riggleman said. “It’s over with from our end I’m sure it’s over with from their end. If anything happened I think it would be purely coincidental. It’s baseball. If somebody got nicked with a pitch…But certainly that’s not a concern at this point.”

Anyway, my best guess is MLB is taking a second look at the first suspension given to Morgan when he was accused of throwing a ball intentionally at a fan in Philadelphia. Subsequent information cast some new light on that incident so it’s possible that seven-game suspension will be reduced. I don’t see much hope for Morgan’s eight-game suspension based on multiple incidents, including bumping St. Louis Cardinals catcher Bryan Anderson on a play at the plate and the bench-clearing brawl in Florida.

Morgan will bat in the No. 8 spot tonight. In his place as the leadoff batter is second baseman Danny Espinosa. That’s a curious move considering Espinosa had a combined OPS of .737 in Double-A and Triple-A this season. As hot as he’s been early in his big-league career he still has some holes in his swing that don’t suggest an effective leadoff hitter. But September is for experimenting and Espinosa might be needed there for a while if Morgan serves his full suspension. Ivan Rodriguez is feeling better after an illness and back in the lineup at catcher for Washington.

Meanwhile, relief pitcher Doug Slaten begins serving his three-game suspension for his role in the Florida fight. A bemused Slaten spoke briefly before the game tonight and said he had no idea where he was going to watch the game. Suspended players aren’t allowed to stay in the locker room or take part in any team activities or meetings. He’ll likely watch from a suite as third-base coach Pat Listach did on Monday while serving the final part of his two-game suspension.

On the field, John Lannan (7-6, 4.73 ERA) starts for the Nats, looking to continue his strong run since Aug. 1. Alex Sanabia (3-2, 4.50) goes for the Marlins. He’s also set to serve a suspension beginning tomorrow for his role in the fight in Florida – even though he had started the game the night before and wasn’t playing in that contest. Here are the full lineups for tonight’s game.

Marlins:

Bonifacio – 3B

Morrison – LF

Ramirez – SS

Uggla – 2B

Helms – 1B

Stanton – RF

Maybin – CF

Davis – C

Sanabia –SP

Nationals:

Espinosa – 2B

Desmond – SS

Zimmerman – 3B

Dunn – 1B

Bernadina – LF

Morse – RF

Rodriguez – C

Morgan – CF

Lannan – SP

Follow me on Twitter @bmcnally14