COMMENTARY : BELLE'S CRIME WASN'T THAT BAD.

Byline: Joe Gilmartin The Phoenix Gazette 

Albert Belle's agent sounds a lot like Dennis Rodman's agent. In fact, come to think of it, he sounds a little like Dennis Rodman.

But then, Belle and Rodman both being very talented bulls (no pun intended) in their respective china shops, it should hardly be surprising their agents sing the same tune, and in the same whining key.

Even though Belle's five-game suspension has been reduced to three, Arn Tellem says any punishment at all for his client is ``unjustified and illegal,'' and he's prepared to fight it all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.

Tellem's further position is that Belle is the victim of a double standard that singles him out unfairly, although he wisely doesn't go too deeply into the reasons why the league might have for committing what he views as ``an act of retaliation'' against Belle.

For one thing, you'd never get all of them into one sound byte. And for another, they all cast Belle in a decidedly unfavorable light.

This, after all, is a guy whose anti-social behavior outside the lines ranges from profane, (not to mention unprovoked, unreasonable, and unjustified) behavior toward a TV journalist to first-degree surliness directed at fans.

In short, a hard guy to paint as a victim of an arbitrary and capricious decision by a vengeful bureaucracy.

Indeed, having been present during one of his outbursts (the one in the last World Series), the only problem I had in the beginning was that the book they threw at Belle was so small.

That they should have thrown a whole set of Encyclopedia Britannicas at the bum.

But upon further review I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that in this particular instance, the bum is getting a bit of a bum rap and the punishment was more designed to fit the criminal than the crime.

In fact, a compelling case could be made for the proposition that had the act in question been committed by anybody else, it would not have been considered a crime at all. Or at worst, a misdemeanor.

In case you missed it, Belle, angered at having been hit twice by pitches, took out Cleveland infielder Fernando Vina, who was trying to complete a double play, with a forearm-first slide.

The hit, which triggered the inevitable bench-clearing brawl was the culmination of a series of incidents that led to several suspensions. But naturally, Belle being Belle, he was the focal point of the whole affair.

The umpires on duty at the time saw nothing illegal about Belle's hit, and more than a few old-timers insist that when an infielder is standing in the base path trying to complete a double play, you are supposed to take him out.

And the less gently the better to remind him that the rules of engagement in such situations call for the infielder to get himself out of harm's way.

What Belle did may not be cricket. But then, although it resembles it in some ways, neither is baseball.

But American League President Gene Budig ruled that what Belle did ``... crossed the line, whether it violated a rule or not,'' adding, ``He not only threatened injury to another player, but also led to the disruption of the game.''

Belle being an outfielder by trade, it couldn't happen, of course. But for purposes of this discussion, one can't help wondering whether Budig's view would have been exactly the same had Vina slid forearm-first into Belle instead vice versa.

Aggravation over Belle's antics aside, the view here is that at the outside the forearm might have been worth a one-game suspension, but then only if the videotape clearly proved it was deliberately delivered (the mere fact it came in contact with Vina's nose is not enough).

If baseball really is, as Tellem suggests, out to ``get'' Belle, it really should have waited for a better reason. And judging from his track record, the wait would not be a long one.

If the suspension is actually served, it could conceivably knock Belle out of a shot at Roger Maris' record of 61 home runs.

He's on a pace to hit right at 60, and sitting out three games might keep him from breaking one of the game's most coveted records.

This isn't to say this should have been taken into consideration, mind you. Records should have nothing to do with it.

But then, neither should the fact Albert Belle is Albert Belle, either. And it's hard to shake the feeling it did.

MEMO: Joe Gilmartin can be reached at jgilmar910aol.com for e-mail.