Brown: Umpire hit with Brett Lawrie’s helmet, full beer cup at Blue Jays game

Kinder Labatt. Doubtful.

Toronto Blue Jays slugger Brett Lawrie apologized later for his tantrum, and he seemed to mean it, but video of him slamming his batting helmet to the ground and it hitting umpire Bill Miller in the right hip is incriminating. Lawrie deserves a long suspension, and one is likely.

Adding to the miserable ending of Miller’s night, a disgruntled fan in the stands at Rogers Centre tossed a mostly full cup of beer and hit Miller in the right shoulder as he walked off the field. No matter how poorly Miller might have called the final two pitches of Lawrie’s at-bat — strike two appeared to catch even less of the zone than strike three — he doesn’t deserve either reaction.

...Getting thrown out of a one-run game (Toronto lost to the Rays 4-3) and incurring a suspension from the league helps the Blue Jays, how, exactly? And since when is it cool to lose your cool? Lawrie sure didn’t make it look like an accident when he stepped toward the umpire and threw down his helmet. Lawrie completely obliterated his own point — getting balls and strikes called correctly — by throwing a fit (and some equipment).