The Cardinals are the Bengals of MLB

I almost didn't notice the Scott Spiezio situation in St. Louis. With all the steroids headlines, it's easy to miss when someone does something truly despicable. The Cardinals released Spiezio yesterday, after a variety of charges against him became public. From an O.C. D.A. press release:

Spiezio is accused of speeding, cutting across several lanes, crossing through the oncoming traffic lanes, driving over a curb, and crashing into a fence. The crash knocked down a fence pole and blew out the front two tires of the car. Spiezio is accused of getting out of the car and fleeing the scene on foot.

The defendant is accused of running to his Irvine condominium complex and going to a friend's condo, who lived in the same complex. While his friend attempted to clean up the defendant, Spiezio is accused of vomiting in his friend's room. When the friend made a comment about the vomit, Spiezio is accused of becoming angry and attacking his friend, punching him repeatedly and throwing him against a wall.

Now, out of all these offenses, I do confess to throwing up in a friend's room. More than one, in fact. But I didn't kick any of their asses for commenting on it. At least, I don't think I did, and if I tried I guarantee I was unsuccessful.

This is the third major alcohol related problem with the Cardinals in the last 12 months, starting with manager Tony La Russa's DUI arrest last March. Reliever Josh Hancock died in a car crash in April, somehow managing not to take anyone with him. There is talk that Spiezio had trouble coping with the loss of Hancock, but that is pretty much the opposite of an excuse. Regarding Spiezio's release, La Russa said "I think it's a consistent message about what the team represents." How about some penalty to the manager?