3 reasons MLB messed up and should have suspended Ian Kinsler

On Friday, it seemed all but certain that Ian Kinsler would avoid suspension stemming from comments he made to and about home plate umpire Angel Hernandez.

For the uninitiated, the Detroit Tigers second baseman was tossed out in the fifth inning of Monday's game against the Texas Rangers for arguing balls and strikes. The altercation escalated the following day though, with Kinsler publicly voicing his displeasure with Hernandez, even telling Jason Beck of MLB.com that Hernandez "needs to find another job."

Following the report that Kinsler was handed a fine in lieu of a suspension, the World Umpires Association - the union which represents umpires - announced that some officials will participate in protest of "escalating verbal attacks" by wearing white wristbands.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, umpires will continue to wear the wristbands until the issue is resolved. And, now, MLB might be faced with the difficult decision of having to suspend Kinsler well after the incident, when it should have brought the hammer down on him immediately.

The double standard between umps and players

Let's be clear: If an umpire said what Kinsler said about Hernandez, they would have been suspended. In fact, umpire Joe West was handed a three-day suspension for saying something much more innocuous earlier this month.

When asked who the league's biggest complainer was in an interview with Bob Nightengale of USA Today, West said "It's got to be Adrian Beltre."

To the credit of West, he "clarified to USA TODAY Sports that he and Beltre are on friendly terms." However, that obviously wasn't enough, and to maintain order, the league needed to set a precedent. Which brings us to the next point.

Without rules, there is anarchy

The precedent that MLB is setting by only fining Kinsler - that a player will not miss time for publicly discrediting the league's paid officials - is a pretty troubling one.

Under the new review rules, berating the umpires verbally is at an all-time low - and that's a good thing for everyone, including the umpires. But that's not where Kinsler stopped. Hours after the altercation, he took the feud to the media and explicitly said that the 25-year veteran Hernandez should not be employed.

Regardless of your feelings toward Hernandez, this isn't 'Nam, there are rules.

Replacement umpires would be so much worse

Perhaps wristbands is where this protest ends, but creating labor unrest between the league and the umpiring union could, conceivably, lead to much worse scenarios.

As bad as fans may believe the umpiring crews on the field are - and, sometimes, the umpires themselves make pretty compelling cases for their inadequacy - the possibility of having to bring in replacement umpires is a troubling notion.

This is a reality NFL fans - and, more specifically, Green Bay Packers fans - know all too well.

And, before you jump on your "robot umps now" horse, the technology is not yet there.

Fans pay admission to see the athletes play the games. When an umpire interferes with that, it's frustrating. But when a player calls out the league's ability to deploy competent officials, responsible for upholding the rules of the game, it needs to be dealt with.