Pitchin' a fit...and a chair.

When life gets rough, throw a chair. It always seems to work on The Jerry Springer Show. Come on, now, just try it. You’re stressed, filled with angst and rage, tormented by self-doubt, and to further your frustration, some truly obnoxious fans from Oakland are really chapping your hide.

Well, Texas Rangers relief pitcher Frank Francisco did it and thus begins a very ugly relationship with a slew of unhappy baseball fans.

The incident occurred in Oakland during the ninth inning of Monday night’s game versus the Oakland A’s when the Rangers’ Alfosnso Soriano tied the game 5-5 with his second home run of the night. Shortly thereafter, with Rangers’ infielder Hank Blalock at bat, the Texas bench and bullpen cleared like kids chasing candy from a broken piñata, delaying the game for nearly 20 minutes.

Francisco’s rage got the best of him when he chucked the chair (ala Geraldo Rivera-style) into the box seats hitting a man on the head and breaking a woman’s nose. Francisco was arrested by Oakland Police on Tuesday morning and later posted bond and was released. Major League Baseball officials are further investigating the matter.

Now I know some people may think, “Hey, the guy just wanted his team to win and Texas is six games behind Oakland in the pennant race,” but haven’t we learned our lessons about players and fans interacting in such a brash manner? Remember the incident, almost exactly two years ago at Comiskey Park in Chicago, when Kansas City Royals first-base coach Tom Gamboa was attacked by “Wild” William Ligue, Jr. and his son? The Ligue’s taunted Gamboa incessantly during the game, and in the long run, ended up charging him from behind and beating him which resulted in permanent hearing loss for Gamboa.

Bottom line: Francisco went too far. While he is now charged with aggravated battery, which is a felony, he also deserves whatever punishment comes from the MLB Commissioner’s office. But since the act resembled that of a three-year-old’s temper tantrum, the punishment will be as equally lame, I’m sure. Perhaps a spanking and being grounded until October?

True, Oakland is notorious for raucous fans, but what standard must be set to prevent this from happening again? Well, there probably won’t be any standard, and it will probably happen again. Rangers’ Manager Buck Showalter seemed to place the blame with the rowdy fans while letting Rangers’ Owner Tom Hicks do the apologizing. “…I want to apologize for the conduct of some members of our club last night in Oakland. Their behavior, especially the injury to a fan, was unacceptable. Even in a difficult or abusive environment, players should never be provoked into such actions,” Hicks said in a release issued on Tuesday.

There’s no logical explanation for why Frank Francisco threw a chair into the crowd Monday night at Network Associates Coliseum. He just did it. And while journalists, commentators, and fans across the country can decry his actions all they want, there’s not a lot we can do about it other than boo.

Let’s just be glad he wasn’t standing close to a set of free weights.