Tabata Removed For Disciplinary Reasons

From John Nalbone:

Tabata was expelled from the dugout and was seen sitting in front of his locker as the Fisher Cats grabbed a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning on a two-run home run by Aaron Mathews.

Manager Tony Franklin refused to address the specifics as to why the 19-year-old Tabata was pulled and sent back to the clubhouse.

"We had an in-house issue we needed to deal with. Don't ask me what it is because I'm not telling you,'' a visibly irritated Franklin said. "We're very pleased with the way he is playing. He is playing hard. But there are certain standards that need to be met within this organization and with this team, and when those standards are not met we take action. It's our job to make sure these players know what they are supposed to do at all times out there.''

Franklin did not rule out further discipline for Tabata, who was 0-for-2 before being removed.

"We'll decide on that later,'' Franklin said. "We'll bring him in, talk to him and explain what we want to see him do and how we'd like to see him go about it.''

Here's what Mike Ashmore of Thunder Thoughts had to say about the incident:

Have heard from two separate sources now that Jose Tabata’s benching was directly related to a play in which Austin Jackson dove for a fly ball, and Tabata failed to back him up as the ball rolled past Jackson and the runner got all the way to third.

This is the second time this has happened this season, the first time he was suspended for leaving a game without permission following a strike out, and now this.

The kid needs to get his act together, he can't continue to hurt himself by being an idiot on or off the field. Having a ton of talent (which he does) is great, but if you don't have your head screwed on right you could end up wasting it.