You might’ve caught footage late last night of former Mets prospect Esix Snead, currently playing CF for Atlanta’s Richmond affiliate, charging the mound and wailing away on Syracuse’s Dave Bush (above), after being walked, no less. Said attack sparked a bench clearing melee that got more time on ESPN and CNN than any minor league highight in recent memory.

Lost amidst the gawking, however, was any explanation as to why Snead went after Bush. According to the Syracuse Post-Standard, said incident was provoked by an exchange between Snead and SkyChiefs reliever Matt Whiteside on Sunday. It seems the latter took exception to the former bunting when Richmond were trailing by 4 runs in the 9th inning.

I don’t know if Whiteside had dinner reservations or what (and with apologies to Bob Schick, where is he gonna have trouble getting a table in Richmond on a Sunday night?) but if the Braves are trailing by 4, bunting for a hit is a perfectly legit way of trying to get to first. If Snead’s own manager wants to pick a fight with him, that’s another thing entirely. I’ve heard of opposing pitchers taking exception to stealing with a big lead, admiring home runs, etc. but if the unwritten code also precludes bunting while trailing, maybe someone oughta circulate a pamphlet before additional violence occurs.