And it's the right point.

Already, Clemens-Mike Piazza II has turned into a sideshow that is devouring attention that would be better paid in other directions. So two things here: First, baseball took the correct step in fining Clemens. Second, it was proper to do so Tuesday to bring a swift resolution to the matter.

Baseball has been hammered in the past -- rightly so -- for dragging its feet in any number of matters. Remember when Roberto Alomar spit in umpire John Hirschbeck's face near the end of the 1996 season? The way baseball procrastinated in that situation before finally issuing a small fine and weak suspension was a disgrace. Then, Alomar should have been suspended for the playoffs, and the suspension he did receive -- less than a week, to be served at the beginning of the 1997 season -- was a joke.

That Clemens threw part of a bat at Piazza on baseball's biggest stage forced the issue. There is no ignoring the act, and in this media feeding frenzy, there is no way the issue is going to disappear anytime soon. For baseball to not address the situation would have been irresponsible.

Frank Robinson talks to reporters before Game 3 about his decision to fine Roger Clemens.(AP)

Now, while Clemens-Piazza II simmers just below the surface of this World Series, threatening to blow up again at any moment, the logical question to ask is this: How can baseball fine Clemens when he wasn't even ejected from the game?

Well, let's take care of logic first: Clemens' action was inexcusable, whether there was intent or not. He was pumped up to a dangerously high level, and when he picked up the broken barrel of Piazza's bat in the first inning of Game 2 and tossed it in Piazza's direction, well, that sort of behavior simply cannot -- and should not -- be tolerated.

What if the jagged, broken part of the bat had struck Piazza? He could have been seriously wounded.

Now, it said here yesterday that the umpires handled things well by not ejecting Clemens, and that still stands. Fact is, the bat did not hit Piazza, and the umpires handled things beautifully by calming the situation before it got out of hand. In the postseason, players should be given more leeway because emotions run higher.

But they shouldn't run unchecked.

And that's where Robinson comes in.