Where's my English-Spanish rule book?

[Camron Rust]

This brings up an interesting question about timeouts.....

Why do we penalize for an excessive timeout?

Sure, in the case of a live ball or with the clock running, it can provide an advantage that shouldn't be allowed. But, what about when the ball is dead and the clock is stopped. What harm or unfair advantage is there for a coach to ask for a timeout and have it denied (or let them have it if they still want it at the expense of a T)? It seems that the penalty is actually too harsh in such cases.