PITTSBURGH — Major League Baseball came down hard on the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday, handing out eight suspensions and a dozen fines as punishment for a bench-clearing brawl.
PITTSBURGH — Major League Baseball came down hard on the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday, handing out eight suspensions and a dozen fines as punishment for a bench-clearing brawl.
Yet even with Arizona pitcher Ian Kennedy getting 10 games and infielder Eric Hinske five for their roles in Tuesday’s fight, it might not be enough to quell the lingering hostility between the NL West rivals.
“No, it’s not over yet, not at all,” Dodgers reliever Ronald Belisario said. “I don’t think anybody thinks it’s over.”
Belisario was to serve a one-game suspension on Friday night for “aggressive actions,” while Dodgers reliever J.P. Howell and infielder Skip Schumaker appealed the two-game suspensions they received from MLB Senior Vice President Joe Garagiola Jr.
Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly and Arizona’s Kirk Gibson were given one-game bans, while Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire must sit two games. Bench coach Trey Hillman filled in for Mattingly on Friday night when Los Angeles lost at Pittsburgh.
Garagiola cited Kennedy for intentionally throwing a pitch at the head of Zack Greinke after a warning had been issued and Hinske for leaving the dugout and “aggressive actions.”
Mattingly was penalized for his conduct and Gibson for Kennedy’s actions following a warning.
Kennedy’s suspension is the longest handled out by the league for on-field conduct since Chicago Cubs catcher Michael Barrett was handed a 10-game suspension for an incident with White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski on May 20, 2006.
Mattingly seemed a bit puzzled by Schumaker’s penalty, saying he felt if the veteran infielder “had his hands on anybody, he was pulling people off.”
Schumaker declined to talk about the suspension.