The Yankees said last week that they would like to host championship boxing at the new Yankee Stadium. They got a preview in the eighth inning Tuesday night.
Mayhem broke out near the Yankees’ dugout, jolting an otherwise forgettable 10-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. It left Yankees Manager Joe Girardi with a bloody ear and a swollen eye, and Blue Jays reliever Jesse Carlson with a purple welt on his forehead. Online sports
Carlson had thrown behind Jorge Posada, who later elbowed him while crossing the plate, an action the plate umpire Jim Joyce called a cheap shot. Posada said that he hoped to avoid a suspension, but that he was not proud of what happened.
“It’s a tough example,” he said. “I don’t want my kids to see that. Somebody could have gotten hurt. I’m glad that nobody did.”
With the playoffs three weeks away, it was an especially dangerous time for a brawl. Girardi said he questioned his team’s judgment in a meeting after the game.
“We’ve already had a discussion,” Girardi said. “I told them: ‘There is a lot at stake here, and we can’t afford to get anyone hurt or lose anyone or get people suspended. We can’t do that.’ But there’s a lot of passion in this game.”
The Blue Jays pounded four homers off Sergio Mitre, including one by Edwin Encarnacion in the fourth inning. Mitre hit Encarnacion with a pitch two innings later, and in the eighth, Mark Melancon plunked Aaron Hill in the back.
Joyce said he did not believe either pitch was thrown with intent. But Melancon also unnerved the Red Sox in August when he hit Dustin Pedroia, and the Blue Jays clearly took offense to his fastball to Hill.
“When you’ve got two outs and one of the best hitters on your team’s up, and he gets drilled square in the back, it doesn’t look good,” Blue Jays catcher Rod Barajas said. “I’m not saying they did it on purpose, if there was any intent. But obviously, you see that happen and it kind of makes you wonder.”
Carlson communicated that message to Posada when he came to bat in the eighth, unleashing a pitch behind his back that took one hop and bounced to the backstop. Posada yelled at Carlson and took a step or two in his direction.
The benches cleared and the bullpens emptied, but nothing came of it besides a warning from Joyce. Posada walked, and when he came around to score, he elbowed Carlson as Carlson stood off to the side of the plate, seemingly backing up the play.
“As he ran past Carlson, he gave him a little shove with his elbow,” Joyce said. “It was very unsportsmanlike. The pitcher wasn’t looking for anything like that and he ran past him, didn’t say anything and just gave him a shove with his elbow. It was very unsportsmanlike. It was cheap shot.”
Posada was immediately ejected. Carlson cursed at Posada and Barajas lunged after him. Johnny Damon clawed into the fray — to protect Posada, he said — and Carlson swatted with his hand as Girardi dived in.
Instantly, some of the Yankees’ most valuable arms were jostling around, with Joba Chamberlain and C. C. Sabathia joining the rumble. The hulking Shelley Duncan played the enforcer, plowing Barajas to the turf. The umpire Derryl Cousins bruised a knee when a fan struck him with a soda bottle.
Girardi said he did not know how he was bloodied and was not angry with the Blue Jays. Like Barajas, Girardi said he was trying to restore order, not incite violence.
“My thought is just don’t let it escalate,” Girardi said. “That’s always my main objective when I go out there. I’ve never hit anyone in my life, in a team thing like that. And you just hope that no one gets hurt and you hope that you can stop it. But when there’s people running from everywhere, sometimes it’s hard.”
Joyce said the umpires would review video of the brawl. Bob Watson of the commissioner’s office typically does so, too, and decides on discipline. It seems likely Posada will face a punishment, considering Joyce’s opinion, though Posada said he did not start anything with Carlson.
“He was right there on the line to go to the dugout, but I want to leave it at that,” Posada said. “It’s something that shouldn’t happen. We got carried away.” Online sports
It was the first major brawl at the new stadium, and most of the crowd of 45,847 missed it. There seemed to be little incentive to stay after the Blue Jays clobbered Mitre for seven runs in five-plus innings, helping Roy Halladay improve to 15-9.
Overmatched against Halladay once this month, the Yankees managed 11 hits this time and stretched his pitch count to 112 over six innings. Every batter in the order had a hit against him.
That kind of deep lineup will be important against similar elite pitchers in October, especially if the Yankees have to slug to win. Their rotation became a bit shakier Tuesday with the news that Andy Pettitte, the stalwart left-hander, has a tired shoulder and will miss his next start.
Mitre, it seems clear, is not the answer. He was hit hard by Toronto for the second start in a row, allowing seven runs and eight hits. On Sept. 6 at Rogers Centre, he was pounded for 9 earned runs and 11 hits in four and a third innings. He has a 7.63 earned run average, third highest in the majors this season among pitchers with at least 45 innings.
Mayhem broke out near the Yankees’ dugout, jolting an otherwise forgettable 10-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. It left Yankees Manager Joe Girardi with a bloody ear and a swollen eye, and Blue Jays reliever Jesse Carlson with a purple welt on his forehead. Online sports
Carlson had thrown behind Jorge Posada, who later elbowed him while crossing the plate, an action the plate umpire Jim Joyce called a cheap shot. Posada said that he hoped to avoid a suspension, but that he was not proud of what happened.
“It’s a tough example,” he said. “I don’t want my kids to see that. Somebody could have gotten hurt. I’m glad that nobody did.”
With the playoffs three weeks away, it was an especially dangerous time for a brawl. Girardi said he questioned his team’s judgment in a meeting after the game.
“We’ve already had a discussion,” Girardi said. “I told them: ‘There is a lot at stake here, and we can’t afford to get anyone hurt or lose anyone or get people suspended. We can’t do that.’ But there’s a lot of passion in this game.”
The Blue Jays pounded four homers off Sergio Mitre, including one by Edwin Encarnacion in the fourth inning. Mitre hit Encarnacion with a pitch two innings later, and in the eighth, Mark Melancon plunked Aaron Hill in the back.
Joyce said he did not believe either pitch was thrown with intent. But Melancon also unnerved the Red Sox in August when he hit Dustin Pedroia, and the Blue Jays clearly took offense to his fastball to Hill.
“When you’ve got two outs and one of the best hitters on your team’s up, and he gets drilled square in the back, it doesn’t look good,” Blue Jays catcher Rod Barajas said. “I’m not saying they did it on purpose, if there was any intent. But obviously, you see that happen and it kind of makes you wonder.”
Carlson communicated that message to Posada when he came to bat in the eighth, unleashing a pitch behind his back that took one hop and bounced to the backstop. Posada yelled at Carlson and took a step or two in his direction.
The benches cleared and the bullpens emptied, but nothing came of it besides a warning from Joyce. Posada walked, and when he came around to score, he elbowed Carlson as Carlson stood off to the side of the plate, seemingly backing up the play.
“As he ran past Carlson, he gave him a little shove with his elbow,” Joyce said. “It was very unsportsmanlike. The pitcher wasn’t looking for anything like that and he ran past him, didn’t say anything and just gave him a shove with his elbow. It was very unsportsmanlike. It was cheap shot.”
Posada was immediately ejected. Carlson cursed at Posada and Barajas lunged after him. Johnny Damon clawed into the fray — to protect Posada, he said — and Carlson swatted with his hand as Girardi dived in.
Instantly, some of the Yankees’ most valuable arms were jostling around, with Joba Chamberlain and C. C. Sabathia joining the rumble. The hulking Shelley Duncan played the enforcer, plowing Barajas to the turf. The umpire Derryl Cousins bruised a knee when a fan struck him with a soda bottle.
Girardi said he did not know how he was bloodied and was not angry with the Blue Jays. Like Barajas, Girardi said he was trying to restore order, not incite violence.
“My thought is just don’t let it escalate,” Girardi said. “That’s always my main objective when I go out there. I’ve never hit anyone in my life, in a team thing like that. And you just hope that no one gets hurt and you hope that you can stop it. But when there’s people running from everywhere, sometimes it’s hard.”
Joyce said the umpires would review video of the brawl. Bob Watson of the commissioner’s office typically does so, too, and decides on discipline. It seems likely Posada will face a punishment, considering Joyce’s opinion, though Posada said he did not start anything with Carlson.
“He was right there on the line to go to the dugout, but I want to leave it at that,” Posada said. “It’s something that shouldn’t happen. We got carried away.” Online sports
It was the first major brawl at the new stadium, and most of the crowd of 45,847 missed it. There seemed to be little incentive to stay after the Blue Jays clobbered Mitre for seven runs in five-plus innings, helping Roy Halladay improve to 15-9.
Overmatched against Halladay once this month, the Yankees managed 11 hits this time and stretched his pitch count to 112 over six innings. Every batter in the order had a hit against him.
That kind of deep lineup will be important against similar elite pitchers in October, especially if the Yankees have to slug to win. Their rotation became a bit shakier Tuesday with the news that Andy Pettitte, the stalwart left-hander, has a tired shoulder and will miss his next start.
Mitre, it seems clear, is not the answer. He was hit hard by Toronto for the second start in a row, allowing seven runs and eight hits. On Sept. 6 at Rogers Centre, he was pounded for 9 earned runs and 11 hits in four and a third innings. He has a 7.63 earned run average, third highest in the majors this season among pitchers with at least 45 innings.
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