Piniella draws indefinite suspension for dirt-kicking tirade against ump

The Associated Press

Published Monday, June 4, 2007

Chicago Cubs Manager Lou Piniella was suspended indefinitely and fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball yesterday for his latest dirt-kicking tirade against an umpire.

Piniella was ejected in the eighth inning of Saturday’s 5-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

After Angel Pagan was thrown out trying to steal third on a pitch that bounced away from the catcher, Piniella stormed out of the dugout and kicked dirt as he argued and tossed his cap, leading to his ouster by third-base umpire Mark Wegner.

MLB also said Piniella made contact with Wegner during the outburst - which Piniella denied.

Piniella began serving his suspension yesterday, when the Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves 10-1. The length of Piniella’s suspension will be determined today after a meeting with John McHale Jr., the MLB executive vice president for administration.

"I wasn’t expecting anything until the early part of the week," said Piniella, who has been known to kick dirt and toss bases since he started managing in 1986.

Piniella’s outburst came one day after catcher Michael Barrett and pitcher Carlos Zambrano fought in the dugout and clubhouse, leaving Barrett with a cut on his lower lip that required six stitches at a hospital and a bruise below his left eye.

"It all starts with playing bad baseball," General Manager Jim Hendry said. "When you play as poorly as we have now for a few weeks time, a lot of frustration sets in because you do have a lot of guys that care and a lot of guys that expect to win.

"Nobody’s anything but extremely disappointed, frustrated with where we’re at."

● CLEMENS UPDATE: Roger Clemens will have tests on his ailing groin today, and the New York Yankees hope he can make his first start of the season next weekend.

Yankees Manager Joe Torre said yesterday that Clemens could pitch Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, five days after he was originally slated to return to the struggling team before being scratched because of a fatigued right groin.

"We’re tentatively looking at possibly next weekend," Torre said. "The only thing I know is he’s going to have an MRI" today "and we’ll have more information. They’ll see if whatever he’s dealing with is old or new."

Matt DeSalvo was scheduled to start in Clemens’ place tonight at the Chicago White Sox. Kei Igawa, who had been another option, pitched in a Triple-A game yesterday for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Torre said Igawa pitched well, but Scranton pitching coach Dave Eiland said the left-hander needs another minor-league outing.

The MRI won’t be the only factor that determines whether Clemens pitches on Saturday.

"He’s going to be the one that has to feel" ready, Torre said. "We certainly don’t want him to say, ‘Well, I can pitch with this.’

"It’s too important that he goes out there every five days or so," rather than "have one start and then maybe the next start you don’t have him. So we want to make sure this gets well."

Making his latest comeback, the 44-year-old Clemens took a prorated share of a $28 million salary hoping to help New York overcome a double-digit deficit in the American League East. He likely would provide an emotional lift, though Torre isn’t focused on that.

"We’ve had a habit of never counting our chickens until they show up," he said, "so we really never got to the point of feeling he was here."

Clemens had three minor-league tuneup starts, the most recent last Monday when he gave up two hits and struck out six in six scoreless innings for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The seven-time Cy Young Award winner felt pain in his groin during that outing.

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said it was possible Clemens’ next appearance would be in the minors.

"I would not rule anything out," he said.

In other news, first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz will soon be placed on the disabled list with a broken right wrist and a concussion after he was hurt in a collision with Boston’s Mike Lowell on Saturday.

With Jason Giambi already out because of a foot injury, Torre said Josh Phelps will be the team’s regular first baseman for the foreseeable future, with Miguel Cairo as the backup. Center fielder Johnny Damon has been taking grounders at first but is expected to keep serving mostly as a designated hitter.