Hudson dustup denied

Outing with Zito reportedly quiet

By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff, 10/7/2003

OAKLAND, Calif. -- A's manager Ken Macha dismissed as a "nonissue" reports that star pitcher Tim Hudson was involved in a fight in a Boston bar Friday night.

"He explained to me what happened, and nothing happened," Macha said of Hudson, who came out of Game 4 Sunday in Fenway Park after pitching just one inning because of a strained oblique muscle.

Hudson underwent an MRI yesterday, which confirmed the strained oblique muscle, and was scheduled to see a doctor, Macha said. Hudson did not make himself available to the media before last night's game but was seen castigating a TV reporter in the parking lot, telling the reporter the story had no credence.

Friday night, Hudson and Barry Zito, who pitched for the A's last night, spent three hours at Hennessy's of Boston and its private nightclub, Q, but the manager of the two nightspots, Noel Gentelles, said the players were not involved in a fight.

"There was a guy at one point who made pro-Red Sox statements and he was asked to leave," Gentelles said. "People might have seen this guy and turned it into a storm in a teacup."

The Red Sox fan confronted the two Oakland players, shouting, "Go Sox," before being told to leave. "He actually walked out by himself," Gentelles said. "We didn't have to drag him out."

According to the club manager, Hudson and Zito posed for pictures and signed autographs, and Zito joined the band Blockhead for a set on the guitar.

"There was a little buzz in the room when [Zito and Hudson] first walked in, and then someone asked me if Barry could sit in with us," said Blockhead guitarist John Erickson. "He was cool. He said how much he loved Boston and how intense the fans are here."

Erickson, asked about an alleged altercation, said, "I didn't see it, but the manager came down and said something about `meathead' fans. I guess this is hostile territory."

A's trainer Larry Davis said Hudson has a high threshold for pain. Asked if he heard about the alleged altercation, Davis said, "No, I didn't. Timmy told me when we were on the mound that he felt it when he threw a pitch. That's good enough for me. I think you should talk to the people who read the articles. I have not read them and I don't intend to."

Thanassis Cambanis and Mark Shanahan of the Globe staff and correspondent Joe Vieira contributed to this report from Boston, and correspondent Tim Casey contributed from Oakland.