Ortiz hopes sides appeased at his appeal
BALTIMORE -- Imagine David Ortiz's surprise when Major League Baseball officials yesterday effectively rolled a greatest hits collection of ugly on-infield incidents as they heard the appeal of his five-game suspension and $4,000 fine for his tirade against the umpires July 16 in Anaheim.
Former Sox outfielder Carl Everett's head-butt of umpire Ron Kulpa at Fenway Park in 2000, Yankee Jorge Posada's clash with umpire Andy Fletcher in 2001 in Toronto, a brawl between the Sox and Orioles at Fenway in 2002, and an incident in which Milton Bradley of the Dodgers hurled a bag of balls on the field in June after he was tossed by umpire Terry Craft: Ortiz was shown replays of them all by Bob Watson, MLB's discipline chief, and John McHale Jr., the commissioner's executive vice president of administration, during a two-hour hearing before last night's game against the Orioles.
Ortiz seemed encouraged by the session, even though Watson and McHale apparently made a strong case for why the Sox slugger should be suspended as long as five games. Ortiz hopes the sentence will be reduced to three games, allowing him to sit out the series in Tampa Bay that starts Monday.
"I feel good about how everything went," he said. "One thing that helped me out in the case is that I wasn't in trouble before, which was good."
In an uncharacteristic burst of anger in Anaheim, Ortiz pushed manager Terry Francona into plate ump Matt Hollowell, then tossed two bats on the field that just missed hitting umpires Mark Carlson and Bill Hohn as he protested a called third strike. Ortiz, who was represented at the suspension hearing by a union official, explained that he apologized to the umpires and made a case that he may have had a legitimate beef with Hollowell, even if he did overreact.
"I told them I don't deserve a suspension because I already apologized to everybody and I got [jobbed], definitely," Ortiz said with a smile.
Ortiz said he learned a lot about baseball's discipline rules during the appeal hearing, particularly when he was shown a tape of his incident and then shown the others for comparison purposes. He believed he fared well comparatively.
"One thing I did was different from all of them," he said. "I didn't bump the umpire or push him or spit on him. That might help. I'm not sure."
The commissioner's office is expected to rule as early as today.
No further trouble
In the best news for Ortiz, Watson and McHale indicated the slugger will not be penalized for his role in Saturday's brawl between the Sox and Yankees at Fenway Park. Ortiz and Trot Nixon rushed to the aid of Gabe Kapler, who had been grabbed from behind in a headlock by pitcher Tanyon Sturtze. At one point, Ortiz swung his fist as he if he were trying to land a roundhouse punch but hit nothing but air.
"They said they went through the video and what they really saw me doing was trying to spread the guys apart," Ortiz said. "I'll be fine with that."
Jason Varitek is not expected to be so fortunate. He faces a possible sanction for fighting with Alex Rodriguez after Bronson Arroyo hit A-Rod with a pitch. Rodriguez has effectively presented himself as a victim in the case, saying Varitek initiated the fisticuffs, and vows to appeal.
That struck Francona as a bit odd. Rodriguez immediately began jawing at Arroyo and engaged in a shouting match with Varitek before the catcher shoved him in the face with his mitt.
"I'm not a lip reader, but I can read those lips," Francona said of Rodriguez. "The word `victim' wasn't coming out."
The Sox manager also felt strongly that Kapler should not be further sanctioned. The umps ejected Varitek, Rodriguez, Kapler, and the Yankees' Kenny Lofton.
"Gabe didn't do anything," Francona said. "Thank goodness we're in this age where there's tape. You watch it. He's just protecting himself."
Yankees manager Joe Torre indicated to reporters that he was puzzled by Lofton and Kapler getting ejected.
"My guess is, they threw out two reserve outfielders," Torre said.
Arroyo believes Lofton may have punched him in the head from behind.
"I haven't seen the tape," Arroyo said, "but somebody punched me, and when I looked around he was the closest one to me."
If anyone else should be penalized, the Sox believed it should be Sturtze for ambushing Kapler. Watson could rule on the case today.
Quieting trade talk
With the clock ticking toward Saturday's trading deadline, Francona said there understandably was a measure of anxiety in the clubhouse. Speculation has abounded about Derek Lowe landing elsewhere, and there has been some talk about Nomar Garciaparra moving, though almost anyone could be traded if general manager Theo Epstein received a proposal he couldn't refuse.
Francona said he felt confident the team would not experience a major upheaval before the deadline.
"I actually have inside sources," he said, all but refuting the most recent reports about Lowe and Garciaparra. "I know [the front office] is trying. They're hustling, but things like that, I just don't see happening."
Putting it more bluntly, he said of a potentially major shake-up, "Just because there are a number of rumors, it's not going to happen. I think that's the case of somebody throwing something at the wall and hoping it sticks."
Vice president of baseball operations Mike Port arrived in Baltimore for the day for undisclosed purposes. In the past, Port has played a key role in the clubhouse in handling trades, so his presence may have heightened tensions. Francona acknowledged there was some general unease, regardless of Port.
"You're talking about a big upheaval in somebody's life," Francona said. "You're changing your address, your family is moving. It's a big deal. So I'm sure there's going to be some people in three days who are going to take a deep breath one way or the other and go about their business. You just hope in the meantime they continue to understand that what we need to do is win."
Left helpless
Before Ortiz homered off B.J. Ryan with two outs in the ninth inning last night, lefthanded hitters were batting .032 (2 for 63) against Ryan . . . The Orioles have won six of their last eight games against the Sox . . . Neither team walked a batter, marking only the fourth game without a walk this season in the majors . . . Schilling, who recorded 16 of his 21 outs on fly balls, dropped to 5-5 with a 3.64 ERA on the road. He is 7-0 with a 3.32 ERA at home . . . Even though he has yet to regain his form, Byung Hyun Kim has begun extending the length of his outings for Triple A Pawtucket so he can rejoin the Sox either as a starter or a reliever. The Sox signed him over the winter to a two-year, $10 million contract as a starter. Francona hopes Kim returns this season. "If not, something didn't go right," the manager said. "That's not the way we mapped it out.". . . Setup man Scott Williamson is scheduled to work out of Pawtucket's bullpen today in Syracase as he rehabs a strained right elbow. If all goes well, he will join the Sox in Minnesota tomorrow when they open a three-game series. The Sox acquired Williamson from the Reds for lefthander Phil Dumatrait a year ago today . . . Tuesday's rainout against the Orioles had yet to be rescheduled.
