Major League Baseball games played Friday, June 29, 2007: Thanks to a day-night doubleheader in Philadelphia to make up an earlier rainout between the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies, there were a total of 16 games played Friday. Although yesterday's games produced three walkoff home runs (see here, here, and here) and also home run number 750 for San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds (more details here), those 16 games only produced a single ejection.

In Detroit, where the Tigers were hosting the Minnesota Twins, home plate umpire Marty Foster ejected Tigers batting coach Lloyd McClendon in the bottom of the 1st inning after McClendon from the bench took exception to Foster's called third strike on Tigers right fielder Magglio Ordonez. The lack of a batting coach may have hurt the Tigers, as they went on to lose the game by the score of 11-1. Of course, facing Twins starting pitcher Johan Santana probably didn't help much either. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here. Additional coverage is available from The Detroit News; The Detroit Free Press; The Minneapolis Star Tribune; and The Associated Press. You can view a related photo at this link.

Credit home plate umpire Marty Foster with one ejection and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.

Major League Baseball games played Thursday, June 28, 2007: Ten games were scheduled for Thursday, but only nine were played, and only eight were completed. A persistent rain throughout the northeast caused the cancellation of one game and the suspension of another.

As I first detailed in this post from yesterday evening, Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter Frank Thomas and Blue Jays manager John Gibbons were both ejected by home plate umpire Mark Wegner in the top of the 9th inning in yesterday afternoon's game against the Minnesota Twins in Minneapolis. Additional coverage is available from The Toronto Globe and Mail (here and here); The Toronto Star (here and here); The Minneapolis Star Tribune (here and here); The St. Paul Pioneer Press (here and here); and The Associated Press.

Last night's suspended game, in which the Baltimore Orioles hosted the New York Yankees, produced yesterday's only other ejection. Immediately before the suspension of the game in the top of the 8th inning with two out and a runner on second base, third base umpire Tim Tschida ejected Orioles third baseman Melvin Mora from the game. Because the game was suspended at that point, the Orioles have yet to send in a replacement at third base. According to a report from MLB.com, "Third baseman Melvin Mora got in an animated discussion with third-base umpire Tim Tschida after the second delay and was ejected from the game. The veteran took issue with the way the umpires handled the rain, saying that despite the brief respite between the two delays, things were much more waterlogged the second time around than they were the first." Let's just say that rain delay-related ejections are a bit unusual in Major League Baseball. A separate summary from the MLB.com reporter covering the Yankees can be accessed here. You can access the box score at this link. The game is scheduled to be resumed on July 27, 2007 from the point at which it was suspended. That date is a Friday on which the Yankees next visit the Orioles in Baltimore. You can view photos relating to the ejection here and here. Additional coverage is available from The Baltimore Sun; The Washington Post; The New York Times; The New York Post; and The Associated Press.

Credit Mark Wegner with two ejections and Tim Tschida with one ejection, and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.

Frank Thomas's 500th home run is outta here, and 8 innings later so is Frank Thomas: In the 1st inning of this afternoon's contest between the Toronto Blue Jays at the Minnesota Twins, Blue Jays designated hitter Frank Thomas hit the 500th home run of his career.

Yet being the most recent member of the illustrious "500 club" does not give one free rein to argue balls and strikes, as home plate umpire Mark Wegner was apparently all to happy to remind Thomas after a called strike three to record the first out in the top of the 9th inning. Not wanting Thomas to be too lonely in the clubhouse, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons was ejected by Wegner immediately thereafter. The Blue Jays lost the game 8-5. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps are available from MLB.com here and here. You can view a photo of the second ejection at this link.

Credit home plate umpire Mark Wegner with two ejections and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.

Major League Baseball games played Wednesday, June 27, 2007: A full slate of 15 games had been scheduled for Wednesday, but a rainout produced just 14 games played. Three of those games went to extra innings, while another was rain-shortened to five and one-half innings. None of the 14 games produced the ejection of any players, coaches, or managers. As a result, umpire fantasy league standings remain unchanged.

Major League Baseball games played Tuesday, June 26, 2007: A full slate of 15 games played last night produced only a single ejection.

In Minneapolis, where the Minnesota Twins hosted the Toronto Blue Jays, home plate umpire Mike Winters ejected Twins manager Ron Gardenhire between the bottom of the 7th inning and the top of the 8th inning for arguing that Blue Jays catcher Gregg Zaun had failed to apply the tag on Twins center fielder Torii Hunter, who was attempting to turn designated hitter Mike Redmond's fly out to right field into a sacrifice fly. Instead, Winters called Hunter out at home, for an inning-ending double play. You can view a related photo at this link. According to a wrap of the game from MLB.com, in post-game comments "Gardenhire admitted that Winters made the correct call."

The Twins needed 12 innings to win the game by a score of 2-1. You can access the box score of the game at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here. Other coverage of the game is available from The Minneapolis Star Tribune; The St. Paul Pioneer Press; The Toronto Globe and Mail; The Toronto Star; and The Associated Press.

Credit home plate umpire Mike Winters with one ejection and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.

"Baseball's Least Wanted: The Ejected." Today's broadcast of National Public Radio's "Day to Day" contained an audio segment (RealPlayer required) described as follows, "Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox leads the major leagues in ejections. In fact, he now shares the record for being thrown out of the most games with John McGraw, the legendary skipper of the New York Giants who earned the nickname 'Little Napoleon.'"

Major League Baseball games played Monday, June 25, 2007: On the first day following Sunday's completion of interleague play for this season, Monday's partial slate of 12 games produced no ejections of any players, coaches, or managers. As a result, umpire fantasy league standings remain unchanged.

Major League Baseball games played Sunday, June 24, 2007: A full slate of 15 games produced three ejections.

As I first reported here, in an afternoon contest between the Chicago Cubs at the Chicago White Sox, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was ejected by first base umpire Joe West in the top of the 8th inning after arguing a defensive obstruction call under Rule 7.06(b) that took away two outs which the White Sox had recorded after the obstruction and instead resulted in the bases loaded and none out for the Cubs. You can access coverage of the game from The Chicago Tribune (here, here, and here); The Chicago Sun-Times; and The Associated Press.

And as I first reported here, in an afternoon contest between the Minnesota Twins at the Florida Marlins, home plate umpire Larry Young ejected both Twins right fielder Michael Cuddyer and Twins manager Ron Gardenhire after Cuddyer struck out to end the top of the 4th inning on a called third strike. According to press reports, this was Cuddyer's first career ejection. You can access coverage of the game from The Minneapolis Star Tribune; The St. Paul Pioneer Press (here and here); The Miami Herald; The South Florida Sun-Sentinel; and The Associated Press.

Credit Larry Young with two ejections and Joe West with one ejection, and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.

"Catcher Paul Lo Duca of the New York Mets has been suspended for two games and fined an undisclosed amount for his inappropriate actions during the bottom of the sixth inning of his Club's game against the Oakland Athletics on Saturday." So begins a press release that Major League Baseball issued this afternoon.

My earlier coverage of the incident appears here and here.

Ejections in Chicago and Miami! While I was attending this afternoon's Eastern League AA game between the Altoona Curve at the Reading Phillies (no ejections occurred), there were three ejections in Major League Baseball games being played this afternoon.

In Chicago, where the White Sox hosted the Cubs, first base umpire "Cowboy" Joe West ejected White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen in the top of the eighth inning after the Cubs had loaded the bases with none out. According to MLB.com, "White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was ejected in the top of the eighth inning by first-base umpire Joe West for arguing a fielder's interference call. The White Sox appeared to have a double play after a series of baserunning mistakes by the Cubs, but umpires ruled that shortstop Juan Uribe interfered with runner Angel Pagan." The Cubs managed to score one run that inning and went on to win the game by a score of 3-0. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here. Update: You can view related photos here and here.

And in Miami, where the Florida Marlins hosted the Minnesota Twins, home plate umpire Larry Young ejected both Twins right fielder Michael Cuddyer and Twins manager Ron Gardenhire after Cuddyer struck out to end the top of the fourth inning on a called third strike. You can view related photos here and here. The Twins won the game by a score of 7-4. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here.

Credit Larry Young with two ejections and Joe West with one ejection, and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.

Major League Baseball games played Saturday, June 23, 2007: A full slate of 15 games played Saturday produced a grand total of six ejections.

As I first reported here, in an afternoon contest between the Colorado Rockies at the Toronto Blue Jays, home plate umpire Gerry Davis ejected Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba after Torrealba struck out in the top of the fourth inning to record the third out. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here. Additional coverage is available from The Denver Post; The Rocky Mountain News; The Toronto Star; Canadian Press; and The Associated Press.

As I first reported here, in an afternoon contest between the Detroit Tigers at the Atlanta Braves, home plate umpire Chad Fairchild -- a 2007 minor league call-up umpire -- ejected both Braves catcher Brian McCann and Braves manager Bobby Cox with one out in the bottom of the 9th inning, after Fairchild had called McCann out on strikes. This was Cox's historic 131st ejection of his career, tying a major league record. You can access the box score at this link, while MLB.com wraps are available here and here. Additional coverage is available from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (here and here); The Detroit News; The Detroit Free Press; and The Associated Press.

As I first reported here, in an afternoon contest between the New York Yankees at the San Francisco Giants, first base umpire Phil Cuzzi ejected Giants manager Bruce Bochy with two outs in the bottom of the 6th inning for arguing a call at first base that Cuzzi clearly had wrong according to televised replays. The Giants batter had reached first base safely because the Yankees first baseman's foot had left the bag before he caught the throw for the force out. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here. Additional coverage is available from The San Francisco Chronicle (here and here); The Oakland Tribune; The New York Times; The New York Daily News; The New York Post; and The Associated Press.

As I first reported here, in an evening contest between the Oakland Athletics at the New York Mets, home plate umpire Marvin Hudson ejected Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca in the middle of Lo Duca's at bat in the bottom of the 6th inning. At the time of the ejection, Lo Duca had two strikes. Mets back-up catcher Ramon Castro came into the game facing a count of 0-2 and, on the very next pitch, struck out swinging. Under the applicable Major League Baseball scorekeeping rules, Lo Duca is charged with the at bat and the strikeout. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here, along with a report headlined "Lo Duca ejected after tirade; Catcher tossed after arguing strike call with home-plate umpire." Additional coverage is available from The New York Times; The New York Daily News (here and here); The New York Post; The Oakland Tribune; The San Francisco Chronicle; and The Associated Press.

Finally, as I first reported here, in an evening contest between the Boston Red Sox at the San Diego Padres, third base umpire Brian Knight -- a 2007 minor league call-up umpire -- ejected Red Sox manager Terry Francona in the bottom of the 6th inning after the umpiring crew had convened to decide that a long fly ball along the left field line, originally called a foul ball, had in fact hit off of the foul pole for a two-run home run by Padres catcher Josh Bard. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here. Additional coverage is available from The Boston Globe; The San Diego Union Tribune; and The Associated Press.

And there you have a summary of a busy Saturday, June 23, 2007 that produced a grand total of six ejections in Major League Baseball.

Ejection in San Diego! What would a busy day of ejections be without an ejection by 2007 minor league call-up umpire Brian Knight? Fortunately, we won't have to find out, as in Saturday night's game in San Diego between the Padres and the Boston Red Sox, third base umpire Knight ejected Red Sox manager Terry Francona after the umpiring crew had convened to decide that a long fly ball along the left field line, originally called a foul ball, had in fact hit off of the foul pole for a two-run home run by Padres catcher Josh Bard. The Red Sox are currently losing by a score of 6-0. You can access the box score at this link.

Credit Brian Knight with one ejection and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.

Ejection in Queens: In this evening's game between the Oakland Athletics and the New York Mets, Mets starting catcher Paul Lo Duca was ejected by home plate umpire Marvin Hudson in the middle of Lo Duca's at bat in the bottom of the 6th inning. At the time of the ejection, Lo Duca had two strikes. Mets back-up catcher Ramon Castro came into the game facing a count of 0-2 and, on the very next pitch, struck out swinging. Under the applicable Major League Baseball scorekeeping rules, Lo Duca is charged with the at bat and the strikeout. It was Lo Duca's second and final strikeout of the game.

You can access the box score of the game, which remains scoreless heading into the top of the eighth inning, at this link. And you can view photos of the ejection here, here, and here.

Credit Marvin Hudson with one ejection and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.

Ejections in Atlanta and San Francisco! The big news from Atlanta, as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is that "Cox ties ejection record in loss." According to that news update, "Cox was ejected for the 130th time of his career, tying the 74-year-old record held by John McGraw. Cox came to the defense of catcher Brian McCann, who was ejected for arguing after a called third strike in the ninth inning. The manager jogged from the dugout and got between McCann and home plate umpire Chad Fairchild. A few choice words and gestures of disgust later, Cox got the thumb from Fairchild." Update: MLB.com reports that "Cox ties McGraw with 131st ejection." And The Associated Press reports that "Cox Tossed for 131st Time in His Career." Via The AP, you can access photos of the ejections here, here, here, here, here, and here.

In this afternoon's game between the Detroit Tigers and the Atlanta Braves, credit home plate umpire Chad Fairchild -- a 2007 minor league call-up umpire -- with the ejections of both Braves catcher Brian McCann and Braves manager Bobby Cox. The ejections came with one out in the bottom of the 9th inning, after Fairchild had called McCann out on strikes. Two outs later, following a scoreless bottom of the 9th inning, the Tigers emerged victorious by a 2-1 score. You can access the box score at this link, while MLB.com wraps are available here and here.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, where the Giants and New York Yankees are continuing to battle in a 5-5 extra innings game, Giants manager Bruce Bochy was ejected by first base umpire Phil Cuzzi with two outs in the bottom of the 6th inning. According to the caption of this photo from The Associated Press, "Bochy was arguing a called out on Giants' Ray Durham at first base, who was thrown out by Yankees' Derek Jeter," when Bochy was ejected from the game. A related photo from Reuters can be accessed here.

Credit Chad Fairchild with two ejections and Phil Cuzzi with one ejection, and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.

Ejection in Toronto! In this afternoon's game between the Colorado Rockies and the Toronto Blue Jays, credit home plate umpire Gerry Davis with ejecting Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba after Torrealba struck out in the top of the fourth inning to record the third out.

The Blue Jays won the game by a score of 11-6. You can access the box score at this link, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here.

Credit home plate umpire Gerry Davis with one ejection and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.

Major League Baseball games played Friday, June 22, 2007: A full slate of 15 games played on Friday produced a single ejection in Seattle, as Mariners manager Mike Hargrove was ejected by home plate umpire Mike Winters with one out in the top of the second inning. At that point, the Mariners were already trailing the visiting Cincinnati Reds by a score of 6-0.

The ejection came as Hargrove argued balls and strikes from the dugout during Jeff Conine's at bat. From there, the night did not improve for the Mariners, as the Reds proceeded to score another 10 runs, while the Mariners only managed to score a single run in the entire game. My earlier coverage of the ejection appears at this link.

You can access the box score by clicking here, while wraps from MLB.com are available here and here.

Additional coverage of the game is available from The Seattle Times; The Seattle Post-Intelligencer; The Cincinnati Enquirer; The Cincinnati Post; and The Associated Press.

For the games played Friday, credit home plate umpire Mike Winters with one ejection and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.

Ejection in Seattle! In Friday night's game between the Cincinnati Reds at the Seattle Mariners, Seattle manager Mike Hargrove only was able to view the first two of Ken Griffey, Jr.'s at bats from the home dugout as, immediately following Griffey's second at bat, Hargrove came on to the field to argue with home plate umpire Mike Winters and was ejected from the game.

You can access the box score at this link, while a related photo can be viewed here. As of the time this post is made, Hargrove isn't missing much, because his team is losing 16-1.

Credit home plate umpire Mike Winters with one ejection and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.

Major League Baseball games played on Thursday, June 21, 2007: Only five games were played Thursday -- all interleague -- and there were no ejections of any players, coaches, or managers.

Last night's game in Toronto, where the Blue Jays hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers, was nevertheless noteworthy because the umpiring crew featured not one but two 2007 minor league call-up umpires -- Chad Fairchild and Adrian Johnson. Umpire Eric Cooper deserves credit for this unusual happening, as on Wednesday, June 20, 2007, while Cooper was umpiring at home plate, he pulled a muscle and declared himself unable to continue. Fortunately, there was only an 8-minute delay in the top of the 7th inning as Chad Fairchild, who had been umpiring at second base, put on the protective gear and moved behind home plate.

You can access the box score of Wednesday's Blue Jays-Dodgers game at this link, while press coverage of Cooper's departure from the game is available from both The Associated Press and The Toronto Globe and Mail.

With no ejections recorded on Thursday, June 21, 2007, umpire fantasy league standings remain unchanged.

Major League Baseball games played on Wednesday, June 20, 2007: Last night's full slate of 15 games produced one ejection in the lone non-interleague contest, in which the Milwaukee Brewers hosted the San Francisco Giants.

As I first noted here in my post from yesterday afternoon, first base umpire Brian Knight-- a 2007 minor league call-up umpire -- ejected Giants manager Bruce Bochy for arguing a call at first base.

I saw a replay of the call that Bochy was arguing -- Giants leadoff hitter Dave Roberts hit a ground ball to Brewers shortstop Craig Counsell, who then threw to first baseman Prince Fielder -- and it was quite evident from the replay that Roberts got to first base before the ball hit Fielder's glove.

The fact that Knight made a blown call on the play was not lost on the mainstream media. The Oakland Tribune's coverage of the game in today's paper is headlined "Ump's blown call helps Giants lose 7th straight; Out decision at first base on Roberts helps end rally in sixth." Even The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the hometown newspaper of the Brewers, refers to the play as "an apparent missed call by first base umpire Brian Knight that led to the ejection of Bochy." And The San Francisco Chronicle contains an article headlined "Bitter end to S.F.'s abysmal road trip; Bochy tossed after ump's call snuffs rally." You can access a related photo at this link. The box score can be accessed here, while MLB.com wraps are available here and here.

Based on yesterday's play, credit Brian Knight with one ejection and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.

Ejection in Milwaukee! For arguing a play at first base that ended a five-run rally by the San Francisco Giants in the top of the sixth inning, Giants manager Bruce Bochy was ejected by first base umpire Brian Knight-- a 2007 minor league call-up umpire. When that third out of the inning was recorded, the Giants had narrowed the lead of the Milwaukee Brewers to just 6-5, with Barry Bonds on second base. The game remains underway, and the score is 7-5 Milwaukee at the time this post is being made. You can access the box score at this link.

Knight's most recent earlier ejections occurred on June 13, 2007, as I previously covered in posts here and here.

Credit Brian Knight with one ejection this afternoon and adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.

Update: You can view a related photo at this link.

Major League Baseball games played on Tuesday, June 19, 2007: Although Tuesday featured a full slate of 15 games -- 14 interleague contests and one National League match-up -- there were no ejections of any players, coaches, or managers.

With no ejections recorded on Tuesday, June 19, 2007, umpire fantasy league standings remain unchanged.

Major League Baseball games played Monday, June 18, 2007: Monday featured a partial slate of 10 games, and there were no ejections of any players, coaches, or managers.

With no ejections recorded on Monday, June 18, 2007, umpire fantasy league standings remain unchanged.

Suspensions and more suspensions: Based on the incidents that I previously covered here and here, Major League Baseball this evening issued press releases titled "Padres, Cubs disciplined" and "Philadelphia's Smith, Ruiz suspended."

Major League Baseball games played Sunday, June 17, 2007: As on the immediately preceding day, Sunday also saw a total of four ejections, but this time three of those ejections occurred at the game I attended.

At Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, the Phillies were hosting the Detroit Tigers. Phillies third baseman Abraham Nunez had assured that Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander would not become the second major league pitcher to throw back-to-back no-hitters by stroking a line drive single to left center in the bottom of the second inning. Indeed, the Phillies were leading the Tigers 3-1 in the top of the seventh inning when Verlander was pulled for pinch hitter Gary Sheffield. Yet, before the Phillies had managed to record the final out in the top of the seventh, the Tigers had scored five times, with four runs charged to the Phillies bullpen, and four different Phillies pitchers had occupied the mound in that half inning alone.

The least effective of those four was Phillies relief pitcher Yoel Hernandes, who stuck around to surrender three more hits, and one more run, in the top of the eighth inning before being pulled by Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, to a sustained chorus of boos from the remaining crowd. Manuel brought in newly-acquired relief pitcher Jose Mesa. With runners on first and second and a count of 1-2, Tigers first baseman Marcus Thames appeared to go around just a bit too far on a check swing, but the third strike was neither called by home plate umpire Bill Welke nor did Welke appeal to first base umpire Laz Diaz. Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz then looked back to speak with Welke, and moments later was ejected from the game. That caused Ruiz to become very angry and go chest-to-chest with Welke, and perhaps even to push against Welke, causing Welke to put his hand on Ruiz's chest to separate himself a bit from the direct confrontation. Shortly thereafter, Charlie Manuel came onto the field, directed Ruiz back to the dugout, and began his own argument with Welke. Given the level of fan dissatisfaction with Manuel's bullpen moves in the top of the seventh inning, Welke gave Manuel a "mercy" ejection. After replacement catcher Rod Barajas had come onto the field the game appeared almost ready to resume, first base umpire Diaz walked down toward the Phillies dugout, where he then ejected someone. That someone turned out to be Phillies third base coach Steve Smith, who had apparently been mouthing-off to the first base umpire from the dugout during the same interruption. Of the three Phillies ejected, Smith really got his money's worth, as he stormed onto the field and attempted to confront Diaz and then, after being wrestled away by Charlie Manuel, attempted to confront Welke. Acting crew chief Wally Bell, who is at least as imposing a presence as Welke, helped restore order. As fate would have it, Thames struck out swinging on the very next pitch from Mesa. You can access the box score at this link, while MLB.com wraps are available here and here. Additional coverage is available from The Philadelphia Inquirer; The Philadelphia Daily News (here and here); The Detroit News; The Detroit Free Press; and The Associated Press.

The fourth and final ejection recorded Sunday occurred in Denver, where the Colorado Rockies hosted the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In the bottom of the seventh inning, home plate umpire Ted Barrett ejected Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon after Maddon complained to the umpire about balls and strikes following Maddon's visit to the mound to talk with the pitcher. A photo of the ejection appears here. You can access the box score at this link, while MLB.com wraps are available here and here. Additional coverage is available from The St. Petersburg Times; The Tampa Tribune; The Denver Post; The Rocky Mountain News; and The Associated Press.

Credit Bill Welke with two ejections, while both Laz Diaz and Ted Barrett should be credited with one ejection each. Adjust your umpire fantasy league standings accordingly.

"My kicking-dirt episodes are over." So asserts Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella in this interview published in yesterday's issue of The New York Times Magazine.

In answer to the question "What do you find so satisfying about kicking dirt on another person, a practice you've been known to favor since you managed the Yankees in the '80s," Piniella answered, "My mentor, Billy Martin, did it. And Earl Weaver did it. I've kicked dirt more out of dissatisfaction than anything else. When I was informed that kicking dirt on somebody can be termed as degrading -- you know, I never thought of it that way."

Major League Baseball games played Saturday, June 16, 2007: The four basebrawl-related ejections yesterday afternoon in the game between the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs (first detailed in this post of mine from yesterday afternoon) were the only ejections that occurred during yesterday's full slate of 15 games.

You can access news coverage of the brawl from The Chicago Tribune (here, here, here, and here); The Chicago Sun-Times (here, here, and here); The San Diego Union-Tribune; and The Associated Press (here and here). Meanwhile, MLB.com provides this box score; wraps here and here; and additional coverage headlined "Lee plunked, ejected after melee; Punches thrown as slugger not happy with Young's comments" and "Young thrust into scrum after hitting Lee; Cubs slugger takes offense, but hurler insists no malice in pitch."

And the good folks at Yahoo! News have placed online numerous photos related to the brawl that you can access by clicking here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; here; and here.

Credit home plate umpire Mike Everitt with all four ejections and adjust your umpire fantasy league standings accordingly.

Four ejections in Chicago in the bottom of the fourth inning! With only one non-interleague game today, how might one draw attention to this afternoon's game between the San Diego Padres at the Chicago Cubs. How about trying multiple ejections?

With a count of one ball and two strikes against Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee, who was leading off in the bottom of the fourth inning, Padres starting pitcher Chris Young hit Lee with the next pitch.

The plunking led home plate umpire Mike Everitt to eject both the batter and the pitcher, removing Lee and Young from the game. But Everitt was only halfway finished with the ejections, as for good measure he also tossed from the game Padres starting pitcher Jake Peavy, who last started on Wednesday and is due to start again on Tuesday, and Cubs batting coach Gerald Perry. You can access the box score at this link.

Credit Mike Everitt with four ejections and adjust your umpire fantasy league standings accordingly. Everitt's earlier mention appeared in this blog's very first post.

Update: MLB.com reports that "Lee, Young ejected after skirmish; Benches clear as Cubs slugger, Padres pitcher throw punches."

Major League Baseball games played Friday, June 15, 2007: Despite a full slate of 15 games played, there was only a single ejection of any players, coaches, or managers in Major League Baseball yesterday. As I first detailed last night in the post immediately below, home plate umpire Tony Randazzo transformed Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz into a designated sitter for the final 47 outs of the game against the San Francisco Giants after Ortiz expressed his dissatisfaction with a called strike three by throwing down his bat and batting helmet on the way back to the dugout.

The Boston Herald today covers the ejection in an article headlined "Strikeout, throw him out: Ortiz gets quick toss." Additional coverage of last night's game is available from The Boston Globe; The Boston Herald; The San Francisco Chronicle; The Providence (R.I.) Journal; The Oakland Tribune; and The Associated Press. You can access the box score and two additional MLB.com wraps via this link.

Credit Tony Randazzo with one ejection and adjust your umpire fantasy league standings accordingly.

Ejection in Boston as 'Big Papi' says bye-bye! The Boston Red Sox are hosting the San Francisco Giants this evening, but Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz will be limited to just one at bat as home plate umpire Tony Randazzo tossed Ortiz for arguing strike three in the bottom of the first inning. As the box score indicates, the Red Sox had managed to tie the game 2-2 before the ejection, and as of this moment the Sox have jumped out to a 6-2 lead.

Credit Tony Randazzo with one ejection and adjust your umpire fantasy league standings accordingly.

Update: At The Boston Globe's "Extra Bases" blog, Amalie Benjamin provides additional coverage in posts titled "Ortiz gone!" and "Ortiz's ejections." Also, you can access a related photo at this link.

"Umpire Froemming will call himself out after 37 years": The Associated Press provides a report that begins, "Umpire Bruce Froemming, who has spent a half-century in pro baseball and worked more than 5,000 games in the majors, will retire at the end of this season." You can access Bruce Froemming's official MLB.com bio by clicking here.

Major League Baseball games played Thursday, June 14, 2007: Aside from the two ejections detailed in the post immediately below, there were no other ejections of any players, coaches, or managers in Major League Baseball yesterday. A partial slate of 12 games were played yesterday.

You can access additional press coverage of last night's ejections in Baltimore from The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, and The Washington Times. Related photos can be viewed here and here.

Based on the games played yesterday, credit first base umpire Ed Montague with two ejections and adjust your umpire fantasy league standings accordingly.

Ejections in Baltimore! The Baltimore Orioles hosted the Washington Nationals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards this evening, and in the bottom of the eighth inning first base umpire Ed Montague ejected both Orioles center fielder Jay Payton and Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo after ruling that Payton had offered the bat in attempting to bunt, thereby recording strike three and the first out of the inning, and failing to advance base runners on first and second. The failure to get the bunt down may have cost the Orioles at least one run, as the next batter was retired on a fly ball to left field. That run would have tied the game 2-2. Instead, the score remained 2-1 in favor of the Nationals, and the Nationals plated another run in the top of the ninth inning. The final score was 3-1 in favor of the team from the District of Columbia.

You can access the box score at this link, while wraps are available here and here. In addition, The Associated Press provides this report.

Credit Ed Montague with two ejections and adjust your umpire fantasy league standings accordingly.

"Umpires, official scorers announced for 78th All-Star Game; Bruce Froemming to serve as Crew Chief at the 2007 Midsummer Classic": Major League Baseball issued this press release today. And a related MLB.com news report is here.

The complete umpire crew for the 2007 All-Star Game, to be played on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, will be Bruce Froemming at home plate; Charlie Reliford at first base; Mike Winters at second base; Kerwin Danley at third base; Ted Barrett on the left field line; and Bill Miller on the right field line.

According to the press release, this will be the third All-Star Game that Froemming has worked. The press release also states: "This is the second All-Star Game for Reliford and Winters and the first for Danley, Barrett and Miller."

Major League Baseball games played Wednesday, June 13, 2007: Aside from the three ejections detailed in the post immediately below, there were no other ejections of of any players, coaches, or managers in Major League Baseball yesterday, despite a full slate of 15 games played.

You can access press coverage of last night's ejections in Miami from MLB.com; The Miami Herald; The South Florida Sun-Sentinel; The Cleveland Plain Dealer; and The Associated Press. Photos from the game can be accessed here and here. And the box score can be accessed at this link.

Home plate umpire Brian Knight -- a 2007 minor league call-up umpire -- is credited with all three ejections. Adjust your Umpire Fantasy League standings accordingly.

Ejections in Miami! The Cleveland Indians are at the Florida Marlins tonight, and home plate umpire Brian Knight in the sixth inning ejected Marlins pitcher Taylor Tankersley and Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez for Tankersley's having hit Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore with a pitch, his third pitch of the night on an 0-2 count. For good measure, Knight also ejected Marlins first baseman Aaron Boone for excessive mouthing-off related to the same incident. That's three ejections by Brian Knight -- a 2007 minor league call-up umpire -- this evening. You can access the box score at this link. Adjust your umpire fantasy league standings accordingly.

Major League Baseball games played on Tuesday, June 12, 2007: Although Tuesday featured a full slate of 15 games -- 14 interleague contests and one National League match-up -- there were no ejections of any players, coaches, or managers. Two games hosted by National League central division teams against American League west division teams -- the Oakland Athletics at the Houston Astros, and the Seattle Mariners at the Chicago Cubs -- took extra innings to complete.

Last night's big news, of course, was Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander's no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers. As you might expect, there is a tremendous amount of coverage available online, including articles from MLB.com; The Detroit News; The Detroit Free Press; The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; and The Associated Press. You can access the box score at this link.

Verlander faced a total of 30 batters and threw 112 pitches, 73 for strikes. The umpiring crew for the game consisted of Ron Kulpa at the plate, crew chief Dale Scott at first base, Paul Emmel at second base, and Dan Iassogna at third base.

Verlander's next start will be Sunday at Philadelphia Phillies, and I'll be attending that game. Johnny Vander Meer is the only major league pitcher thus far to throw back-to-back no-hitters.

With no ejections recorded on Tuesday, June 12, 2007, umpire fantasy league standings remain unchanged.

"Berkman drops appeal; Astros slugger serving two-game ban beginning Tuesday": MLB.com provides this report.

And The Houston Chronicle reports that "Berkman drops appeal, won't play 2 games against A's."

The suspension arises from Houston Astros first baseman Lance Berkman's ejection on June 5, 2007 by third base umpire Ed Rapuano in the eighth inning. The Astros defeated the Colorado Rockies in that game by a score of 4-1.

Major League Baseball games played Monday, June 11, 2007: There were only five games played yesterday in Major League Baseball. Two were interleague games. One was the regularly scheduled game featuring the New York Mets at the Los Angeles Dodgers. And two make-ups of games cancelled due to snow in April, one in the National League and the other in the American League.

Sadly, there were no players, coaches, or managers ejected on Monday, June 11, 2007, although Chicago White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski came close to being awarded the heave-ho in the top of the seventh inning in Philadelphia when he had words for home plate umpire Mike Everitt, who ruled that Pierzynski's check-swing went just a bit too far and thus constituted strike three and the third out of the inning. From where I was viewing the game -- on TV -- the ump's call appeared to be correct. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen came onto the field to direct Pierzynski back to the dugout, and Guillen had a few less than heated comments for Everitt before heading back to the dugout.

With no ejections recorded on Monday, June 11, 2007, umpire fantasy league standings remain unchanged.