Yankees, Red Sox Fined For Melee

Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox were fined Sunday along with Don Zimmer and Karim Garcia of the New York Yankees for their actions in Game 3 of the AL championship series.

Bob Watson, baseball's vice president in charge on discipline, did not announce specifically why the four were being fined, other than to say it was for their behavior in the fourth inning of New York's 4-3 victory Saturday. The amounts of the fines were not disclosed.

"I'm very disappointed in the behavior of some of the participants in last night's game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees," commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement.

"I have instructed the umpires and told the clubs that any future misconduct by either team will not be tolerated and will be dealt with severely."

Garcia, who injured a knuckle in the bullpen fight, was in New York's original lineup Sunday but was replaced about three hours before gametime by Juan Rivera.

Watson, who was in Florida, reviewed tapes of the game that turned ugly after Martinez threw a pitch at Garcia's head in the fourth inning and it nicked the batter's shoulder.

Garcia made a hard slide at Boston second baseman Todd Walker later in the inning, causing players to come out of the dugout.

Then, in the bottom half of the inning, Ramirez took offense to a pitch by Clemens that was slightly inside at most. He started yelling and walking toward the mound, bat in hand. The benches and bullpens emptied, and Zimmer charged at the 31-year-old Martinez, who threw the 72-year-old coach to the ground.

Watson said the ninth-inning bullpen fight involving Garcia, Yankees reliever Jeff Nelson and a member of Boston's grounds crew, Paul Williams, is "under review."

Boston police spokeswoman Mariellen Burns said Saturday that assault charges could be filed against the two players. On Sunday, Watson said it was unclear if he or police would make the determination on the bullpen fight.

"Because it's the playoffs, I think the commissioner will end up having the final say so," Watson said.

Reached at his home in Milwaukee, Selig would not comment beyond the statement other than to say he's "monitoring the situation."

With tension high, it was possible umpires could warn both teams Sunday that additional misconduct could lead to quick ejections.

"That's something that's at the discretion of the umpires," said Sandy Alderson, executive vice president of baseball operations in the commissioner's office.

Yankees president Randy Levine argued with Alderson after Saturday's game, claiming security was insufficient. Alderson disagreed.

"We'll review what happened last night with the Red Sox and the Boston Police Department," Alderson said. "If there are any adjustments, I don't expect them to be major."

In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Martinez should have been arrested for throwing Zimmer to the ground.

"If that happened in New York we would have arrested the perpetrator," Bloomberg said. "Nobody should throw a 70-year-old man to the ground, period. ... You just cannot assault people, even if it's on a baseball field."

In Miami, Chicago Cubs manager Dusty Baker said the tension was understandable.

"Everybody's on edge," Baker said. "That could happen to anybody at any time."

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