 |
 |
|
| | Monday, May 1 Indians say Pedro started Sunday's fireworks | |||||
| Associated Press CLEVELAND -- Pedro Martinez was still buzzing around the Cleveland Indians' heads on Monday. Martinez started a brushback war between the Red Sox and Indians on Sunday that eventually led to two bench-clearing incidents and the Cy Young Award winner's ejection in the eighth inning of Boston's 2-1 win for hitting Roberto Alomar. Alomar's drilling came after Martinez had knocked Einar Diaz down with a high, inside pitch and taunted and stared down the Indians catcher, who had doubled twice against him. "I think he definitely threw at Diaz's head," Indians manager Charlie Manuel said before Monday night's game against the New York Yankees. "I think he was trying to hit him; that's my opinion." That was the consensus in Cleveland's clubhouse afterward. "It makes you lose respect for arguably the best pitcher in the game," David Justice said. "They have a whole bunch of cool people on their team. We have a bunch of cool people on our team. But they've got one guy who thinks he's God." The Indians were mad at Martinez on several fronts. After Diaz doubled off the base of the left-field wall in the fifth inning, Manuel said that Martinez said something to Diaz. "What he said, I don't know," Manuel said. "But it looked to me like he was mad that Einar had hit two doubles off him." Then in the seventh inning, Martinez's first pitch to Diaz was high and tight and his third one sent the second-year catcher sprawling. "From my point of view," Manuel said. "Pedro started the whole incident." Indians starter Charles Nagy took exception to Martinez's chin music by hitting Jose Offerman in the side with his first pitch in the top of the eighth. Both team's benches and bullpens emptied with the exception of one player, Martinez, who stayed in the safety of the Boston dugout. Only after several of the Indians pointed and yelled at him did Martinez venture onto the field, and even then he didn't go any farther than the first base coaching box where he stayed close to hitting coach Jim Rice's side. "When Nagy hit Offerman I didn't expect that," Manuel said. "No one in our dugout had said anything. But after he hit him I thought it was over, especially after the guy (plate umpire Tim Tschida) warned us." But Martinez, who later said he was merely sticking up for his teammates, nailed Alomar in the backside and was immediately ejected along with Boston manager Jimy Williams. In light of the suspensions and fines handed down against the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox last week for brawling by baseball's vice president of on-field operations Frank Robinson, Manuel was asked if a pitcher should be fined or suspended for hitting a batter even after he was warned. "There's got to be some kind of consistency," Manuel said. "I would imagine he (Robinson) will do something about it." Martinez's inside pitching reminded Cleveland pitcher Bobby Witt of a former Texas teammate who liked to back hitters off the plate from time to time -- Nolan Ryan. "If someone took an exceptionally hard swing and showed him up at all, he would throw inside," said Witt. "That was his mentality. And if someone even looked out at the mound they were asking for it." | ALSO SEE Pedro says he doesn't expect to be suspended Pedro gets the boot, kicks Cleveland anyway AUDIO/VIDEO   Pedro Martinez says the Red Sox will do what they have to do.wav: 167 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6  | |||||