Bonilla, Green Get The Boot, But Otherwise Umps Quiet

On the first full day of replacement umpires, the first confrontation erupted at the opening of Coors Field in Denver, where Bobby Bonilla and Dallas Green of the New York Mets were ejected.

With the score tied at 7 in the 11th inning, replacement umpire Terry Bovey called strike two on Bonilla on a checked swing. The two had words and Bonilla wound up striking out swinging.

As Bonilla walked back to the Mets’ dugout, Bovey ejected him. Green then came out to argue and was ejected, too. Bovey, 47, works junior- and four-year college games in Arizona.

There were no major arguments with umps during day games, and no decision was made on regulars’ effort to bar replacements from the SkyDome in Toronto. Locked-out umpires picketed at Yankee Stadium in New York, Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City and the SkyDome.

N.L. ump Eric Gregg talked with the customers outside Yankee Stadium. “We’re telling the fans, ‘Just do what you always do: Boo the umpires - only do it a little louder,”’ Gregg said.