September 17, 2009 in Sports

Baseball notebook: MLB suspends two brawlers

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New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada and Toronto pitcher Jesse Carlson both were suspended for three games and fined Wednesday by Major League Baseball for their roles in a bench-clearing brawl.

The two were cited for “aggressive and inappropriate actions” by Bob Watson, MLB’s vice president for discipline, and started serving the penalties immediately, a day after they tangled.

Yankees utilityman Shelley Duncan also was suspended for three games and appealed, delaying the start of any discipline.

Toronto manager Cito Gaston said Carlson was fined $3,000 and catcher Rod Barajas was docked $1,000. Posada was fined $2,500, and Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long and pitcher Edwar Ramirez also were fined.

After a pair of Toronto players were hit by pitches Tuesday night, Carlson threw a fastball behind Posada in the eighth inning. Moments later, Posada bumped Carlson after scoring a run, and the dugouts and bullpens emptied.

Even before the suspension, Posada was not in the starting lineup for the series finale because of a stiff neck, which Yankees manager Joe Girardi said was sustained in the fight.

Harwell says farewell

Ernie Harwell said a goodbye of sorts to the Detroit Tigers’ fans.

The longtime radio play-by-play man humbly waved to the crowd at Comerica Park after thanking them for their “devotion, support, loyalty and love.” Harwell was the voice of the Tigers for more than 40 years.

He spoke halfway through the third inning of a game against Kansas City.

Harwell drew loud ovations before and after he came to the batter’s box to speak.

Harwell, 91, recently was diagnosed with inoperable cancer of the bile duct.

Around the league

Roy Oswalt will miss the last couple of weeks of the season after Houston decided to shut down its ace because of arm soreness. … Arizona slugger Mark Reynolds struck out four times in a game at San Diego to reach 200 for the second straight season. Reynolds set the major league record with 204 strikeouts last year.

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