Carlos Zambrano and Michael Barrett Fight in Dugout
Posted Jun 1st 2007 4:24PM by Larry Brown
Filed under: Atlanta, Chicago, Braves, Cubs, NL East, NL Central, MLB Gossip, Breaking News
Right there in the middle of the fifth inning, as the Cubs/Braves game was coming back from commercial, Comcast Sportsnet showed a dugout fight between pitcher Carlos Zambrano, and his catcher Michael Barrett that must have occurred while the telecast was at a commercial break. (Update: Watch the video)
While it never came to actual punches landing, it was definitely one of the most heated on-field exchanges between teammates that I've ever seen. Zambrano was entering the dugout and pointing to his head, visibly upset. He started yelling and it seemed like he was cussing at Barrett (possibly over the pitches Barrett was calling). Barrett started to point towards the field (most likely at the scoreboard to show Zambrano up) while taking steps towards Zambrano. And as the announcers noted, the frustration completely boiled over when Zambrano pushed Barrett, who kept coming at Carlos. Barrett's back was turned to the camera as he approached Zambrano, so there's no way to tell if Barrett let out some cuss words that might have set Zambrano off.
There was a clear exchange of slaps and pushes, and if the players hadn't been pulled apart, punches could have been thrown (Zambrano's arm definitely looked cocked). At this point I'm still unclear as to what set the two off, but we do know that Zambrano was lit up for five runs on five hits (and one error) in the top of the fifth, and he obviously was not happy about it. The announcers are already noting that this story will take over headlines in the media, and be the subject of many future questions for the players and manager Lou Piniella to answer.
Meanwhile, Koyie Hill has entered the game as the catcher, and Scott Eyre has replaced Carlos Zambrano as the pitcher. Both Lou Piniella and pitching coach Larry Rothschild went into the clubhouse to attend to the matter. We'll have more details for you as they come in. Keep checking in for more updates. And I'll say this, the incident reminded me a lot of Barrett's exchange with A.J. Pierzynksi last year, only difference, these two are teammates, not opponents.
UPDATE: Commenters at Bleed Cubbie Blue think a passed ball and mix up over signs may have set things off (watch out for offensive language)
Cubs' Barrett slugs Pierzynski, leads to melee
Associated Press
Updated: May 20, 2006, 7:25 PM ET
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CHICAGO -- A.J. Pierzynski barreled over Cubs catcher Michael Barrett, who punched the White Sox catcher and started a bench-clearing melee in the second inning that led to four ejections Saturday.
AP Photo/Jeff Roberson
Barrett's punch of Pierzynski after a collision at home got him 10 games on the bench.
Pierzynski slapped the plate after the collision as the ball got away from Barrett. The Cubs catcher got up, grabbed Pierzynski and punched him. The White Sox's Scott Podsednik, who had been in the on-deck circle, wrestled Barrett to the ground.
White Sox center fielder Brian Anderson, who hit the bases loaded sacrifice fly to score Pierzynski, then got into a fight with Cubs first baseman John Mabry.
Pierzynski, Barrett, Anderson and Mabry were all ejected after a 15-minute delay.
As Pierzynski went back to the dugout, he raised his hands in the air while a soldout crowd at U.S. Cellular Field roared. He slapped hands with his teammates.
Minutes after the game resumed, the White Sox's Tadahito Iguchi hit a grand slam to give his team a 5-0 lead.
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old news, but it is still interesting
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