Rain postpones ALCS; Sox, Yanks face $90,000 in fines

BOSTON -- 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 of discipline, did not announce specifically why the four were fined, other than to say it was for their behavior in the fourth inning of New York's 4-3 victory Saturday.

Martinez was fined $50,000, Ramirez $25,000, Garcia $10,000 and Zimmer $5,000, according to a baseball executive who spoke on the condition he not be identified.

"I am 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 furthur misconduct by either team will not be tolerated and will be dealt with severely."

Zimmer apologized for his role, fighting off tears as he made a brief and emotional statement Sunday.

"I'm embarrassed for what happened last night," he said, his voice quivering and body shaking. "I'm embarrassed for the Yankees, the Red Sox, the fans, the umpires and my family."

Boston owner John Henry was pleased with the apology.

"I wouldn't mind seeing the same thing coming from our side," he said.

During a regular-season game, umpires might have issued ejections.

"Some of the things that happened out there I was a little surprised that no one was thrown out," Boston manager Grady Little said.

Game 4 was postponed because of rain Sunday and rescheduled for tonight at 7:18 p.m.

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

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

Garcia slid hard into Boston second baseman Todd Walker later in the inning, bringing players out of the dugouts.

Then, in the bottom half of the inning, Ramirez took offense to a pitch by Roger Clemens that was slightly inside at most. Ramirez 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 baseball would determine whether to impose discipline for the bullpen fight or leave it as a police matter.

"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."

Yankees manager Joe Torre refused to discuss the fines, saying Selig asked the managers and general managers not to comment. Yankees president Randy Levine accused Red Sox management of violating Selig's gag order by holding a news conference.

"Both I and the Yankees stand by our statements of yesterday," Levine said.

With tension high, it was possible umpires could warn both teams Monday that additional misconduct might 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.

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."

Little disagreed.

"In situations like that, the reality of the situation is totally unlike the perception," Little said. "You're going to get two different perceptions, I'm sure, from two different cities."

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."