Arizona’s Batista Gets 10-Game Suspension

Arizona pitcher Miguel Batista was suspended for 10 games and St. Louis first baseman Tino Martinez for four games for their fight last weekend.

In addition, Cardinal pitcher Jeff Fassero was suspended for three games and St. Louis Manager Tony La Russa for one game by Bob Watson, baseball’s vice president in charge of discipline. All four were fined, as were Cardinal catcher Mike Matheny and Diamondback coach Eddie Rodriguez.

“I don’t understand how Miguel could get 10 games and Tino get only four,” Arizona Manager Bob Brenly said.

Batista and Martinez appealed, meaning any penalties will be delayed until after a hearing before Bob DuPuy, baseball’s chief operating officer. Fassero also plans to appeal his suspension, which is to start Wednesday.

La Russa will sit out Saturday against Florida.

Batista was penalized for “inciting a bench-clearing incident, fighting and throwing a baseball at the head” of Martinez, who was cited by Watson for “charging the mound and fighting.”

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A man at an Oakland Athletics’ game nearly bit off a police officer’s pinkie this week, according to authorities.

Police said Joseph Cooper, a 21-year-old from Martinez, was arrested Wednesday night along with his sister, Rachelle Cooper, a 24-year-old from Pleasant Hill.

The Coopers apparently got into an argument with another man. When Oakland police officer Dan Royal tried to help Coliseum security, Joseph Cooper bit Royal’s pinkie to the bone, police said.

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A minor league pitcher accused of hitting an osprey with a baseball has been charged with harming a protected bird at Daytona Beach, Fla. Jae Kuk Ryu, a 19-year-old South Korean pitcher, faces a maximum fine of $500 and 60 days in jail for the second-degree misdemeanor. Witnesses said he knocked an osprey from its perch during a Daytona Cubs pregame practice.

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Derek Jeter resumed swinging a bat on Friday at Tampa Fla., trying to work his way back to the New York Yankees after dislocating his left shoulder in the season opener.