Simon Not Charged for Hitting Mascot

Prosecutors questioned first baseman Randall Simon of the Pittsburgh Pirates before letting him off the hook for hitting one of the Milwaukee Brewers’ sausage mascots with his bat during Wednesday night’s game.

The sheriff’s department cited Simon for disorderly conduct and fined him $432.

Simon said he didn’t mean to knock down the woman, who tumbled to the ground and got a few scrapes but wasn’t seriously hurt during the popular costume race at Brewer home games.

“I thought at the moment they were trying to play with us,” he said Thursday. “They were running right next to the players. I’m a fun player, and I’ve never hurt anyone in my life.”

The 18-year-old woman, Mandy Block, was among four team employees dressed as an oversized bratwurst, a hot dog and Italian and Polish sausages racing past the Pirate dugout between the sixth and seventh innings at Miller Park.

Simon took a half swing at the Italian sausage character, hitting her from behind. When Block fell, she knocked over the woman dressed as the hot dog.

“It just seems ridiculous -- it’s like a big sausage getting hit by a bat causes all this controversy. It just seems kind of funny to me,” Block told WTMJ-TV.

“It wasn’t that big of a blow,” she said. “I think just because I’m so small and it’s such a big costume that I tumbled, and the reason I couldn’t get up right away is because I couldn’t get up. I wasn’t like hurt so bad I couldn’t get up. Luckily someone helped me up.”

Simon and one of the women met with prosecutors, but Deputy District Attorney Jon Reddin said the two women didn’t think Simon meant to hurt them and “were not interested in having him charged criminally.”

Simon gave the Brewers two autographed bats for the women.

He was not in the starting lineup Thursday. The Pirates said they do not condone his behavior and will address the issue internally.

“Obviously, the type of behavior exhibited by Mr. Simon is anathema to the family entertainment that we are trying to provide in our ballparks and is wholly unacceptable,” Commissioner Bud Selig said.

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Curt Schilling was cleared to return from the disabled list and will make his first start in nearly six weeks for the Arizona Diamondbacks Saturday against the San Francisco Giants at Phoenix.

Schilling broke his pitching hand May 30 while attempting to field a grounder hit by Sean Burroughs of the San Diego Padres in the seventh inning.

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An MRI revealed that shortstop Omar Vizquel of the Cleveland Indians has more torn cartilage in his right knee and will be sidelined for at least another month.

The nine-time Gold Glove winner underwent arthroscopic surgery on June 12 and went on the 15-day disabled list -- his first stay on the DL since 1994.

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First baseman Kevin Young and the Minnesota Twins agreed to terms on a minor league contract.

Young, released by the Pirates on June 28, was in the final year of his $24 million, four-year contract.

The Twins will be responsible for only a portion of the $300,000 major league minimum salary if Young is called up to the majors.