Robinson Doesn’t Expect Big Penalty

Washington National Manager Frank Robinson said he doesn’t think baseball will come down hard on outfielder Marlon Byrd for a collision that knocked an umpire to the ground.

Joe Brinkman was flung on his back as he tried to stop Byrd from charging fellow umpire Bill Miller at the end of the sixth inning Saturday night in the Nationals’ 7-3 victory over the Florida Marlins. Miller had just ejected Byrd for arguing a check-swing third strike.

“If it is a suspension, I don’t look at it as being a lengthy suspension,” Robinson said before Sunday’s game against the Marlins. “He didn’t attack the umpire.”

The Nationals expect to hear today how Byrd will be disciplined.

After reviewing a tape of the altercation, Robinson and General Manager Jim Bowden called it an accident. Even Brinkman said after the game that he initiated the contact by putting his arm out to stop Byrd.

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One day after firing Hall of Famer Eddie Murray, Cleveland Indian Manager Eric Wedge held a team meeting before Sunday’s game against the Chicago White Sox.

Wedge fired Murray on Saturday as hitting coach of the Indians, whose sputtering offense has been a major disappointment.

“Some things are within your control and some things are beyond your control, but it’s about the players,” Wedge said.

“I trust in the character and the strength of these players. Right along with that, I trust their abilities. We’re going to be fine.”

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Atlanta Brave third baseman Chipper Jones reinjured his left foot while batting in the eighth inning Sunday in Pittsburgh and will sit out at least one game and probably more.

Jones, who didn’t start Saturday because of a sore right heel, was pushing off his left foot after grounding to second base but couldn’t get out of the batter’s box. He had to be assisted off the field by Manager Bobby Cox and a trainer.

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Pitcher Tomo Ohka was fined by the Nationals for showing disrespect to Robinson, his manager, while being removed from the game Saturday.

Ohka turned his back to Robinson as the manager walked to the mound in the fourth inning of Saturday night’s victory over the Marlins. Robinson then had to grab the ball out of Ohka’s hand to make the pitching change.

In a statement, team President Tony Tavares and Bowden said the fine was for “contempt” directed toward the manager. The amount of the fine was not disclosed.