NEW YORK -- Umpire Mike Winters, who was involved in a dispute with San Diego Padres outfielder Milton Bradley in which Bradley injured his knee, has been suspended by Major League Baseball for the remainder of the regular season.
Bradley will miss the rest of the year with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He was injured when his own manager spun him to the ground while trying to keep him from going after umpire Mike Winters during an eighth-inning confrontation in Sunday's 7-3 loss to Colorado at Petco Park.
The commissioner's office said Monday it is investigating whether Bradley was baited by Winters. The Padres said Winters directed profanities at Bradley right before the blowup.
Bradley, whose volatile temper has overshadowed his talent during his career, called Winters' action "the most unprofessional and most ridiculous thing I've ever seen."
The confrontation began after plate umpire Brian Runge asked Bradley if he had flipped his bat in the ump's direction after taking a called third strike to end the fifth. Runge indicated that Winters told him that Bradley had.
The dispute escalated after Bradley singled, then asked Winters if he told Runge he threw his bat.
First base coach Bobby Meacham and Black said Winters used profanity.
"You guys couldn't print it," Black told reporters in San Francisco. "In this situation, it escalated to a point where some things shouldn't have been said. I didn't hear what Mike said. My understanding is ... they were profane."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Source: ESPN.com
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