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Here's a news article with comments from the parties involved...
TORONTO -- Johnny Damon seems to wear a perpetual smile. Yet last night, he grew upset enough to earn an unusual ejection.
In the fifth inning of the Yankees' 7-6 victory over the Blue Jays, plate umpire Bill Miller tossed Damon from the on-deck circle, of all places. Damon was arguing Miller's ruling that Hideki Matsui, the Yankees' eighth hitter, went too far and struck out on a check swing.
Damon last was ejected on Aug. 30, 1997, with the Royals, when he charged St. Louis pitcher Mark Petkovsek.
As for last night, "It was just a little disagreement," Damon said. "I said what I saw. Unfortunately, things happened. He rung me."
Damon contended that Miller should have asked third-base umpire, Scott Barry, for help on the call. "That's a tough call to make," Damon said. "There's a third-base ump there for a reason."
Joe Torre said that he scolded Miller for not alerting the manager to Damon's objections. "You have to have some kind of warning," Torre said.
Miller, defending his decision, said, "Torre had made a comment in the dugout. I addressed him. Johnny picked up the argument. I told Johnny, 'Stop. Don't get into the business.' He persisted and was ejected."
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I've watched it three or four times on the video clip. Miller did not bait Johnny Damon. He told him to knock it off and Damon kept on. If someone is yapping at me from the on-deck circle, which hasn't happened lately, I am gonig to handle it. In Pro ball, you can better believe they are going to handle it. As for Torre, I like Joe but he needs to get a grip. As a manager, you should be able to see and hear everything that is going on in front of you. He could have yelled out to Johnny to shut up or run out there and pulled him into the dugout. Instead he wanted Miller to come to him and discuss the problem. That's just not going to happen.
Lawrence
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