AL notebook
By TIMES WIRES
Published June 12, 2006
MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire was ejected in the fourth inning of Sunday's 4-0 victory over the Orioles after an extended argument with home plate umpire Ed Rapuano.
Gardenhire emerged from the dugout to argue after Rapuano ruled that Michael Cuddyer fouled a pitch from Erik Bedard into catcher Ramon Hernandez's glove for strike three.
Cuddyer immediately protested, and replays showed he didn't come close to hitting the high pitch and may have checked his swing.
The fiery Gardenhire didn't take long to get to the batter's box, where he had a heated exchange with Rapuano. It was Gardenhire's fifth ejection of the season and 25th of his career.
Gardenhire said he stepped in to avoid Cuddyer being thrown out and told Rapuano he wished the umpire would have asked for help from first-base umpire Tony Randazzo on the play.
"If there's going to be an argument, then I'm going to do it," Gardenhire said. "And if I get kicked out, then they still have to play. ... I'm going to always protect my team."
The hook only seemed to raise Gardenhire's anger. Even after getting tossed, he stood in the batter's box and mimicked swinging a bat several times before finally stomping off to the cheers of the home crowd.
"I'm thinking about making a comeback, this managing stuff is hard," he cracked. "I'm thinking about working on my swing from here on out and maybe I can get some hits here in a DH role."
INDIANS:Infielder Ramon Vazquez was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo and started at shortstop in place of the struggling Jhonny Peralta against the White Sox.
RED SOX:Reliever Mike Timlin, on the disabled list since May 28 with a strained right (pitching) shoulder, pitched a simulated game at Triple-A Pawtucket. Timlin threw to PawSox batters Corky Miller, Luke Allen and Alejandro Machado. He said he expects to be activated Tuesday at the start of a three-game series at Minnesota.
YANKEES:Right-hander Shawn Chacon was activated from the disabled list and started against Oakland, pitching five innings in the A's win. To make room on the roster, right-hander Scott Erickson was designated for assignment. Erickson was 0-0 with a 7.94 ERA in nine relief appearances. The team has 10 days to trade or release him or outright him to the minors.