Blue Jays blame Posada for melee in eighth
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Photos: Yankees, Blue Jays brawl
There was no debate in the Toronto locker room who was to blame for last night's brawl during the Blue Jays' 10-4 win over the Yankees.
"It was Jorge Posada when he went by and hit Jesse," Toronto manager Cito Gaston said. "That started the whole ruckus."
PHOTOS: Click here to see photos from the Yanks-Jays brawl
Jesse was pitcher Jesse Carlson, who had a nasty-looking black-and-blue knot over his right eye as he addressed the media. The altercation between Posada and Carlson had its seeds earlier in the evening when two Toronto players, Edwin Encarnacion and Aaron Hill, were hit by pitches.
Carlson then threw behind Posada in the eighth and Posada glared out at the mound. Carlson motioned toward Posada, and the benches started to empty before order was restored.
The order only lasted so long, however, as Posada, who had walked, was running home on Brett Gardner's double. Carlson was standing close to the plate and Posada hit him with his shoulder.
"Once he did that, I was like 'Let's go,' " Carlson said. "We were wrestling and then we were down by the dugout. I don't know who it was, but I was trying to cover myself up, and someone moved my hands off and got in a shot."
The rumble lasted a good five minutes and no one on the Jays seemed to know who was hitting whom. Though it seemed on the replay that infielder John McDonald caught manager Joe Girardi in the left ear, he denied hitting him.
"It definitely wasn't me," McDonald said.
There were a lot of denials going around the locker room. Carlson also denied that he had tried to hit Posada with a pitch.
"It was just a fastball inside, and I yanked the pitch," he said.
Gaston's take on the whole deal was that it was a pretty stupid thing for the Yankees to get involved in.
Said Gaston: "I don't know if that was too smart, because they certainly have a lot more to lose. They have the playoffs, and perhaps win the World Series. You could have gotten a lot of guys hurt out there. I have a lot of respect for the Yankees and the organization, but I'm the sort of guy who believes you don't let those things happen especially when you have a chance to win the division and maybe the World Series."
PHOTOS: Click here to see photos from the Yanks-Jays brawl
