Asheville Manager Fined, Suspended After Tirade

Once the umpire called Roger Clemens’ kid safe, a minor league manager threw a major league tantrum that would have made Lou Piniella, Earl Weaver and Tom Lasorda proud.

It also cost Asheville (N.C.) Tourists Manager Joe Mikulik a seven-day suspension and $1,000 fine.

Mikulik, who used to write “Never Surrender” on his wristbands when he played in the minors, put on a throwing, kicking and screaming show Sunday that was still the talk of baseball a day later.

The South Atlantic League also spent a lot of time talking about his antics and penalized him Monday night.

Upset with umpire Andy Russell’s call in the fifth inning of Asheville’s 5-2 loss to the Lexington Legends in Kentucky, Mikulik rushed onto the field. The manager of the Colorado Rockies’ Class-A affiliate made a headfirst dive into second base and later pulled up the bag -- taking a few tugs to get it done -- before throwing it into right field.

By the time he was ejected, Mikulik was only getting warmed up. And by the time he was done, he had thrown a rosin bag and several bats and blocked the umpires’ locker room.

“I don’t think I ever lost total control, though it may look like it,” Mikulik told the Asheville Citizen-Times earlier Monday. “It was just frustration, and I obviously went a little bit too far. I apologize to fans and to the umpires for my actions, and I regret what happened.”

Mikulik tossed the rosin bag into the bullpen, covered home plate with dirt and cleaned it with a water bottle, which he finally spiked onto the plate. Back in the dugout, he threw a bunch of bats onto the field, enough to send a batboy ducking for cover.

In the clubhouse, Mikulik pushed a couple of water coolers, a chair and a batting-practice screen in front of the umpires’ locker room.

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Cleveland Manager Eric Wedge and Toronto Manager John Gibbons will serve as American League coaches at next month’s All-Star game. AL Manager Ozzie Guillen of the Chicago White Sox made the choices. The All-Star game will be July 11 at Pittsburgh.