With the Jays up 9-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Brett Gardner hit a double down the 1st base line which brought in Jorge Posada, but as the Yankees’ catcher crossed home plate, he brushed Jays’ pitcher Jesse Carlson with an elbow.  Posada was immidiately ejected, but that didn’t stop Carlson from having a few choice words.  Seconds later, Posada, Carlson and Jays’ catcher Rod Barajas came together and a brawl ensued.

With Posada and Carlson going at it, as well as Barajas and Shelley Duncan, benches cleared and players attempted to break things up.  They eventually succeeded, but not before some damage could be done.

Carlson received a welt on his head, while even Yankees manager Joe Girardi got into the action, getting clipped in the eye and cut on his left ear.  He wasn’t the only manager involved either as Cito Gaston confronted a member of the Yankees who was seen attempting to drag Barajas by his catchers’ equipment.

Both Carlson and Posada were ejected from the game by umpire Jim Joyce, who stated that his crew would look over the video tapes again before finalizing their report, but their initial observations were not particularly good ones for Jorge.

“As he ran past Carlson, he gave him a little shove with his elbow,” Joyce said. “It was very unsportsmanlike. The pitcher wasn’t looking for anything like that and he ran past him, didn’t say anything and just gave him a shove with his elbow. It was a cheap shot.” [MLB.com]

We have gotten used to seeing brawls in the stands at the new Yankee Stadium, and a similar incident almost transpired back in June when the crosstown rival Mets were visiting, but things got settled down before any punches could be thrown.  That was not the case this time as the fists weren’t exactly flying, but the intent was there.  It was a rather disappointing brawl in my opinion, but I guess you can’t expect baseball players to stir things up like athletes in other sports.  Not even one chair thrown.  How disappointing.