Suspensions handed down at Dayton
Manager, eight players disciplined for roles in Class A fracas
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com
WASHINGTON -- The bill came due for players involved last week in an ugly bench-clearing fracas between the Reds' Class A Dayton club and Peoria.
The Midwest League suspended Dragons manager Donnie Scott and eight of his players for three games each. An undisclosed fine was also levied.
Pitchers Henry Arias, Jeremy Horst, Jeff Jeffords, and Luis Montano were suspended along with catcher and 2007 first-round Draft pick Devin Mesoraco, infielder Kevyn Feiner, and outfielders Denis Phipps and Justin Reed.
On July 24 at Fifth-Third Field in Dayton, Ohio, a beanball incident sparked a heated argument between Scott and acting Peoria manager Carmelo Martinez. The benches cleared moments later and pandemonium ensued.
The scariest moment came when Peoria starting pitcher Julio Castillo threw a baseball toward the Dragons dugout and inadvertently hit a fan. He was arrested and charged with felony assault and has a court appearance pending.
Castillo received the most serious suspension, 60 games. Martinez, who was filling in for Ryne Sandberg, got 20 games. A total of seven Peoria players were suspended.
In other disciplinary news, Minor League pitcher Renny Amador of the Reds' Dominican Summer League team was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for metabolites of Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing drug.
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