Suspensions, Fines Given in Reds-Cardinals Brawl

Johnny Cueto of the Cincinnati Reds will receive a seven game suspension as a result of his behavior in the bench clearing brawl that occurred on Tuesday, August 10. He was suspended after using his metal cleats to kick several players including St. Louis Cardinal's back up catcher Jason LaRue. LaRue is down with a minor concussion and sore ribs following the incident. The Cardinals called up a minor league player to replace LaRue while he recovers from his injuries.

Suspensions were also issued to Cardinal's manager Tony LaRussa and Red's manager Dusty Baker. Each skipper received two game suspensions, and all suspensions will begin on Friday, pending any appeals.

Fines were also issued to Cardinal's pitcher Chris Carpenter, Cardinal's catcher Yadier Molina, Brandon Phillips, who plays second base for the Reds', and Reds' relief pitcher Russ Springer. Major League Baseball has declined to comment on the amount of the fines.

Brandon Phillips has been at the center of a controversy that came to blows at the game in question. He had made an official statement about the Cardinals team calling them expletive terms and referring to them as whiners. He stated that he hated the Cardinal's and was rooting for the Chicago Cubs, who are long time rivals of the St. Louis team.

The Cardinals responded to his comments not with words but with bats and swept the three game series at the Reds' home at the Great American Ballpark. Phillips himself was held to 2 of 14 at bats during the whole series. He claimed that he could, "Play against these guys (Cardinals) with one leg." But his play did not help his team which lost all three games soundly.

The Cardinals and the Reds will meet up three more times this season in a series in early September. This time the games will be at the Cardinals' home Busch Stadium. These two teams will be looking at that series not only due to the tension between the clubs, but also because these two teams are fighting it out for first place in the National League Central division. The next closest team, the Milwaukee Brewers, is 12 games out of first place.