Yankees-Red Sox ALCS game marred by two incidents

BOSTON (Ticker) - The emotionally charged rivalry between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox has taken a heavy toll on someone who has been on both sides of the feud.

A benches-clearing incident Saturday in the bottom of the fourth inning of Game Three of the American League Championship Series resulted in Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer being taken to a hospital.

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The YES Network, the cable television channel owned by the Yankees, reported that Zimmer was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for precautionary reasons.

Zimmer was involved in the wild melee, which had its roots in the top of the fourth.

Boston ace Pedro Martinez, struggling on the mound, hit Karim Garcia in the top of the inning and nearly incited a benches-clearing brawl when the Yankees right fielder took out Todd Walker with a hard slide. Making gestures toward the New York dugout and sparking the already frenzied Fenway Park crowd, Martinez drew the ire of Yankees starter Roger Clemens and catcher Jorge Posada.

"There is no question in my mind that Pedro hit him on purpose," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He can thread a needle at any time he wants. ... I have respect for Pedro's ability to pitch, but, I didn't care for that."

"Pedro never takes a shot at someone's head like that or up in that area," Red Sox manager Grady Little countered. "In their opinion, it was, so there you go."

Things got nastier in the bottom of the inning when Clemens' high fastball to Manny Ramirez resulted in the Red Sox slugger stalking the mound with a bat in his hand. As both teams left their benches, plate umpire Alfonso Marquez got between Ramirez and Clemens.

Near first base, Zimmer - a New York bench coach and former Red Sox manager - jogged toward Martinez and made a gesture with his hands. As the 72-year-old neared the slight righthander, Martinez cuffed Zimmer's neck and snapped him to the ground.

Zimmer suffered a cut on the bridge of his nose.

Even though both teams were warned, there were no ejections.

"We didn't get into any kind of explanations right there, we just accepted the warnings and went on," Little said. "I thought the umpires did an outstanding job there."

The bottom of the ninth was delayed when a man, reportedly a Fenway Park employee, climbed into the Yankees' bullpen in right-center field. After New York relievers helped get the situation under control, police intervened.

"I think everything that happened after the initial confrontation was just a matter of the pressure of the game, contention, postseason," Torre said. "I think we all can understand the overreaction in the situation because of what these games mean."