Girardi tossed for arguing with ump

NEW YORK -- Shortly after Thursday night's game ended, Joe Girardi's on-field tantrum seemed almost comical -- or so Derek Jeter thought. Watching Girardi toss his hat to the dirt and kick it across the field, Jeter couldn't help but recall an old Yankee friend, Lou Piniella, and his own brand of hat-kicking, anger-laced tirades.

"It was funny," Jeter said. "I was hoping he would kick it all the way to the dugout."

The night's umpiring crew, however, didn't find it quite so funny, and neither might the league. Though Girardi said he did not think his actions warranted a suspension, he acknowledged the issue after the game -- as did umpire crew chief Tim Welke.

"There are not many nights when a manager throws his hat and kicks dirt at us," Welke said.

Girardi's argument stemmed from a third-strike call on Jason Giambi in the bottom of the ninth inning. Umpires ruled that Orioles reliever Jim Johnson's pitch, clearly high and inside, had grazed the knob of Giambi's bat and deflected into catcher Ramon Hernandez's glove -- a foul tip that counted as strike three.

Girardi disagreed, though he was unwilling to discuss the matter after the game. Giambi did, believing that his manager took offense at home-plate umpire Chris Guccione's late call, and at the fact that it was made only after Hernandez offered his own opinion.

"It's just one of those tough calls," Giambi said. "It's bang-bang for an umpire."

Regardless of what was at the root of his opinion, Girardi stormed out onto the field, arguing with Guccione for several moments before he was ejected. He kicked his hat, kicked some dirt, and did everything short of coming into physical contact with the umpires. And that last bit may have saved him a suspension.

"There was no physical contact," Welke said. "He was kicking the hat a couple times. He kicked dirt at the plate umpire. We talked about it. We reviewed it best we could."

Still, Welke said his crew will file a routine incident report to the league.

"I don't have any concern," Girardi said. "I don't think I did anything that warrants a suspension. I got a little upset. That happens from time to time."

The ejection was Girardi's first as manager of the Yankees, and his third as a manager. Girardi was also ejected three times as a player, bringing his career total to six.

"I kicked my hat," he said, laughing. "I wanted to kick something, and I figured that was the best thing. Walls don't work too well."

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