Five Suns suspended after Barons' brawl

Four players and Suns manager Andy Barkett were suspended by the Southern League on Tuesday for their roles in Friday's bench-clearing brawl against the Birmingham Barons.

Barkett, Suns infielder Wilfredo Gimenez and right-handers Matt Ramsey and Jheyson Manzueta were suspended for three games, while infielder Alfredo Lopez received a four-game ban.

Barkett, Ramsey and Gimenez began serving their suspensions on Tuesday, while Manzueta and Lopez will begin their bans on Friday.

The Barons did not disclose which players were suspended or who received fines, if any.

Five players and Barkett were ejected following the second of two bench-clearing incidents at Jacksonville's Baseball Grounds. In a statement, the Suns said their players received fines for joining the brawls and for their actions during the incident.

"Each Suns player was fined for leaving their position, per league rule, and all Suns personnel listed above that were suspended were fined for an additional amount," the Suns said. "The amount of the fines was not disclosed."

The drama began when Birmingham's Jeremy Farrell made contact with Ramsey. Farrell scored from second on Luis Sierra's single and, as Ramsey moved to back up Suns catcher Austin Barnes, Farrell folded his arms in front of his body and appeared to bump Ramsey.

"I saw exactly what happened. Ramsey was coming to back up home and then Farrell bumped into him and then said something to him to the effect of, 'Get out of the way,' or something ridiculous," Barkett said Friday. "It was really unprofessional by Farrell, in my opinion, for doing that. If you make contact with the pitcher, that's fine, but you don't need to turn around and say something."

That touched off a brawl that led to Barkett eventually pleading his case with umpires Ryan Additon, Matt McCoy and Jose Esteras. The manager was ejected along with five players and later threw his hat on the field along with several buckets of baseballs. He pulled Ramsey off the mound by his jersey.

Tempers flared again moments later when Gimenez charged the Barons dugout, causing both dugouts to empty for a second round of shoving.

"I didn't know what happened at that point," Barkett said. "I just know that Richmond sucker punched me in the side of the face, and he should get suspended for that childish and, I don't know what you call it, other than coward behavior, to just throw punches in the middle of a brawl, especially to an opposing manager."

Barons manager Julio Vinas told the Florida Times-Union that the melee was "just part of the game."

"If you have no passion for this game, then you don't belong in it," he said. "There's a lot of passion on their side, just like there is on our side. Sometimes the heat of the moment gets the best of us. It's just all part of the game."