Piniella suspended indefinitely

CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella was suspended indefinitely and fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball on Sunday for his latest dirt-kicking tirade against an umpire.

Piniella was ejected in the eighth inning of Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

After Angel Pagan was thrown out trying to steal third on a pitch that bounced away from the catcher, Piniella stormed out of the dugout and kicked dirt as he argued and tossed his cap, leading to his ouster by third-base umpire Mark Wegner.

MLB also said Piniella made contact with Wegner during the outburst — which Piniella denied.

Piniella began serving his suspension Sunday. The length of Piniella's suspension will be determined today after a meeting with John McHale Jr., the MLB executive vice president for administration.

"I wasn't expecting anything until the early part of the week," said Piniella, who has been known to kick dirt and toss bases since he started managing in 1986.

He planned to watch Sunday's game from his office, with bench coach Alan Trammell managing the team during the suspension.

Piniella's outburst came one day after catcher Michael Barrett and pitcher Carlos Zambrano fought in the dugout and clubhouse, leaving Barrett with a cut on his lower lip that required six stitches at a hospital and a bruise below his left eye.

The Cubs had lost six straight entering Sunday's series finale against the Braves, but the frustration that had been percolating this season.

"It all starts with playing bad baseball," general manager Jim Hendry said. "When you play as poorly as we have now for a few weeks time, a lot of frustration sets in because you do have a lot of guys that care and a lot of guys that expect to win. Nobody's anything but extremely disappointed, frustrated with where we're at."

CLEMENS UPDATE: Roger Clemens will have tests on his ailing groin today, and the New York Yankees hope he can make his first start of the season next weekend.

Yankees manager Joe Torre said Sunday that Clemens could pitch Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, five days after he was originally slated to return to the struggling team before being scratched because of a fatigued right groin.

"We're tentatively looking at possibly next weekend," Torre said. "The only thing I know is he's going to have an MRI (on today) and we'll have more information. They'll see if whatever he's dealing with is old or new."