Kennedy, Hinske appealing suspensions to MLB

SAN DIEGO -- When a TV in the D-backs' clubhouse started to replay their benches-clearing brawl with the Dodgers from Tuesday night, catcher Miguel Montero sat down and turned up the volume to watch it -- more specifically to watch Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig.

Montero and first baseman Eric Hinske couldn't believe Puig didn't receive a suspension for his role in the brawl, when Hinske said Puig hit him right on the top of his back.

"How'd they miss that?" Montero said, shaking his head before Friday's game against the Padres.

The D-backs received the brunt of the suspensions from the incident. Hinske received a five-game suspension for his role in the altercation, and pitcher Ian Kennedy received the toughest penalty, a 10-game suspension.

Both players will appeal.

"I don't believe what I did out there warranted any suspension let alone a five-game suspension, so I'm a little confused by the situation," Hinske said. "In my mind, Puig was the aggressor on the field throughout the whole fight out of any player on that field, and he received no games."

"You look at the history and my history and the history of things happening with first offenses in the past and that's why I'm going to go through the appealing process," Kennedy said. "I think 10 games is -- I think they're trying to set an example."

Dodgers pitcher J.P. Howell and outfielder Skip Schumaker received two-game suspensions, while Dodgers pitcher Ronald Belisario a one-game suspension, all for their "aggressive actions during the incidents."

Montero, who said he was on the bottom on the pile, was angry that Puig and Zack Grienke did not receive any punishment for their actions, and thought the suspensions were one-sided.

"I just kept feeling punches," Montero said. "Obviously they are probably my teammates that were punching me because we're the only ones who got suspended."

D-backs manager Kirk Gibson and Dodgers manager Don Mattingly both were suspended for one game, and each served it on Friday. Bench coach Alan Trammell took over as interim manager for the D-backs against the Padres.

Hinske's suspension was for "leaving the dugout and for his aggressive actions during the incidents," according to the news release issued by Major League Baseball. But Hinske said he did not throw a punch and was just holding his ground.

"I think our whole team was trying to avoid escalation," Gibson said. "I think we were trying to stop it and were protecting ourselves and Ian."

Kennedy was suspended for "intentionally throwing a pitch in the head area of Zack Greinke," and Kennedy said he's upset that this incident is damaging his reputation.

"I feel there's a lot of things being attacked at my character and saying I'm a headhunter," Kennedy said. "I really don't appreciate that, but that's still people's opinions."

The D-backs will wait for the appeal process to play out before they make any decisions on who will take Kennedy's place in the rotation, should the suspensions hold. He is still scheduled to pitch Sunday against the Padres and threw his regular bullpen session on Friday to stay on schedule.

"You just hope the process was a good process," said D-backs general manager Kevin Towers on the suspensions. "They reviewed all the video and had a feel for what was going on in the game. It's disappointing that we're going to lose some of our guys ... you move on and you deal with it."