Molina tantrum fallout worries Cardinals

5/13/2008 6:54 PM

By R.B. FALLSTROM
AP Sports Writer

ST. LOUIS (AP) -The St. Louis Cardinals are expecting Yadier Molina to be disciplined for his antics.

After the catcher was ejected for complaining about a ball called on Milwaukee's Corey Hart during the fifth inning of an 8-3 loss Monday night, Molina protested by taking off his gear and leaving it in a pile at the feet of plate umpire Paul Schrieber.

``We'll hear something,'' manager Tony La Russa said Tuesday before the Cardinals began a six-game homestand. ``It's not going to go unnoticed.''

Molina, the youngest of three catching brothers in the major leagues, declined to revisit the matter.

``Well, I thought it was a pretty good show,'' said pitching coach Dave Duncan, a former catcher who said he was never ejected during his playing career.

Duncan thought Schrieber did a good overall job on ball-strike calls, but that Molina was set off by some calls that went against the Cardinals in key situations. The first-pitch call to Hart came two batters after Ryan Braun homered.

``What happens is the count gets turned around and it changes the whole approach,'' Duncan said. ``Timing is crucial. Sometimes it can build up. He probably felt there should have been communication, not an ejection.''

The quick ejection - La Russa was coming out to the plate when Molina was tossed - caught the rest of the team off-guard.

``I was surprised there was not more patience because he's established a reputation,'' La Russa said. ``That's one of the things Paul admitted when I went out there. Yaddy has established a reputation as being somebody umpires like to work with, and he's not confrontational. He got warned once, and the second time he was thrown out, and that's unusual for a guy with that reputation.''

La Russa said he didn't learn about Molina removing his equipment until after leaving the field.

``You try to coach emotion in players, and that's what competition is about,'' La Russa said. ``That's not his style, so evidently he was sincere. And if he's sincere, what can you say about it?''