Given that Schilling's momentary lapse of control came a half-inning after A's starter Dan Haren had stung Jason Varitek with a pitch in the back of the leg, prompting a warning to both benches by plate umpire Mike Reilly, the A's were in no mood to be forgiving, although retaliation under the circumstances hardly seemed unprecedented. But the A's still were charged by the events of the night before, when Mark Kotsay was buzzed and Frank Thomas was hit by Sox pitcher Craig Breslow an inning after Sox slugger David Ortiz was decked by an up-and-in pitch by Barry Zito.
Haren called it ``bush league," adding, ``I guess that's how they do things around here."
A's manager Ken Macha gave Reilly an earful after Swisher was plunked. Swisher warned that things could get interesting today.
``We were watching the tape on David Ortiz," Macha told reporters in his office after the game. ``I mean, if they hit Frank because Barry hit the guy in the fingertip, come on. Let's play baseball . . . You know how I go about this thing. What we ought to do is just let Major League Baseball take care of this."
Further adding to the ill will coursing through the visitors' clubhouse was the conduct of the spectators in the sellout crowd of 36,232 who were sitting behind the Oakland dugout and became involved in an exchange with right fielder Milton Bradley, who was standing on the top step of the dugout while Macha was barking at Reilly.
Bradley, who at one point raised his arms overhead, refused to discuss the nature of the exchange, one that prompted at least four extra security guards to swarm into the vicinity and remain there the rest of the game. Bradley, who has a history of volatile incidents in previous stops with the Indians and Dodgers but has not had any major behavioral issues with the A's, was subjected to some chanting and booing the rest of the night.
``There were a lot of people upset, not just Milton," Macha said. ``Wash [bench coach Ron Washington] was upset. I was upset. There was a bunch of people upset."
Nothing came close to troubling Schilling in a game that featured another Sox staple, a home run by Ortiz, his major league-leading 32d of the season.
