Manager ejection early, controversy late in Kernels' 3-2 loss to Clinton

CEDAR RAPIDS — So you want to know what baseball managers do after getting ejected from a game?

In Tommy Watkins' case Wednesday afternoon, he wandered upstairs at Veterans Memorial Stadium and spent some time in the press box. That included a rather lengthy chat with a guy from Major League Baseball who was in town to observe and critique the umpires.

Watkins also sat with the official scorers for a bit in their booth. He visited suites to hobnob with fans in them.

Just Tommy being Tommy.

'It was different,' Watkins said, after his Cedar Rapids Kernels' 3-2 loss to Clinton. 'Got a chance to watch from a different perspective.'

His first career ejection as a skipper came in the bottom of the first inning after Ariel Montesino of the Kernels was ruled out on a bang-bang play at second base on a steal attempt. It wasn't necessarily about the call, which video replay showed was probably correct.

It was more about the lethargy his club has shown of late. This was an attempt to get them out of it.

'I just feel like in all three games of this series so far, we've gotten outplayed,' he said. 'No energy. The guys made me mad.'

Hitting coach Brian Dinkelman took over for Watkins, running the game and coaching third base. He was involved in some late controversy, making a pitching change in the ninth inning that Clinton Manager Pat Shine erroneously thought was illegal.

With one out and runners on first and second, Kernels pitching coach J.P. Martinez went to the mound to visit reliever Alex Robinson. Upon his return to the dugout, a pinch hitter was announced for Clinton, and Dinkelman came out to replace Robinson with Hector Lujan to create a righty-righty matchup.

Shine protested, literally, telling the umpires he was officially protesting the remainder of the game. It became a moot point because that pinch hitter (Yojhan Quevedo) ended up singling against Lujan, with a fielder's choice grounder by Gareth Morgan scoring the winning run.

Just a weird day at the old ballpark.

'It went good,' Dinkelman said of his first true managerial experience. 'A little nerveracking for awhile (because) I thought I screwed up the game by making a move.'

'He got some bad advice from his pitching coach,' Martinez laughed.

Cedar Rapids (26-20) tied the game with two outs in the seventh inning, 2-2, on a two-out Aaron Whitefield opposite-field triple into the right-field corner. The Kernels put runners on first and second in the bottom of the ninth, but Whitefield took a called third strike and Montesino lined to second base.

The teams conclude their series Thursday night at 6:35. After the game, the Kernels and parent Minnesota Twins announced outfielder Shane Carrier has been sent to extended spring training and replaced on the active roster by outfielder Hank Morrison.

Carrier hit .215 in 30 games for the Kernels. Morrison was a 22nd-round draft pick last year out of Mercyhurst (Pa.), hitting .148 in 20 games at Rookie-level Elizabethton.

Starting pitcher Tyler Beardsley also has been placed on the disabled list with right elbow bursitis. He is 3-3 with a 6.00 earned run average in seven starts.

No corresponding move was announced, with the Cedar Rapids active roster standing at 24 active players.

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