It raises more questions than it answers, but one of Batgirl's spies has unearthed this article on the incident from the Strib. Does anyone have more to add?

A personality conflict turned into a fistfight and it nearly cost the Twins a left fielder as Dan Gladden and Steve Lombardozzi settled a simmering feud Thursday, the Star Tribune has learned. The altercation apparently took place at Gladden's home. Lombardozzi arrived for Friday's game against Baltimore with a black eye and scratches down the swollen left side of his face. Gladden's forehead still shows signs of the battle, and he suffered a cracked bone in his right ring finger that threatened to keep him out of the lineup. Gladden cracked a bone near the top of the finger when his fist landed on the left side of Lombardozzi's face.

After changing his grip on the bat, Gladden played Friday and Saturday and will remain in the lineup. Unable to get a full swing because of the swollen finger, he has had to choke up almost two inches. Neither of the combatants would comment Sunday, although Gladden acknowledged the injury. While Lombardozzi denied any knowledge of the fight, manager Tom Kelly said he was aware of the confrontation, which occurred on an off day after Wednesday's late-night charter flight from Boston. The problems between the two players came to the front again during Wednesday's 9-7 loss to the Red Sox when Kelly used a pinch hitter for Lombardozzi. Sources said Lombardozzi became upset and went to the clubhouse, a move that didn't sit well with a couple of players, including Gladden. Lombardozzi is said to have gone to Gladden's home sometime Thursday to settle differences between the two players when the fight started. "Two men had a disagreement and they settled it like men," said Kelly. "It's done, it's over with. My understanding is that everything's hunky dory. It's probably better it happened." Gladden's finger remains bruised and swollen, as does Lombardozzi's face. Lombardozzi also still has a black eye. Although executive vice president Andy MacPhail downplayed the incident, it might mark the final chapter in Lombardozzi's troubled season. After a spring training shortened by injuries, Lombardozzi got off to a poor start and was unable to recover. On April 22, Tom Herr arrived from St. Louis and immediately took over second base, leaving Lombardozzi on the bench for almost a month. Although Lombardozzi returned to the lineup when Herr suffered a thigh injury, he has slumped for more than two weeks and Al Newman has taken over at second base. "I don't think it's all that big a deal," MacPhail said during yesterday's 6-1 victory over Baltimore. "It won't change the way we look at things. It's not particularly that uncommon. "It was a matter between individuals and they're both grown boys. I think if you think you can head stuff like this off, that's the wrong assumption." Kelly tried to head it off more than a week ago when he offered to mediate, but Lombardozzi is said to have declined. Relations between Gladden and Lombardozzi, strained late last season, started coming to a head in April when Lombardozzi was displaced by Herr and took the demotion hard. More than one member of the Twins organization interpreted Lombardozzi's actions as selfishness. "You could see it coming for a long time, since the trade," said Kelly. "It's something that just happened. You don't want to see it but that's the end of it. They're back to getting along. They had a problem and they resolved it. They patted each other on the back the other night and things seem to be fine. When the game's over, they're probably not going to go out and eat together, but on the field is what I'm concerned with. It's something they had to get done and it probably had to get done in a particular way. Maybe it's for the best that this is the way they took care of it." For Lombardozzi the altercation completes a four-month cycle that has left his Twins career hanging by a thread. He started yesterday for only the second time in five games and - despite a bloop double - is batting .213 with six hits in his past 44 at-bats. Either way, Lombardozzi is headed back to the bench when Herr becomes available for everyday duty. And for the time being, that's the way it will stay. MacPhail said he hasn't stepped up efforts to trade Lombardozzi, primarily because of the uncertainty surrounding Herr. "First we have to get Herr healthy so he has a chance to play every day," said MacPhail. "Our ability to sign him for 1989 is also a question, so those are all factors we have to consider."

Posted by Batgirl at May 28, 2004 11:32 AM