OAKLAND, Calif. -- The lasting image from this AL Championship Series won't be the Athletics' sweep of the Red Sox, completed with Wednesday's 3-1 victory at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, or the brilliance of Dave Stewart, who shut down the Sox for eight innings to win for the second time in the series.
No matter what he does, Stewart always gets overshadowed. Wednesday it was Roger Clemens, going berserk after home plate umpire Terry Cooney ejected him in the second inning for repeatedly cursing him.
Clemens had to be restrained, shoving crew chief Jim Evans aside to get at Cooney. The bizarre scene included Marty Barrett throwing three containers of Gatorade and sunflower seeds onto the field, shoving bullpen coach Dick Berardino down the dugout steps when he tried restraining him and joining his pal in the clubhouse.
Check that. Clemens stayed on the bench, where a full inning later Evans ran him. In the previous two games Clemens got on umpires from the bench, being warned to cool it Sunday night in Boston.
AL President Bobby Brown said he'll review videotape and the umpires' reports before deciding if Clemens should be suspended.
Naturally, Clemens and Cooney offered different versions of the incident, which began after Clemens walked Willie Randolph on a 3-1 pitch, putting runners on first and second with the Athletics ahead 1-0.
Clemens said he was upset at himself, shaking his head, and when questioned by Cooney told him, "I'm not shaking my bleeping head at you," terming the unprintable word "more of an adjective."
Cooney admitting initiating the discussion without removing his mask, but said Clemens then cursed at him repeatedly, a version supported by the replay.
"He used several expletives, and I had to take some action," said Cooney, who considered talking to Clemens with his mask on warning enough. He also said Clemens called him "a gutless whatever he said."
"I heard it all," Stewart said. "It warranted his ejection. He said a couple of magic words." Evans, umpiring in right field, said he heard a few.
"He didn't curse," said catcher Tony Pena. "He said, 'Keep your mask on and let's go."'
Tom Bolton replaced Clemens, and the first batter, light-hitting Mike Gallego, doubled over Ellis Burks' head in center for two runs and a 3-0 lead.
That was plenty for Stewart, who gave up only two hits in eight innings, departing for Rick Honeycutt after Burks doubled and Jody Reed singled in the Boston run starting the ninth.
Until Burks' double, Stewart had retired 10 consecutive batters and allowed only three runners, the two hits and a Carlos Quintana walk in the fifth. The run ended an ALCS-record 12 consecutive scoreless innings.
"I went at them the same way I did in Boston," said Stewart, the first pitcher with a 5-0 career mark in the ALCS. "I didn't have the same velocity I did in Boston, but I had better control and better command of my pitches."
It also made Stewart 8-1 against Clemens, winning the last eight. Asked if Clemens might be psyched out, Stewart said, "I'm not a hypnotist. I'm just trying to do the best I can. I'm probably a thorn in his side, but I've won a lot of ballgmes, too."
Honeycutt finished by getting Wade Boggs to bounce into a double play and Greenwell to ground out to Gallego at short to clinch Oakland's third consecutive AL pennant.
The A's became the first team to win a series without a home run since 1919 -- right, the World Series the Black Sox threw to the Reds. No triples, either: 34 singles, four doubles. Bash Brothers Jose Canseco, bothered by a sore right hand, and Mark McGwire were a combined 4 for 24.
"The way I understand it, it's the number of guys who cross the plate, not whether they're running or trotting," said A's manager Tony LaRussa. "I don't care how they score, as long as they score."
"We didn't have a home run in the series, but we played fundamentally sound, made all the plays and got great pitching," said Gallego, replacing the injured Walt Weiss (knee) at shortstop. "When we do that, we're tough to beat."
It's tough to beat anybody scoring four runs in four games, as the Sox did. And hitting .183. And going 1 for 18 with runners in scoring position. Until Burks, moved to leadoff, and Reed came though in the ninth, the No. 1 and 2 spots in the Boston order were 1 for 28 in the series, the hit an infield one by Reed in Game 2.
Carlos Quintana went 0 for 15, Mike Greenwell 0 for 14, Tom Brunansky 1 for 12 (.082). "They played great defense," Greenwell said. "Every time we hit one, they were there."
"They're as good as we've had in years," Morgan said. "The Reds were dynamite. I didn't see the '27 Yankees." Are the Athletics a dynasty? "Not yet."