Sandberg gets ejected -- again

DES MOINES, Iowa - Ryne Sandberg said he was just looking for a little consistency from home-plate umpire Mark Buchanan.

That was the crux of the matter Tuesday, when Sandberg was kicked out of the Iowa Cubs' 6-4 loss to Nashville.

Iowa reliever Jeff Stevens had just walked Ray Olmedo on a close pitch with the bases loaded in the ninth inning. Both Sandberg and pitching coach Mike Mason barked at Buchanan, who tossed Sandberg.

Figuring he'd get his money's worth, Sandberg came out of the dugout, gestured twice, as if throwing Buchanan out and then finished with a flourish, kicking the dirt around home plate.

It was Sandberg's fourth ejection this season.

"I felt like the strike zone was established early on in the game," Sandberg said. "He called (Iowa batter) Marquez Smith out on a low pitch, and if that was a strike, this one was above that. And with the bases loaded, that's a great pitch. So it didn't work out for us having that called a ball right there. Actually, it went against us on two different occasions.

"From the dugout, you can't see side to side very well, but up and down (you can). The strike zone was kind of established, that he was going to call the low pitch. From what I saw the last three innings, two pitches went against us in kind of big situations in a tight game. That's kind of a tough way to go there."