HOUSTON — Houston Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon was suspended indefinitely by the team yesterday for insubordination after reportedly grabbing general manager Ed Wade by the neck and throwing him to the ground.

Chacon, upset after getting demoted to the bullpen over the weekend, told the Houston Chronicle this problem began when Wade saw him in the dining room before the game against Texas. Wade wanted to meet with Chacon in manager Cecil Cooper's office, the pitcher said.

"I sat down to eat and Ed Wade came to me and very sternly said, 'You need to come with me to the office,' " Chacon said. "I said, 'For what?' I said, 'I don't want to go to the office with you and Cooper.' And I said, 'You can tell me whatever you got to tell me right here.' He's like, 'Oh, you want me to tell you right here?' And I said, 'Yeah.' I'm not yelling. I'm calm."

Chacon said things went downhill from there.

"He started yelling and cussing," Chacon said of Wade, according to a story on the Chronicle's Web site. "I'm sitting there and I said to him very calmly, 'Ed, you need to stop yelling at me.' Then I stood up and said, 'You better stop yelling at me.' I stood up. He continued and was basically yelling."

Chacon said that after Wade told him he needed to "look in the mirror," it got worse.

"So at that point I lost my cool and I grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the ground. I jumped on top of him," he said. "Words were exchanged."

Chacon said players quickly came and separated the two. He recalled outfielder Reggie Abercrombie pulling him away from Wade.

Wade announced the suspension, but would not provide any other details. Chacon has been upset since being bumped from the rotation and moved into the bullpen on Sunday.

"He is suspended pending final resolution of whatever move we end up making with him," Wade said.

Chacon is 2-3 with a 5.04 ERA in 15 starts for Houston this year. The right-hander set a major league record with nine straight no-decisions to start the season.

SARDINHA'S CONTRACT PURCHASED BY TIGERS

The Detroit Tigers traded right-handed pitcher Denny Bautista to the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor league pitcher Kyle Pearson yesterday.

Detroit also put Brandon Inge on the 15-day disabled list because of a pulled side muscle and purchased the contract of catcher Dane Sardinha from Triple-A Toledo. Sardinha, a Kamehameha alum, hit .206 at Toledo with six home runs and 16 RBIs.

UMP LEAVES HOSPITAL AFTER GETTING HIT BY BAT

Umpire Brian O'Nora was released from a Kansas City hospital yesterday after sustaining a mild concussion and a cut on his forehead when he was hit by a broken maple bat the previous night.

O'Nora was behind the plate for a game between Colorado and Kansas City when Miguel Olivo's bat shattered on a groundout to shortstop in the bottom of the second inning.

The barrel of Olivo's bat whipped around and struck the 45-year-old O'Nora in the head.