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Papelbon suspended seven games for gesture

UPDATE [Monday, 9:08 p.m.]: MLB announced that closer Jonathan Papelbon will be suspended for seven games. The Phillies have released the following statement:

The Phillies fully support the decision of the Commissioner's Office, which has exclusive jurisdiction for on-field player behavior. By Major League Baseball rules, the Phillies have no authority to make official judgments about activity which occurs on the field or to determine the appropriate penalty for misconduct. We apologize to our fans for the actions of our player yesterday.

UPDATE [Monday]: ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reported Monday that the league is looking into the Jonathan Papelbon incident from Sunday's game and that it is not just a Phillies internal matter.

From Sunday: Did he mean to do it or not?

There are plenty who have offered the opinion on Jonathan Papelbon's crotch grab that got him ejected from Sunday's 5-4 loss to the visiting Miami Marlins by umpire Joe West.

Papelbon was vehement that it was a uniform adjustment and no obscene gesture. West was just as vehement that it was an obscene gesture.

"Me and Joe we go way back," Papelbon said. "We don't see eye to eye a lot of times."

They certainly didn't this time.

In reality, only Papelbon knows for sure.

Whether MLB will believe his story remains to be seen. It seems inevitable that both Papelbon and West will be called into MLB offices to give their version of the story.

The two will also likely have to recount their on-field confrontation after the ejection.

So we likely haven't heard the last of this story, with two head-strong people sticking to their version and MLB needing to decide which one to believe.