Shawn Chacon Released

From PA Sportsticker:

"The Houston Astros released righthander Shawn Chacon on Thursday, one day after he was suspended for initiating a physical altercation, which included confronting general manager Ed Wade and throwing him to the ground.

If Chacon clears waivers, he will be released without pay, Wade said during a news conference at Minute Maid Park. The waiver period extends through Monday. Chacon signed a one-year contract with the Astros in the offseason.

“His defiance of the manager, the pitching coach, me, and especially the organization led us to this decision,” Wade said.

Chacon was suspended indefinitely on Wednesday for insubordination to the club. The one-time All-Star recently voiced his displeasure about being removed from the rotation Sunday after struggling in June, a month in which he was 0-3 with a 9.35 ERA in four starts.

However, according to the Houston Chronicle, Chacon’s frustration spilled over, three days after his initial tirade upon learning of his demotion.

While Chacon, 30, was eating in the lunch room after batting practice, manager Cecil Cooper asked the pitcher to join him and Wade in his office. After refusing Cooper’s request, Wade sat down next to him to try to once again convince the righthander to join them.

The exchange became heated when Wade began to yell at the pitcher, saying that Chacon needed “to (expletive) look in the mirror.”

It was then when the confrontation turned physical.

“So, at that point, I lost my cool and I grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the ground,” Chacon said. “I jumped on top of him because, at that point, I wanted to beat his (butt). Words were exchanged.”

Players quickly intervened to separate Wade and Chacon, who remembers being pulled away by backup outfielder Reggie Abercrombie.

“Maybe it shouldn’t have happened,” Chacon told the paper. “But when you do those things and you’re yelling at somebody and you’re cussing, you better know what type of person you’re dealing with. If there’s any regret, I just wish they had just let me alone. I wish they had left me alone.”

Chacon is 2-3 with a 5.04 ERA in 15 starts for the Astros in 2008. He is 45-61 with a 4.99 ERA in 269 career appearances - 134 starts - over eight seasons with the Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates and Astros."

This looks like one situation where cooler heads may have worked for both sides. Chacon is a well traveled-Journeyman Pitcher, and somebody needing a starter in the rotation will pick him up.