Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Niekro says the emery board and sandpaper that were found in the back pockets of his uniform pants last night are used to manicure his knuckleball-throwing fingernails. But plate umpire Tim Tschida decided Niekro also was giving manicures to the baseballs he pitched to California Angels batters, and ejected Niekro in the fourth inning of the Twins' 11-3 victory.

Tschida already had set aside five balls thrown by Niekro when his 1-1 pitch to Brian Downing with one out in the fourth popped out of catcher Sal Butera's glove. Tschida picked up the ball, inspected it and walked to the mound. Niekro walked away from Tschida and, in the umpires' view, tried to keep his hands out of sight. "He intended to put his hand into one of his pockets," said Davey Phillips, chief of the umpiring crew. "He was told to empty his pockets. That's when we found the foreign substance, the evidence." Phillips declined to identify the foreign substance. But it was obvious to everyone that an emery board and a piece of sandpaper fell out of Niekro's pocket.

"Ever since I've been throwing the knuckleball, I've kept those things in my pocket," Niekro said. "Sometimes, the emery board gets wet and you can't file fingernails with it. That's why I have the sandpaper. "

The umpires did what they had to do." Niekro ultimately received a 10-day suspension plus a fine at the hands of American League president Bobby Brown.

"He (Niekro) did a pretty good job on a couple of those balls," Angels manager Gene Mauch said. "They were hurting."