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TAMPA -- Tampa Police arrested Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Al Reyes early this morning, saying the reliever was drunk and disruptive when he fell down, picked a fight and spit blood at patrons of a popular Hyde Park night spot where Jessica Sierra was arrested last year.Reyes made a brief apology before Friday's game at Tropicana Field but took no questions and offered no explanations; Thursday was his 38th birthday. The team does not plan to discipline him, manager Joe Maddon said, and expects him to be available to pitch if needed."It's one of those unfortunate isloated incidents,'' Maddon said. "I don't really believe you're going to see that happen again with Al. We're just going to move beyond it. It's unfortunate that it occurred.''Reyes said: "I tried to have a good time on my birthday but I guess that was the worst one. I just want to apologize again to my teammates, the organization, the owner and the fans for what happened last night.''Witnesses told police the incident started around 2:30 a.m. at the Hyde Park Cafe, 1806 W Platt St., when Reyes fell against a ceramic pot inside the bar. Thinking someone had pushed him, police said Reyes began exchanging words with patron Eduardo Mora.Mora then punched Reyes in the face, getting the attention of the Hyde Park Cafe's bouncers. Meanwhile, police said in a news release, Reyes "began to spit blood on the people in the area and began to swing his arms about."The bouncers tried to control Reyes, but the 6-foot-1, 240-pound right-hander kept pushing them away. A Tampa Police officer working extra duty at the bar stepped in and yelled, "Stop Police!," but Reyes "continued spitting blood and thrashing about," according to a police incident report.Moments later, the officer warned Reyes he was going to Taser the pitcher, and he did, knocking him to the bar floor. Ignoring police commands to stay down, authorities said Reyes got up and was Tasered a second time.
