Machado is innocent in Red Sox-O’s feud

With no outs in the inning, Orioles right fielder Mark Trumbo hit a groundball to Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who threw the ball to second baseman Dustin Pedroia in an attempt to retire Orioles third baseman Manny Machado on a force play. Then, the controversial play occurred: Machado slid beyond second base, and as a result, spiked Pedroia’s left leg, forcing Pedroia to leave the game and miss the next three.

I understand that deciding whether or not Machado’s slide was intentional or “dirty” is up for debate. However, Machado’s immediate reaction to the incident — instantaneously grabbing Pedroia to steady him following the slide — suggests that the collision was unintended. Pedroia left the field limping, but he did not express any outward frustration over the play. Other members of the Red Sox were the ones that did not share this calm demeanor.

Boston’s third base coach, Brian Butterfield, was ejected for vehemently voicing his opinion to the umpires between innings. After the game, manager John Farrell expressed his own feelings regarding the incident, describing Machado’s slide as “extremely late,” insinuating that the slide was illegal. Retaliation from the Red Sox seemed inevitable.

Machado has developed a reputation around the league as a “dirty” player over the past several seasons. Whether or not he was responsible for instigating the handful of incidents he has been a part of, Machado has not handled them in a composed manner and has had to serve numerous suspensions.

This means that when something goes wrong and Machado is involved, the blame is quickly directed to him. For Boston, Pedroia’s injury on the play, from a not-so-innocent Machado, made for a seemingly justified retaliatory act.

At first, it appeared that there would be no lingering dispute, as the Red Sox did not appear to make a spectacle of the controversial play. However, when Sunday’s game came around, it was a different story.

Early on, Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodríguez threw several inside pitches at Machado that nearly hit the star third baseman. These pitches, aimed at Machado’s legs, looked to be an attempt to brush Machado off the plate. If one of the pitches had hit Machado, it would have seemed like a bit of a cheap shot but nothing unheard of. After all, this is the way that back-and-forth conflicts of this sort tend to work themselves out in the game of baseball.

If Rodríguez had nicked Machado, I would have been slightly ticked off, but I would have understood that it was a situation where Rodríguez’s emotions got the better of him, without any real damage being done.

But what happened later in the game was an entirely different story: It was despicable, it was weak and immature, it was a disgraceful act of sheer violence and it absolutely disgusted me.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes took aim at Machado’s head, throwing a 90 mile-per-hour pitch aimed for his helmet. Fortunately, the pitch was so erratic that it just barely missed Machado’s head and struck his bat instead. Barnes was ejected immediately.

I cannot even express how cowardly of an act Barnes’ pitch was. There is absolutely no justification for aiming at a player’s head; In fact, doing so is so dangerous that I would go as far to say that it should be considered criminal if done deliberately.

Machado had no malicious intent when he slid into Pedroia, but the same cannot be said of Barnes. Barnes received a four-game suspension from the League on Monday, but as far as I am concerned, that punishment is fractional compared to what he deserves. You never aim at a player’s head.

After the pitch nearly took off his head, Machado looked to the Boston dugout and exchanged words with Pedroia, who promised that he had nothing to do with Barnes’ decision, saying “it’s all him.” I genuinely believe Pedroia and have profound respect for him. Whether or not he thinks Machado’s slide was dirty, he understands that it is all part of the game and that his job is to stay focused on baseball and to move on.

The brief conversation between Machado and Pedroia was genuinely in good faith, and I admire both players for acting in such a professional manner. This situation could have easily escalated into an all-out brawl, but Machado and Pedroia held their tempers and stayed cool.

Machado has had issues in the past with losing his temper when being thrown at, but this time I was impressed with the manner in which Machado reacted to the situation. He remained calm and poised. And he proceeded to drill the next pitch that he saw for a double to dead center. It takes an incredible amount of courage to step back into the batter’s box after nearly being decapitated.

This series of events will only further fuel the tensions between the Orioles and the Red Sox, who seem destined to battle throughout the season for the AL East crown.

They still have 14 games against each other remaining in the regular season, including a four-game series in Boston that begins on Monday. It is safe to say that emotions will be running high and that the bad blood between the teams will not dissipate anytime soon.