Manny's Weekend Meltdown

We learned earlier today that O's 3rd baseball Manny Machado has been suspended five games for his weekend antics against Oakland. Reading through the various online threads, there seems to be a lot of different opinions. Some think that five games is a bit harsh for tossing his bat across the infield. I have read comparisons to Boston's Davis Ortiz's meltdown last year in which "Big Pappi" demolished a dugout phone with his Louisville Slugger. Of course, Ortiz wasn't suspend at all for this temper tantrum.

So, in case you missed it, let me bring you up to speed on the Machado situation....

In Friday night's game against the A's, Baltimore had runners on first and second with one out. Machado happened to be the runner on second base. The batter (I can't remember who it was) hit a slow ground ball to the A's 3rd baseman, Josh Donaldson. Donaldson, realizing that he would not be able to turn a double play, decided to take the easy out and lead runner, Machado. Well, when Donaldson slapped the tag on Machado, the O's 3rd baseman was a bit off-balance and ultimately fell on his ass. Perhaps a little embarrassing. However, on his way down, Machado removed his helmet and threw it to the ground in the vicinity of Donaldson. Machado then got up and started mouthing off to Donaldson. This, of course, resulted in both teams' dugouts and bullpens coming onto the field. Things eventually settled done and the game resumed.

A short while later, Donaldson came to plate to face O's starter, Wei-Yin Chen. Chen, who hadn't hit a batter all year, proceeds to plunk Donaldson. Coincidence? Somehow, I doubt it.....

Then the drama continued on Saturday when Machado twice hit Oakland catcher, Derek Norris, with his backswing. So, in retaliation, on Sunday, A's reliever, Fernadno Abad, threw twice at Machado. On the second beanball, Machado flung his bat towards 3rd base. Another coincidence? Of course, the benches immediately cleared and the pushing and shoving commenced at home plate. In the end, Machado and Abad were ejected from the game.

So, is your head spinning yet? It kind of reminds me of the ol Abbott and Costello "Who's on first" routine. Anyway, here's my take on the whole situation.....

At the very least, Manny needs to get a hold of his temper. I thought the whole throwing of the helmet thing on Friday night was ridiculous. He looked liked a five-year-old having a temper tantrum. Honestly, I don't think Donaldson tagged him that hard. If Manny is going to upset over little stuff like this, he's going to have rough road in the major leagues.

And there are indeed times when your pitcher should stand up for you and do what needs to be done. There's an unwritten "baseball code" that permits the plucking of a batter when it's "necessary". But, in this case, I don't think Chen should have hit Donaldson.

Was Manny's backswing incident(s) on Saturday intentional? I'll bet the A's sure took it that way. So, as a result, Manny took a couple of tight pitches from Abad on Sunday. I wouldn't have had an issue if Manny would have went after Abad. But instead, he flung his bat towards 3rd base. I saw it as a passive-aggressive attempt to keep the drama going.

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I am just trying to be objective here. Actually, I really like Machado. I think he's the best O's 3rd baseman since Brooks Robinson. His defense speaks for itself and his offense shows tons of potential. Watching him over the past two years has not only been a treat for me, but for all Oriole fans.

Yes, he had a bit of a meltdown over the past weekend. But everyone needs to remember that Manny is only 21 years old. As he matures, hopefully he'll learn to choose his battles more wisely. The next time he feels the urge to act out, maybe he should ask himself, "What would Brooks do...."

kw