Manny Machado rips Red Sox during profane rant after another attempt to hit him
It had barely been a minute since Fenway Park tried to collectively apologize to Adam Jones for fans taunting him with racial slurs the previous night when the friction between the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox flared up again.
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Again it was because of a Boston pitcher throwing behind Baltimore’s Manny Machado.
Chris Sale, "inside" 98mph Fastball to Machado. pic.twitter.com/zcDEWdlcuj
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 2, 2017
It’s the second time the Red Sox have done this to Machado in nine days. Now the infielder is speaking out.
Machado went on a profane rant to the media after getting buzzed by a 98 mph fastball from Chris Sale on Tuesday in Boston’s 5-2 victory — fortunately it wasn’t near his head this time — and has apparently had it with the Red Sox.
EPIC RANT: I agree with everything Manny Machado said here. RedSox need to get out of their feelings for that slide. #IBackTheBirds pic.twitter.com/qlZchaF9QV
— Dylan (@DylansFreshTake) May 3, 2017
Because I like my job, here is an edited version. Machado was asked what he thought of the pitch behind him. #Orioles #RedSox pic.twitter.com/gxpn3iLqXK
— Jon Meoli (@JonMeoli) May 3, 2017
Manny Machado was not happy to get thrown behind tonight by Chris Sale and the #RedSox. His comments: pic.twitter.com/NnWuX8rbJJ
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) May 3, 2017
Machado cleaned up his feelings for an on-air interview with MASN, but the message is just as clear: the Red Sox are classless.
Machado talked about how he "lost mad respect" for the Red Sox after Game 2. #IBackTheBirds pic.twitter.com/NsnIkBg3qc
— Orioles on MASN (@masnOrioles) May 3, 2017
Machado got some semblance of revenge with a solo home run off Sale in the seventh inning, yet it’s clear that’s not enough.
The longer this goes on the more likely someone is to get seriously hurt. Whether it’s throwing a fastball nearly 100 mph or implying that a bat could be used in retaliation, this feud is not getting any better. And none of the rhetoric in the postgame will help ease any tension.
Baltimore and Boston still have two games left in this series. The umpires were already quick with their warnings on Tuesday, but it may be time to take this a step further.
With that in mind, it’ll be interesting to see if there’s any response from Major League Baseball before first pitch tomorrow at 7:10 ET.
Whatever the recourse is here, it doesn’t seem like the guy who threw the latest wild pitch has any concern about lingering issues.
Informed of Machado's comments, Chris Sale said, "Whatever, man. Not losing any sleep tonight."https://t.co/fU4rEoN1zJ
— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) May 3, 2017
To say Sale is lucky he doesn’t play in the National League is missing the point. These guys want to hurt each other. And nothing has stopped them from attempting to do so yet.
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Blake Schuster is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com
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