Machado About Nothing

Got nothing new on this subject but want to give the topic heading a few of these:

 

Who says baseball people ain't got no culture?

Maybe you have an issue with guys from south Florida? 

SG,

 

I was driving to Baltimore yesterday on a business trip.  I got tired of music so I put Baltimore Sports talk radio on....low and behold they were talking about the "Machado about nothing" drama.  The radio talent was telling their Oriole fan base they were mostly delusional for supporting Machado and his antics.  Their perspective kind of shocked me as these guys are big time Orioles homers.  I got a genuine kick out of listening to these people dialing in to defend Machado....it was almost comical.  I truly don't understand how people can lose that much perspective.  Machado was wrong, and he will be suspended.  I hope Joe Torre throws the book at him.

"I got a genuine kick out of listening to these people dialing in to defend Machado....it was almost comical.  I truly don't understand how people can lose that much perspective"

 

This is why players get away with poor behavior. Rabid home fans keep supporting them with their $$. Unless the fans quit buying the jerseys or tickets, the players who bring in $$ are allowed to behave as they wish. If I were the Orioles owner, he'd be looking for another team. Yea, I'm sure readers are thinking that would be a terrible business decision and that's correct but I sure wish we'd see someone stand up for personal integrity. I feel like baseball and golf are pretty much the last major sports where there is any expectation of decorum and sportsmanship and with more players like Machado, baseball will go the way of the "me, me, me" sports like NFL and NBA.

Reminds me of the rationalization of certain teams' fans once it was revealed that their team's player(s) was juiced.

What, on earth, has Bryce Harper done to be clumped in a group with two players suspended for cheating and a player that (allegedly) intentionally threw a bat at another player?

Harper's act while in the minors was pathetic.  Stepping... No... Stomping with max force on a kid's leg playing first base, assumably out of frustration for having rolled over one... I can still picture it clearly.  No idea if that firstbaseman went on to play higher level ball or not, but regardless... He was a kid who had earned the right to be on that field that day just like Harper... Just another guy working for a shot.  Harper showed his true colors that day in my book.  Then there was blowing kisses at pitchers when he'd go deep.  Less offensive, since nobody got injured for a change... But still a clear demonstration of the guy's (lack of) character.  For me, it's just like Machado this past weekend... A guy with great talent who doesn't have the class to match. JMO.

Machado has been suspended 5 games for his actions (throwing the bat and hitting the catcher on his follow through).

I would add professionall tennis (men and women) to the list for sportsmanship and decorum.  Nadal Djokavic, Federer, Williams, Azarenka, Sharapova are at the top of their sport (an individual sport none the less) and they do it the right way by putting their sport ahead of themselves.

 

 

Bryce was a tool in the minors with repeated issues....agreed.  He was a kid when he came up, and I think having professionals around him everyday has helped him a lot over the last few years.   We've seen Harper grow over the years (I live in his market), and I appreciate his effort to treat people better.    However, this is Machado's first offense that I'm aware of.  I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt that it was a one time thing....I'm going to hold off on calling Machado classless for now.  JMO.

Agreed that Harper was a very young kid with a lot of fast track pressure while in the minors.  But by the same token, he was handled with kid gloves throughout that time, given every break and privilege... Which is probably part of the issue to begin with.  The immaturity I get... Blowing kisses, etc.  But having an instinct to plant your spikes on the back of a kid's calf/ankle with full force while at a full sprint... a firstbaseman prone and defenseless while stretching for the throw... This I don't get.  Roid Rage??  Yeah, I said it!

 

With Machado, I would be inclined to agree with the first offense rationale... But it was really three separate offenses in short succession over one three game series.  

 

1. Blows up over the tag play - He was clearly in the wrong here... Expecting deferential treatment over his knee apparently.  Step on the field ready to play.  But OK... First offense and not that big a deal.

 

2. Knocks the catcher out of the game on a questionable back swing - Here's where the red flag came out for me.  First off and having seen it repeatedly, I think he did it intentionally.  But, even if he didn't... standing there with a weird, smugly satisfied smile while the trainers helped Norris off the field showed me that there is clearly a side to this guy that I hadn't noticed previously.

 

3. The bat fling toward Donaldson at third - I blame some of this on Showalter for not getting his player settled down and into a more self-aware perspective... and/or out of the lineup for a breather.  But without that protection, Machado showed what he's about very clearly.  Not the "real deal" player that I had thought him to be.  I didn't exactly call him classless... I suggested that he doesn't have the class to match his talent. But close enough... his antics were certainly classless... And mama always said 'classless is as classless does'.  Just one guy's opinion.

SG,

 

My thinking is to look at it more in context.  This all happened over the course of a weekend series and escalated quickly just as he recently came back from the DL.  I'm not totally 100% clear on who or what instigated this, but I know what I saw Machado do was wrong 100%.  Torre and MLB suspended him for 5 games.  I thought it should have been more (7-10 days), but that is me.  None the less, Machado decided to appeal it (understandably) during the Red Sox series hoping to get his "timeout" reduced. 

 

He knows he was wrong, and I hope MLB stands firm on the 5 day suspension.  If they don't, I've got issues with them.  I've lost a little bit of respect for Machado, but I don't see him as classless or a serial instigator that will constantly be brought before MLB disciplinarians.  Time will tell, and hopefully he figures it out quickly.  He is the new  role model for many kids in the Balt/Wash area, and the new poster child for Orioles fans everywhere.  I feel fairly certain that Buck Showalter had some "words of advice and encouragement" for the young lad too.

Fenway - I didn't see the game, only highlights, but apparently what got things going was the A's pitching low and inside... buzzing the repaired knee.  Can appreciate Machado taking exception to this, but you gotta be smart... pitchers will work him low and in steadily for the foreseeable future now that he's shown such concern about it.

 

I agree 5 days was way light.  Was initially disappointed that Machado appealed it, but read or heard somewhere that it was probably the team asking him to do this in order to buy some time to make a roster move to cover the suspension.  Not sure where the appeal stands now... Thought it was to have been dropped after he got another couple games in.  If he goes through with it though, it doesn't exactly show contrition or the acknowledgement of being in the wrong that you describe.

 

I agree he became a major face of the franchise last season and a bright spot for MLB as well.  The game needs young stars like this.  I guess that's what is so disappointing because I had read him to be solid on all fronts and up to that role... can't see him that way anymore.  Guess we'll see how he bounces back from it over time.