Sox won’t let this slide
Machado takes out Pedroia
BALTIMORE — A week ago, Orioles manager Buck Showalter thought the Red Sox were a bit whiny about having the flu.
Soon, the Orioles may discover that the Sox are feeling far more hot and bothered about a late slide by Manny Machado that nearly caused a serious injury to Dustin Pedroia.
After the 2-0 series-opening loss last night, the Red Sox were in a controlled state of steaming after Machado slid past second base, where Pedroia was standing on the outfield side of the bag in order to turn the double play. Machado’s raised foot landed on the side of Pedroia’s left leg, near where he had offseason arthroscopic knee surgery. The second baseman, slowly and gingerly and with some assistance, departed the game. The way he looked and sounded after the game, Pedroia was not seriously injured, but the team will know more this afternoon when he reports to Camden Yards.
As soon as the game ended and until the last Oriole had left the field, a handful of Red Sox players and coaches watched them intently, an unusual practice that, to be mild about it, signals displeasure.
Pedroia skirted the question of whether or not Machado’s slide was late or dirty.
A relatively new rule exists in Major League Baseball that was put in to prevent such collisions and award an automatic double play if the baserunner overslides the bag and prevents the double play from being made. Pedroia claimed to not know the rule.
“I don’t even know what the rule is — I’ve turned the best double play in the major leagues for 11 years. I don’t need the (expletive) rule, let’s be honest,” Pedroia said. “The rule is irrelevant. The rule is for people with bad footwork, and that’s it.”
Manager John Farrell had clear and definite opinions on both the play and the rule.
“Extremely late slide and the argument at the time was that if the rule is in place to protect the middle infielder, then it didn’t work tonight,” Farrell said. “I know there’s a component to the rule that says he’s got to deliberately and willfully attempt a double play. When you’re cleaned out, beyond second base, and the runner never held second base completely, to me the rule failed tonight.”
Pedroia said he did not think Machado intended to hurt him and that Machado did not say anything to him after the play. Machado told reporters he did not intend to hurt Pedroia and that he texted him that message.
Said Showalter: “I know it’s one of those things that’s really unfortunate. You don’t like to see those things happen. Hopefully, Dustin’s OK.”
Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who entered the game as a defensive replacement in that inning, felt badly because he was the one who fielded Mark Trumbo’s grounder and made the short dish of the ball to Pedroia.
“It’s probably the main play I regret in my life right now,” Bogaerts said. “(I) should have probably gone to first base right there or charged the ball. I probably had to do something different than I did so that had never happened.” The slide was not perfect. “It was a hard slide,” Bogaerts said. “I saw he passed the base, if you’re asking me. He injured the leader on our team. It was tough seeing him walk off the field right there and obviously it was because of me. He’s the leader, you know? He’s the heart and soul of this team and to see him go down like that, he could barely walk off the field. That was pretty tough to see unfold right there.”
Reliever Joe Kelly was on the mound and raced over to second base after the play to plead for the rule to be implemented.
“Obviously a guy like Pedroia, he knows the rule, he’s going to stay on the bag to get the out,” Kelly said. “I don’t know if he tried to mean any harm at all but he definitely went past the bag. The rule’s the rule.”