Fallout of brawl: A’s spark plug out?
Suspensions for the A’s brawl against the Astros on Sunday might not be handed down until Tuesday, sources told The Chronicle — the league has a lot of audio and video to get through, and potentially extenuating circumstances to consider.
MLB protocols for operating the 2020 season during a pandemic are clear: There is to be no physical contact with opponents, and violations will result in harsh penalties. That would point to a significant suspension for A’s center fielder Ramón Laureano, who charged Houston’s dugout in the seventh inning, igniting the incident.
“It’s a tough situation. I reacted that way and it’s a hard time with social distancing during the pandemic. Obviously, I look like a not very smart guy,” Laureano
said. “I regret charging that guy because it’s a waste of time.”
Laureano had reasons to be disgruntled, however. He’d just been hit by a pitch for the third time in the series — though he said he did not believe any of the pitches was intentional — then Houston hitting coach Alex Cintrón began to let him have it, and clearly could be seen waving Laureano to come fight.
At one point, Cintrón said something derogatory about Laureano’s mother, Laureano said Monday. “Obviously, I don’t take that lightly,” he said. “I don’t think anyone would take that lightly.”
A’s manager Bob Melvin called the remarks “completely offensive,” and Melvin pointed out that MLB would have access to all recordings from in and around the Astros’ dugout.
“Ramón is the type of guy with a lot of energy — for him to do that, someone’s got to say something,” A’s starter Frankie Montas said. “I saw the replays and I saw one of the coaches kind of challenging him like, ‘Hey, come here.’ Hey, you don’t want a coach trying to provoke you. For him to do that ... I don’t know.”
Laureano was at first base when Cintron launched into him, and the A’s center fielder looked relatively calm; he spent his trip to first base demonstrating to reliever Humberto Castellanos how to throw a slider, which appeared more goodnatured than angry. “I was just having fun in the worst time ever,” Laureano said.
So when Cintrón barked at him and motioned him over, Laureano initially waved him off with the universal “Oh, get out of here” gesture, and Laureano said that firstbase coach Mike Aldrete would have had zero inkling he might bolt because the comments from Cintrón were in Spanish. Melvin concurred; he spoke to Aldrete about it and concluded he had no chance to stop Laureano and “even if he’d tried, he’d have been run over.”
Cintron then took a step toward him and Laureano bolted toward the dugout, where former A’s catcher Dustin Garneau tackled him before he reached Cintrón, who was positioned behind several players and coaches. “Huge credit to him,” Laureano said of Garneau’s actions. “He protected me when we were at the bottom of the pile. I thank him a lot, because otherwise, things would have been worse for sure.”
Astros manager Dusty Baker told Houston reporters Monday that Cintrón is “remorseful” and that he will not repeat his actions. Laureano said it’s an unwritten rule that coaches do not behave like that. “It was wrong of him to do that,” Laureano said.
Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly was suspended for eight games for throwing behind two Houston hitters and then making gestures as he left the mound July 28. As a pitcher, the punishment likely is longer than it would be for an everyday position player, but a suspension of three to five games is certainly possible for Laureano, even if Cintrón incited things.
“On the field, off the field, he’s one of the guys we need,” Montas said, adding that of any suspension, “it’s going to be tough. We also have to keep going out there and trying to win ballgames.”
On MLB Network on Monday, A’s starter Chris Bassitt expressed skepticism about how much punishment the Astros might face, given that no Houston players faced discipline for the cheating scandal uncovered during the offseason.
“The MLB has created an environment where the Astros feel like they’re protected and we as an opponent can’t do a single thing,” Bassitt said. “Unfortunately, now you have coaches basically antagonizing players to do something. And I don’t know what is to come of this. But eventually something has to stop; we’ve got to take something serious here to protect the people that did basically nothing.”
Bassitt added, “They hit five of our guys during that series. I would just love to know the answer: If we hit five of their guys, what would have happened? We have a double standard every single time anyone plays the Astros, and it’s nothing that the players did. And it’s just, it’s something that needs to be addressed and fixed.”
Laureano is one of the few A’s hitters who has produced all season. He’s a good defensive player and the team’s No. 2 hitter and spark plug. Is it possible the Astros were targeting their former minorleaguer, knowing how important he has been for Oakland and how much a suspension might affect the division’s top team? The A’s are starting to pull away from the pack in the AL West, riding a ninegame winning streak.
“I mean, Ramón Laureano does not have that in his body to just attack people like that. He’s not like that,” Bassitt said. “He’s a great ballplayer who has great character and just to see what happened yesterday, it’s not acceptable, especially in these times.”
Laureano feels rotten about the potential discipline and how it might impact the A’s, Montas said.
“He honestly doesn’t feel that good,” Montas said. “He has a pretty good chance to get suspended or whatever, and he knows how much he means for this team. He feels pretty bad about that.”
“I’m a man, a freaking man,” Laureano said. “Whatever happens, I’ll take it. I couldn’t keep my cool. And I should have instead of wasting my time with that guy.”
AL honors for Montas: Montas is the American League Player of the Week after holding Seattle to one run on four hits and shutting out Houston on two hits over seven innings.