The Baltimore Orioles will be without third baseman, Manny Machado for the next five games, starting tonight when they face the Texas Rangers, after his appeal for throwing his bat intentionally was denied by the MLB.
Machado initially was suspended and fined on June 10th when he purposely let his bat fly out of his hands down the third baseline after A’s pitcher Fernando Abad’s ball came dangerously close to Machado’s surgically repaired left knee. When the bat went flying, benches cleared and a brawl began.
Here’s what Machado had to say about the failed appeal:
”When we went in for an appeal I thought we had a good case, we had a great case,” Machado said Monday afternoon. ”We said what we had to say. It didn’t come out how we wanted it to, but going into the appeal you know it’s going to be 50-50. It’s something you can’t control. I think we did the right thing, it’s a flip of the coin and we came up short. … So now we’re just going to have to deal with the consequences.’ That’s the worst part about it. We’re down a man, obviously I don’t want to put my team in that situation, especially five tough games.”
With his suspension upheld, Machado will miss the Orioles’ entire four-game series vs the Rangers, as well as a game on Friday night in Boston vs the Red Sox. Orioles Manager, Buck Showalter felt the suspension would be appealed, but understands that his team needs to move forward:
”It was surprising,” Showalter said. ”We’re not going to dwell on it. We understand the rules and why things are in place for different reasons. There are repercussions for actions in baseball as there are in life in general. Hopefully, there will be some positive that comes out of it where Manny is concerned in the future and for all players, managers and coaches.”
The suspension comes early enough in the season to not significantly impact the Orioles’ playoff chances but with them hovering slightly about .500 (42-39), they can’t afford many more gaffes like this throughout the remainder of the season.
[[h/t Yahoo]