Another look: The beanball, the postgame comments and more

Unless we truly believe that the pitch that Matt Barnes threw in the direction of Manny Machado's head Sunday had no intent behind it and was just one that got away, there was a disconnect in the Boston clubhouse this weekend.

The guy injured by Machado's slide on Friday - Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia - didn't seem to be upset about the play. and clearly didn't seem to want his team to retaliate against Machado.

Retaliate for what?

Of the slide on Friday, Pedroia said this: "There was zero intentions of him trying to hurt me. He just made a bad slide and did hurt me. That's baseball, man. I'm not mad at him. I love Manny Machado. I love playing against him. I love watching him.

"If I slid into third base and got Manny's knee, I know I am going to get drilled. That's baseball. That's it. I apologized to him. C'mon man. (Barnes) is not trying to hit Manny in the head. It was just a bad situation, man. That's it. That's not baseball. That's it."

But the ball did go at Machado's head. No one wants to think about what could have happened if a 90 mph pitch had hit Machado in the face or the helmet.

With the catcher's target down and away, Barnes threw a pitch way up and in, head high and behind Machado. It actually hit his bat. It looked terrible.

I don't believe that pitch got away from Barnes. I do believe that what he did warrants a suspension. It is understood in the game that if a pitcher wanted to plunk a hitter, a pitch much lower would be the more professional way to do it.

So if Pedroia has no issue with Machado, why does anyone else in a Boston uniform have any? Why did a reporter or two (certainly not everyone) in the Boston media act like Machado stole one of their championship trophies Friday?

Given a chance to take the high road, someone in the Boston clubhouse and/or manager John Farrell chose not to. Everyone - including reporters looking for juicy quotes and splashy headlines - would have eventually moved on from Friday's slide, but now the escalating tension between these teams may not be quelled. They meet again a week from today at Boston's Fenway Park to start a four-game series.

Will the hard feelings carry over? During this interview Sunday for MASN's "O's Xtra" postgame show, Chris Davis was asked that question.

"You have to do your best to put that aside. There's more at stake, obviously. We weren't happy with the way things went today. Not only with what happened late in the game, but with losing the game. I think, for us, it's more important to win the game. You can't get caught up in that stuff," Davis said.

Machado added: "We'll keep playing. We want to win the division and have to cross paths with them again, and they are going to be a team to beat. We'll keep fighting, no matter what." Click here to see Machado's postgame interview from our media lounge.

Kudos to Machado. He handled himself well this weekend. He didn't let his emotions get the best of him. He didn't charge the mound. He calmly explained his thoughts to reporters. He said that maybe he is maturing. He is.

Kudos to Pedroia. Both during the game in that exchange with Machado on the field caught by the MASN cameras and during the postgame interview, he seemed to throw his own team under the bus. The honesty here was surprising and refreshing.

Thumbs down to Barnes. I just can't buy that he didn't mean to throw at Machado's head. If he did mean to do it, he needs to learn better how to handle such a situation next time. Someone on that team has to have a long talk with him.

Thumbs down to Farrell. What he should have done is tell all his pitchers not to throw at Machado and cut off any issue before it happened. (Again, I guess we should consider the smallest of chances that the pitch simply did get away from Barnes. None of us can get in his head and heart. Or Farrell's).

Eduardo Rodriguez seemed to be trying to hit Machado in the leg earlier in the game. But Machado said he didn't think that was the case.

Oh, by the way, the Orioles lost Sunday. But they have yet to lose a series this year and have the American League's best record at 12-5. They lead the American League East by 1 ½ games. They need to get Kevin Gausman straightened out, get Chris Tillman and Zach Britton healthy and get their offense going. Despite not hitting much yet and their opening day starter having an ERA of 7.50, they are 10-4 in division games. Their pitching has been mostly stellar. The 2017 season is off to a very promising start.

If these clubs get through that series in Boston with no more incidents, perhaps this will truly be over and it will be back to baseball. That would be fine with me.

One thing we all can agree on, probably. Whether Barnes meant to do it or not, it is very fortunate that a 90 mph baseball heading in the direction of Machado's head hit his bat instead on Sunday afternoon.