In Machado-Boston feud, a former Red Sox player sides with Machado

So it's pretty clear that when Boston lefty Chris Sale's 98 mph fastball went buzzing behind Manny Machado's legs in the first inning last night, the Orioles third baseman had about reached his breaking point.

During his postgame interview, he went past that point as the emotions boiled over and came out during an expletive-laced response to the latest pitch thrown in his direction by a Boston pitcher.

"Coward stuff," Machado said. "I mean, that's stuff that you don't (expletive) do, but I mean, I'm not on that side, I'm not in that organization. They're still thinking about that same slide that I did that was no intention on hurting anybody. I'm still paying, I'm still trying to get hit at, get thrown at at my (expletive) head. They're (expletive) throwing at everywhere. (Expletives). I've lost my respect for that organization, for that coaching staff, for everyone over there. You're going to (expletive) hit me, hit me. Go ahead. (Expletive) hit me."

Click here to read Machado's entire comments.

Not long after Machado spoke, so did someone that once played for the Red Sox. No one can say he's biased toward his forward team. Mike Lowell, the MVP of the 2007 World Series won by Boston, sided with Machado during MLB Network's coverage last night.

He said that Machado should absolutely be ticked.

"In a nutshell, I get it," Lowell began in a G-rated rant of his own. "If you ask (Dustin) Pedroia, does he really think he went in and spiked him? No one is going to say that was intentional. So that is part one. Part two, when they ask Manny, 'Why do you think they keep throwing at you?' Because they keep missing.

"My point is, I'm all for protecting guys. The next time Manny came up after the slide with Pedroia, you put a fastball at his butt. It's over and done with.

"But Matt Barnes comes in and throws 98 (mph) at his head. You missed. Eduardo Rodriguez the next day throws three at his feet. He misses. (Last night) Chris Sale. When are we done, man? I'm sorry they hit Mookie Betts.

"If it's eye for an eye, that's why I think clearer heads need to prevail. If it's eye for an eye, you've got to understand, it can't be Manny. Hit Chris Davis. Show me you're a man, hit Chris Davis. I want to see him come out to the mound. It looks bad."

While Machado mentioned last night they keep throwing at him, by his reasoning, for the slide in the series at Camden Yards, Boston seemed to retaliate last night because Betts was hit Monday night by Dylan Bundy. But Lowell still felt the Red Sox came off looking bad.

"Do I like them trying to retaliate for Pedroia, because if you are going to come into one of my stars, the face of the franchise, you better be careful. (But) you got one shot. You missed, man. I think the Red Sox look bad. You missed throwing at his head and (four) other times. Now Sale is throwing 98 and guess what, Baltimore is still going to be there. When does it end? I don't know. When Zach Britton comes in and pops someone in the ribs and they are done for a month. Is that when we finally say, 'Hey guys, we got to tone it down.' Tomorrow, there will be warnings before the game even starts."

Meanwhile, another former member of the Red Sox, pitcher Pedro Martinez, was also on MLB Network last night.

Martinez's take: "I can understand Manny being frustrated. But he has to also understand, probably his thought process, was not (the same as) the Red Sox thought process. Because Mookie got hit, in the middle of beanballing going on, well Mookie's a third-place hitter. They probably thought, 'Well this is the guy we've been missing all week, let's try to get him now.' And Chris Sale did it in a professional way, even though I think Sale could have hit him if he wanted to.

"You also have to understand on Rodriguez, things people may not know. Is Machado and Rodriguez came up through the same organization (with the Orioles) through every level. Then he was traded for (Andrew) Miller. I think Eduardo did not intend to hit him."

Added Lowell: "I have a problem with the timing. The first one, the Barnes thing, came two days after Pedroia. If you're going to do it and send a message, the next at-bat, you put it in his ribs and you're done. We're done, let's move on. This has lingered for a week."

Added Martinez: "You know what I have a problem with? Pedroia saying out loud, 'It wasn't me.' That is probably why right now Machado is thinking bad about the organization, about (manager John) Farrell. It's got to be from someone else (not Pedroia). It doesn't matter who it comes from. It doesn't matter who gives the order. Pedroia should have never said that. Because now everyone is looking at Chris Sale doing it on his own. And also looking at Farrell as someone that doesn't have respect for Machado. Because now Sale probably did it over (what happened to) Mookie Betts and it looks bad because it's after all that."

Each time something major happens in this Baltimore-Boston season series, it seems something later happens to trump it as the latest/biggest news. On Monday, we had the incident of racial taunts directed toward the Orioles' Adam Jones. Then many Boston fans graciously stood and cheered Jones in the first inning last night. The feel-good vibe lasted about a minute until Sale's pitch sailed behind Machado.

While I understand Machado's anger, I wish he had not used the language he used. But it's easy for someone like me to sit on the couch and pass judgement when they are not, as Buck Showalter might say, "in the arena."

No one can know for sure the intent of three different Boston pitchers. But Barnes, Rodriguez and Sale have all thrown baseballs in Machado's direction. This has all happened within the last five games between the teams. The Red Sox feel Bundy threw at and hit Betts on Monday. Last night, the Orioles are sure that Sale threw at Machado.

If the Orioles are next up to bean someone in this seemingly never-ending run of hostilities between American League East rivals, will that be derailed by the umpires? Kevin Gausman is the O's starter tonight. If there are warnings before the game and Gausman drills a hitter - and gets ejected and even possibly suspended - that will not exactly be a strategy for trying to beat the Red Sox. One where your bullpen has to cover a lot of innings. That 'pen has been taxed enough on this road trip.

There is no such as a boring day following the 2017 Orioles.

The next two questions I have are these: How did this get so out of hand with Boston? And when will it end?

Machado talked about how he "lost mad respect" for the Red Sox after Game 2. #IBackTheBirds pic.twitter.com/NsnIkBg3qc

-- Orioles on MASN (@masnOrioles) May 3, 2017