Machado talks about starting his suspension

Manny Machado, meeting with a horde of reporters at his locker moments ago, said the most disappointing thing about his five-game suspension that was upheld today is that the Orioles will play with a 24-man roster for five games. "That is the worst part about it," Machado said. "We're down a man and obviously I don't want to put my team in that situation, especially for five tough games. We've got Texas and going into Boston. Those are key series for us. "That is what (stinks) about the whole thing. I have to sit here and watch the games and know I can't be on the field. But you know what, I have a strong feeling, we're a great team and we are going to put this behind us. We'll go out and battle it." Machado was asked if he was disappointed he didn't just accept the suspension initially rather than go through the appeal process. "I thought we had a good case," he said. "We went in with a great case and said what we had to say. It didn't come out how we wanted it to. Going into that, you know it's going to be 50-50. Was something you can't control. I think we made the right thing, we appealed it and came up short." Does he feel the situation has tarnished his reputation? "People make bad mistakes in their lives," he said. "Only thing you can do is learn from it and keeping playing the game the way I play it. I'm not going to change how I play. Play hard and play the right way. Hopefully people can see it that way. I know they will. You can't put anything into someone's mind. You just have to go out there and show it. "I thought we made a great case. Now we have to deal with the consequences. ... I didn't throw the bat at the pitcher. I didn't harm anybody and I'm getting five games. I didn't charge the mound or get in a fight. It is what it is. I have to serve it and we'll be down a man. I'm not going to be able to help my team win in these key games that are coming up. This is an unfortunate event. Just have to deal with it." Did they give you any reason for not reducing the suspension? "Nope. Nothing," Machado said. What did he learn from this? "Don't do it again," he said. "Don't do it again and we won't be in this situation. You just learn from all this and try to put it behind you and go on. I'll keep working. Still a lot of season ahead of us. Keep working to get my swing back." The suspension comes at a time when Machado has hit three homers in his last four games. He is batting .333 (10-for-30) over his last eight games. "Just (stinks). Was starting to feel better at the plate and here they come with that bomb - five games," he said. "Hey, you can't do nothing about it. Came in the wrong spot, but nothing you can do about it." Machado can be with the team during pregame work and batting practice each day and said he intends to do that.