MLB drops the hammer on Manny Machado and Yordano Ventura

You remember the other day, when sweet Orioles third basman Manny Machado, with that youthful face and those big ‘ol ears, ran after the Royals’ Yordano Ventura, he of the flashy smile and hat too big for his head, with the intention of hurting him, physically? Apparently it was inevitable that the league would respond to the incident with suspensions.

Somewhere, as a few employees of MLB played up the brawl for highlight packages and the Advanced Media department’s fiery-hot "Must C" video series, a few other, higher-up employees were determining how much time to dock those involved for creating an incident that millions of people watched on the internet for sweet, sweet profits. Never since several weeks ago, when Rougned Odor connected with Jose Bautista’s face for the first landed punch in baseball brawl history, had such excitement been felt.

Nevertheless, justice had to have its day. For his role as "Guy who doesn't appreciate two inside pitches, almost hits a home run, then yells at the pitcher and when he gets beaned three innings later, charges the mound,'" Machado received a four-game suspension. For his role of "Pitcher with reputation that doesn't warrant the benefit of the doubt who throws inside, then hits a batter who yelled at him earlier," Yordano Ventura will have nine games taken off his schedule.

Both players have, of course, appealed the decision. Ventura has also been fined an undisclosed amount of money. Machado, per USA Today, will pay $2,500.

This, as always, means the players can keep playing as if nothing happened until whenever the appeals review process is complete. Hooray!

Ventura, who has been ejected three times in his young career already, maintained that inside fastballs had been a part of his pitching strategy that day. It’s not his fault that’s where Machado’s ribs live. Machado, who is slashing .305/.375/.593 for the first place Orioles, probably maintains that he doesn’t like being hit in the ribs with an object moving at almost 100 m.p.h., and that his intentions upon running out the round were far from pure. He was last ejected from a spring training game on March 30 for arguing about a called strike.