Ken Macha Doesn’t Like It When His Players Get Hit

We’ve seen Macha this season and how the Brewers pitchers have occasionally come after the Cubs hitters. Last night Fielder got plunked in the 9th inning in Los Angeles (Dodgers won by about 30) and later rushed toward the Dodgers clubhouse. Fielder handled the situation like a professional with the media at least. I really like this guy. He seems to be a class act. What goes on behind the closed doors is his business. On the field he acted professionally after intentionally being hit and while being interviewed. He knew the location of the Dodgers clubhouse because it’s near a weight room used by visitors, so Fielder hustled past fans and reporters toward the door, yelling obscenities. A number of his teammates caught up with Fielder in time to usher him back to the visitor’s side. “I don’t remember that,” Fielder said before a Brewers official cut off a brief question-and-answer session. Fielder and Mota got along fine last season, when Mota pitched for Milwaukee. All Fielder would say about his former teammate on Tuesday was, “He tried to come inside. It just got away from him. It happens.” That’s exactly what you want to hear from someone. That’s the 2nd time I’ve seen Fielder show class when he didn’t really have to. Impressive. Ken Macha is not Prince Fielder. “It’s a part of the game I don’t like,” Macha said. “We’re just trying to get out of the game. We’re kind of getting our butts kicked pretty good, and I thought it was obvious because the guy hits Prince and then walks straight off the mound. Prince was standing at home plate looking at him. [Fielder] was pretty upset after the game. “We’re not trying to hit anybody, OK? We’re losing by 13 runs. We’re trying to get 24 outs. We’re not trying to hit anybody. That kind of mentality, I think should be taken care of. We’ll see what happens. As far as I’m concerned, the guy just hit him on purpose and then walked straight off the mound into the dugout.” Macha called for Mota to be disciplined by Major League Baseball. “This kind of mentality puts everybody in jeopardy,” Macha said. “Giving [Mota] a $500 fine and a two-day suspension, that’s not enough. This kind of thing should be cleaned up.” I’m afraid I might literally die laughing after reading that. Russell Martin offered up the best quote when told security held Fielder back. “That’s all right,” Martin added. “I mean, it’s 25 against one.” Apparently Manny Ramirez was hit by a pitch late in the game so that makes Ken Macha’s comments even more ridiculous. I don’t know if the Brewers intentionally hit Manny, but late in the game of a blowout like that, I tend to think they probably did. If you’re going to hit the best player on their team you may as well hit the best player on your team. That’s how baseball has been forever and that’s how it’s going to be. You don’t have to like it. That’s just how it is and how it will be. Fielder handled this with class. Ken Macha is an ass.