Kuzul

Matt Kemp's sluggish start is suddenly the least of the Los Angeles Dodgers' concerns.That's because Zack Greinke fractured his collarbone in a donnybrook that was triggered when Carlos Quentin charged the mound after being plunked in the shoulder by a fastball. You might've heard, as the incident's getting a bit of media coverage.Whether the injury occurred in the initial collision between the two or at the bottom of the pile of humanity that formed on top of them is immaterial. Even a shameless Dodger basher must admit the San Diego Padres' slugger owns the blame for both and rightfully so. But the larger media reaction—more or less summarized by this gem—has been incredible from one angle and predictable from another.It's been incredible because there seems to be a groundswell behind the idea that Quentin deserved a longer suspension than the eight games he got and is appealing (a similar suspension to those ...

Joe Garagiola Jr., senior vice president of standards and on-field operations for Major League Baseball, announced the punishments for both Carlos Quentin and Jerry Hairston Jr. today for their participation in Thursday night's bench-clearing brawl in San Diego that left Dodger co-ace Zack Greinke with a broken collarbone. Quentin, who initiated the fight, will receive an eight-game suspension and fine, while Hairston Jr. will receive a one-day suspension and fine for their roles in the incident.  Both players are looking to appeal their suspensions; however, both could realistically play in a three-game series between the Padres and Dodgers starting this Monday in Los Angeles.Don Mattingly, Matt Kemp, Jerry Hairston Jr. and the entire Dodger organization have every right in the world to be mad at the outcome of brawl, but did Quentin's punishment fit the crime?Look, it's never easy losing a player to injury, especially when the player is your newly acquired staff ...

Carlos Quentin won't be suspended as long as Dodgers manager Don Mattingly had hoped, but Major League Baseball will reportedly be handing down a stiff punishment for the San Diego Padres outfielder. UPDATE: Friday, April 12, at 9:53 p.m. ET by Ian HanfordAccording to MLB's Public Relations department, Quentin's eight-game suspension is official although he does plan to appeal: ---End of update--- According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, Quentin will be suspended eight games for charging at Zack Greinke on Thursday night:Quentin's suspension stems from a bench-clearing brawl in the Padres' 3-2 loss to their division rivals. Standing at the plate with the count in his favor, Quentin was pegged by a Greinke fastball. Quentin subsequently charged the mound on the Dodgers ace, leading to Greinke suffering a fractured left collarbone after trying to brace his body against the charging outfielder. After the game, the entire Dodgers organization made their thoughts clear about ...

Carlos Quentin has never been completely healthy his entire career.Ever since being drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the 29th overall pick in 2003, Quentin has been plagued with constant injury.This spring in San Diego Padres camp has been no exception.Quentin has still not officially appeared in a spring training game, as the only two at-bats he had were not registered due to a rain-out against the Chicago White Sox on March 8.  Since then, he has been sidelined due to an aggravation in his surgically repaired knee. According to a conversation Quentin had with Corey Brock of MLB.com:"I'm doing all right, working through some stuff," Quentin said. "I feel like I'm getting closer. I'm looking forward to that."Manager Bud Black still seems to be optimistic that Quentin will be able to go come opening day, but once again it makes you think just how long it will be until he gets ...

On May 27, Ubaldo Jimenez had started 10 games for the Cleveland Indians in the 2012 season.Of those ten games, five of them were quality starts and in the other five he allowed four or more runs. While Jimenez held a 5-4 record, his ERA was at a season high, 5.79. In those 10 starts, Jimenez had a 33:42 K:BB over 56 innings. He also allowed 58 hits in those starts, ballooning his WHIP to 1.79. Then, June started and while Jimenez is just 3-3 over his last seven starts, he has shown exactly what made him a huge acquisition from the Colorado Rockies at the 2011 MLB trade deadline.Jimenez has thrown 46 innings, posted a 2.93 ERA, but, most importantly, Jimenez has a 44:16 K:BB and has allowed 38 hits, for a 1.17 WHIP. Jimenez is throwing strikes and has turned back into the player who the Indians thought ...

The San Diego Padres are going nowhere fast, and unloading Carlos Quentin needs to be a priority. According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, most “in the industry” expect Quentin to be dealt before the July trade deadline, and it makes plenty of sense.   He is making $7.025 million in the final year of his contract, and at the age of 29, he is unlikely to be a part of the youth movement currently moving forward in San Diego. Since coming back from a knee injury, Quentin has hit .400 with six doubles and 11 runs in only 69 plate appearances. He still has substantial value, even if we will never see the 2008 version of Quentin ever again. The Padres’ payroll is expected to stand around the $55 million mark next season according to Rosenthal, and signing Quentin to a long term deal doesn’t make a ton of ...

Carlos Quentin became the latest major player to be traded by the Chicago White Sox on Saturday.  The White Sox dealt Quentin to the San Diego Padres for two minor league pitchers, Pedro Hernandez and Simon Castro, according to Sports Illustrated.  While the White Sox lost their No. 2 run producer, they get two pitchers who may contribute on the big league level for the White Sox in 2012.Williams has been mostly focused on rebuilding this offseason.  Before dealing Quentin, he let Mark Buehrle sign with the Miami Marlins and traded Sergio Santos.  The Quentin deal saves the White Sox money while replenishing the team's stock of prospects.The deal brought the White Sox significant savings.  Quentin was arbitration eligible and could have demanded several million dollars.  With $91 million committed to 12 players, and the White Sox looking to trim the payroll, the White Sox seemed more likely to cut ...

The White Sox will be without one of their bashers next season. C. Trent Rosecrans of CBS Sports is reporting that the White Sox have traded Carlos Quentin to the Padres for minor league pitchers Simon Castro and Pedro Hernandez.Quentin will be a free agent at the end of the 2012 season. In 118 games in 2011, he hit 24 home runs, drove in 77 runs and had a .254 batting average and .340 OBP. The value of this trade for the Padres will come down to one question: Can Quentin hit at PETCO Park? Since the park opened in 2004, very few hitters not named Adrian Gonzalez have been able to answer that with a yes.Quentin is right handed, so there is a benefit there. It's much easier to hit for power to left field at PETCO than right, but this is going to be a tough adjustment. In the National ...

The Chicago White Sox survived a topsy-turvy August, entering the final month of the season second in the division with a 68-66 record.  To say that Ozzie Guillen can be at ease with his White Sox above water would be to overlook both the character of Guillen and the expectations set for the White Sox at the beginning of the season when some picked them to the win the division. The White Sox looked like they were out of playoff contention at the beginning of the month.  At the end of August, the White Sox again looked to be out of contention.  The White Sox went on five-game winning streaks and sustained losing streaks.  Additionally, Guillen saw his White Sox hit extraordinarily well for several games at a time only to lose their hitting stroke.  In a similar vein, the White Sox had spells of strong pitching and spells of poor ...

Last night, the Philadelphia Phillies made a big yet somewhat expected splash when they received All-Star right fielder Hunter Pence and $1 million from the Houston Astros in exchange for four minor-league players, including their top two prospects—starting pitcher Jarred Cosart and first baseman/outfielder Jonathan Singleton.Despite the ridiculous comment made by Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. earlier this season that the Phillies "would not make a major move this year" at the trade deadline, Amaro has gotten the job done again for the Phillies.This is the third major move he's made at the trade deadline in as many years as the Phillies general manager—two years ago, he traded four prospects to the Cleveland Indians for Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco, and last year he traded pitcher J.A. Happ and two prospects to the Astros for Roy Oswalt. This year, he got the Phillies the right-handed bat they needed since Jayson ...