Source: USA TODAY

They watched video for two days, underwent deliberations, talked to the umpiring crew, and Friday delivered the verdict everyone breathlessly awaited from the Los Angeles Dodgers-Arizona Diamondbacks’ brawl.

And, you know what?

Major League Baseball officials, who suspended eight players, coaches and managers, and fined four others, got it exactly right.

They sent the perfect message for one simple reason.

They didn’t overreact.

Certainly, they sided with the Dodgers, convinced that the Diamondbacks, and in particular, pitcher Ian Kennedy, was responsible for inciting the mess Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

It’s why Kennedy got a bigger suspension that all of the players combined: 10 games.

Really, it’s just one start, but it at least assures that Kennedy will miss that start and not just have a start delayed by a few days.

The last pitcher to get 10-game suspension was Runelvys Hernandez in 2005. And he hit three batters, including Carlos Guillen of the Tigers in the head.

This time, Kennedy received a suspension, in the words of MLB officials, “for intentionally throwing a pitch in the head area of the Dodgers’ Zack Greinke.

It was the second Dodger player that Kennedy hit, after plunking Dodger rookie outfielder Yasiel Puig in the nose in the sixth inning of that game. Greinke responded, just the way he should, by drilling Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero in the middle of the back in the bottom of the sixth.

“It really should have been over at that point,” Mattingly said.

Only Kennedy, perhaps letting his emotions overcome common sense, retaliated again.

After the two teams already had been issued a warning.

And once again, he threw at the head.

That’s a huge no-no.

“I’ve never seen a pitcher throw at two different guys’ heads before,” Dodgers utility man Skip Schumaker told news reporters. “It’s dangerous. It’s different if it’s a beanball war. I’ve been a part of those before. I get it. It’s a part of the game. I liked it. It gets guys going. It gets the fans fired up. I get all that. I love it. But when you start throwing at guys’ heads, it’s a different story.”

MLB officials could have issued Kennedy’s suspension 10 minutes after the incident. It really wasn’t difficult to figure out that he would be suspended a minimum of eight games, even if he had hit Greinke in the thigh.

It took two days to figure out the rest of the punishments, and when the names were announced, it felt like we were in a time machine transported back to the ’80s.

Dodgers hitting coach Mark McGwire was suspended two games for his conduct, perhaps sending the message it’s not cool to grab Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson by one hand, Diamondbacks third base coach Matt Williams with another, and threatening to bash their heads in like a Three Stooges skit.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly received a one-game suspension for “his actions, and of his team.”Hey, when you throw Diamondbacks bench coach Alan Trammell to the ground, who may just be the nicest man on the planet, you deserve the punishment.

Gibson, the former Dodger hero, was automatically suspended a game for Kennedy’s actions after a warning was issued.

And, as for the players,Diamondbacks pinch-hitter Eric Hinske got the second-biggest suspension at five games for his “aggressive actions,”and just seeing the massive tattoo covering his whole back is enough to scare the life out of anyone on the field.

Dodgers pitcher Ronald Belisario got a one-game suspension for “his aggressive actions during the incidents, or running around the field screaming like a raving lunatic.

Dodgers pitcher J.P. Howell and Skip Schumaker each received two-game suspensions for “their aggressive actions,” which, yes, included Howell throwing Dbacks hitting coach Turner Ward over the camera railing like roller derby.

“It’s going so fast you don’t really know what’s going on, who it is or what it is,”Howell told news reporters. It could have been my best friend and I wouldn’t have even known it.”

Surely, the Diamondbacks will be upset by the news. They’ll be livid that Puig wasn’t suspended for throwing wild punches in the scrum. Then again, considering Puig was scratched from the starting lineup the next day with a sore shoulder from the brawl, MLB might have figured that was enough punishment, and fined him instead.

The managers and coaches will all begin serving their suspensions Friday night.

The players will talk with their team’s front offices to determine the best time to serve their suspensions, or whether it’s worth an appeal.

Yet, no matter what, you can be assured the Dodgers and Diamondbacks won’t forget that night.

They play again in three weeks on July 6 in Phoenix, and have nine more games against one another this season.

Oh, and there will be payback. You can be assured of that.

“We’ll see what happens the rest of the time we play these guys,” Dodgers catcher Todd Federowicz told news reporters. “It’s going to be heated.”

Major League Baseball will be standing by, waiting for your call.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon is as eccentric as they come and as brilliant as anyone you’ll meet.

He is the Mark Fidrych of managers, a hair stylist’s dream with his spiked hair and different shades of color (naturally gray these days), wearing anything from a letterman’s jacket to pajamas on road trips and persuading his players to follow suit.

If you walked into the Rays clubhouse during a homestand last month, you could have seen a merengue band one day. Other days you might have caught a DJ, a cockatoo, a magician or even Shelly and Cliff strutting around. They, of course, are penguins.

“Shelly was cool, but Cliff was a very gregarious penguin,” Maddon says. “I found out they like to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes. Cliff actually demonstrated his allegiance for the Rays by going right on top of our logo on the carpeting.”

Welcome to the Rays clubhouse, the craziest place on earth, led by a man who never played a day in the major leagues but is managing as brilliantly as anyone.

“When you’re in the minor leagues, you hear about all of these strict dress codes and rules in the big leagues,” Rays starting pitcher Alex Cobb says. “But when you get here, there’s absolutely none of that. I actually had more rules in high school.”

Just be on time and play hard. That’s about it for rules.

“You have to be crazy to be great,” says Maddon, who blasted Motown in his office before playing the Detroit Tigers last week and played polka music even louder after a 10-1 loss. “We have so many new guys here, I just didn’t think we were crazy enough.

“There are certain groups that can be businesslike and successful, I don’t deny that. But I don’t think under the circumstances that we operate, you can expect to wear a suit and tie out there and win 90-plus games. We’ve got to think a little bit different.”

The Rays have been overachieving for so long, you almost expect other teams to start their own water balloon fights.

“This is everyone’s dream to be in an atmosphere like this,” Rays catcher Jose Molina says. “Sometimes I feel like it’s too loose. You have to show respect. But when it works, why fix it? Just go with the flow.”

The Rays annually have one of the three smallest payrolls and play in the worst ballpark in the majors with the least amount of fan support. They haven’t drawn 2million fans since 1998, their inaugural season. Yet they win. They’ve averaged 92 victories over the last five years, winning two American League East titles and earning one wild-card berth. And they’re at it again this season, entering Tuesday with a 34-29 record, five games behind the Boston Red Sox.

Despite their uncanny success, it seems no one bothers to pay attention unless they’re knocking the Red Sox out of the playoffs or getting into a benches-clearing incident with them.

While players weren’t saying much about John Lackey’s pitch Monday that hit Rays outfielder Matt Joyce in their 10-8, 14-inning loss that triggered a whole lot of hot tempers, guess who spoke his mind?

“He intentionally hit him,” Maddon said in his postgame news conference. “There’s no question in my mind that he did. And the sad part is that I’ve always considered Lackey a good teammate, but right there, he can get one of his own players hurt.

“I really did sense among the group of Red Sox that they were totally not into that moment, because they knew it was inappropriate to hit Matt on purpose and, furthermore, because one of them can get hurt. So that’s being a bad teammate, as far as I’m concerned.”

While Lackey was silent Tuesday, Maddon stood by his comments. The Rays’ players absolutely loved it. That’s their manager. He’s got their back.

“God, this is a cool place to be,” says Rays reliever Jamey Wright, 38, playing for the 10th team in a career that began two years before the Rays were born. “Joe is the ambassador of all good times. He doesn’t like quiet in the clubhouse. Silence is not golden to him.”

Miami Marlins outfielder Justin Ruggiano, who spent six years in the Rays organization, corralled Joyce a few weeks ago and offered one piece of advice.

“Whatever you do,” he said, according to Joyce, “don’t ever leave there.”

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

DETROIT — Cleveland Indians first baseman Nick Swisher walked gingerly to his locker Sunday afternoon, refusing to let his teammates see his frustration despite the distaste of another loss burning.

Swisher, one of the last players left in the clubhouse, conceded it has been rough. The Indians lost their seventh consecutive game Sunday, 4-1 to the Detroit Tigers, and are in a free fall, along with Swisher’s batting average.

The Indians were in first place three weeks ago but have lost 15 of 19 since, and — with a 5½-game deficit — are closer to last place than to first. Swisher, who missed three of the games for the May 21 birth of his first child, Emme, found himself in an 0-for-26 drought until a sixth-inning single Sunday, meaning he wouldn’t equal a career-worst 0-for-28 skein.

When he rounded first base, he broke into laughter, not a raw emotion for getting that elusive hit but the pride of knowing he survived.

Swisher had no outbursts during the slide. He didn’t snap at news reporters. He didn’t do as much as fling his helmet or fire his bat in disgust.

“I’m in a little different situation here than I have been in the past,” Swisher softly told USA TODAY Sports. “I’ve got guys looking at me now. So I can’t be that guy slamming (stuff) in the dugout.

“It’s not always going to be pretty. You’re going to get beat up in this game. But come on, man, why would I come to the ballpark with a bad look on my face? There’s nothing to really bring me down from this high.

“Let’s be honest. I’ve got the most amazing job in the world. I’ve got the most beautiful wife. I’ve got the most beautiful daughter. I’ve got all of the money I’ll ever need. And now I’m supposed to get mad because I’m struggling at the plate?

“That’s not me, bro.”

Play against the guy, and you want to hate him. You see the constant smile. You see the laughter. You see the wild gestures. You see the interaction with the fans. In the conservative game of baseball, you’re not supposed to act that way. When you sign a four-year, $56 million contract and you’re hitting .239 while the team is tumbling in the standings, you’re supposed to be miserable.

The least you can do is erase your smile, close your Twitter account and hide in the trainer’s room when news reporters come to the clubhouse.

You want a guy to look and act miserable during times of trouble?

Sorry, you have the wrong guy.

“When you play against him, I don’t know how to explain it, but he just rubs you the wrong way,” said Indians left fielder Ryan Raburn, who played the previous six seasons with the Tigers. “It’s just all of that smile, all of that look-at-me-stuff. It’s like, he can’t be that happy all of the time. He’s got to be fake.

“But when you’re with him, you realize how genuine he is. It’s hard to get down when he’s around, because he keeps that clubhouse alive.”

Tigers right fielder Torii Hunter, who laughed and called himself the cooler version of Swisher, said, “I respect that. What does he have to be fake about? He plays the game hard, and he plays the game right. I love the way he plays.”

Who else do you know that leads the team’s baserunning drills during spring training, stops into manager Terry Francona’s office to say hello every day and, yes, will even fold towels with the clubhouse attendants?

“This kid is as conscientious and legit as they come,” Francona said. “He will do anything for anybody. When he doesn’t play up to expectations, he takes it personal, and right now, he’s probably trying too hard.

“But his personality is always so consistent. That enthusiasm is heartfelt. When you’re a manager and you got a guy who shows up on time, plays as hard as he can, hits in the middle of the lineup and cares … yeah, I don’t like a guy like that.

“You get the point.”

Swisher can’t understand why everyone isn’t having just as much fun in this game, even if he happens to be the lucky one married to TV and movie actress JoAnna Garcia, whose turn in The Internship debuted nationwide this weekend as Swisher battled his hitless streak.

They fell in love on their first date after meeting at Citi Field in July 2009. They were engaged in 10 months and married six months later in December 2010, saying, “We’re not the type of people that go in there half-stepping.”

He sees distrust between players and the media. He sees angry exchanges between players and fans. And he sees his ballplayer friends shutting down in front of him.

“You got to find that one thing that makes you go,” Swisher said, “and whether that offends anybody, I don’t know how it could. I’m enjoying every second of this game.

“When I leave this earth, I want people to remember me and say, ‘Hey, man, that guy did it right. He had a smile on his face. He enjoyed every second.’

“You got to live your life, man.”

Swisher, 32, then ruminated for several moments on baseball’s Biogenesis scandal, calling it sad for the players who are clean and emerging stars such as Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Mike Trout.

The cloud passed quickly.

Swisher laughed. His missing hitting stroke and the Indians’ misplaced mojo are bigger concerns than Tony Bosch and a Major League Baseball investigation.

And, yeah, he has a whole lot of diaper duty awaiting when he returns home this week.

“Hey, it’s awesome, man,” Swisher said. “I have a newfound respect for women and what they go through. As soon as our baby was born, it was like a wave of emotions that punched me right in the gut. I just started crying. And I’m enjoying every second of it.

“You need a swaddle? I’m your man. You need a diaper change? I’m your man. I get home after games, and I feel like kind of a creepo, just watching her sleep, sitting there and staring at her. The crazy thing I’ve experienced is that I’m such a hyper guy, but once I get home and I’m around my little girl, she makes it so easy for me to calm myself.”

Life might not get easier for the Indians. They’ve lost 11 consecutive road games, and their next three are at the Texas Rangers. But for Swisher, every day is a holiday.

Especially the one coming Sunday.

“My first Father’s Day,” said Swisher, son of ex-big-leaguer Steve Swisher. “This is going to be freaking awesome, man. Yeah, bro, you can say I look at things a little differently now.”

Swisher laughed and was out the door, the happiest man in town.

Copyright © 2013 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.