(Like I did, only to be awoken by the post-game show to realize I'd missed a lot!)
Sure, the Brewers lost 17-4 and that sucks and is also really embarrassing (it was the most runs by the Dodgers at home since 1979), but the bigger story is the inexplicable drilling of Prince Fielder in the top of the 9th with two out.
Former Brewer Guillermo Mota was on the mound. The Dodgers were up 13 runs and had one out to go and HAD A PITCHER WARMING IN THE BULLPEN.
Then Mota drills Fielder in the leg and immediately heads towards the dugout, with a bit of a chest puff out, glaring and generally preening.
The theory is that it was "payback" for hitting Manny Ramirez earlier in the game. Of course, Manny was grazed across the chest/belly on an inside pitch from Chris "Not really known for his accuracy and control" Smith. Chris "Only comes in the game when we're really, really out of it" Smith, people!
The weird thing about payback HBP is that they usually don't come in the same game. If it had happened tomorrow, we probably wouldn't have thought too much about it, other than that it's a little weird to get all up in arms when a crappy pitcher has no control and hits a batter.
But to have a former teammate go out there with that kind of lead and throw at a guy - from someone like Joe Torre - that really is a head-scratcher. From the post-game commentary, I'm not the only one who thinks it's a really out-of-character move.
Macha was REAL feisty in the post-game interview, telling a reporter to back up and that he wouldn't talk about the beaning until after he'd talked about the game, which he did.
Said reporter was then told to ask his question.
Macha asked where he was from and the reporter said "here."
The reporter asked if Macha had any comment on the "other shenanigans," calling Prince "Cecil" in the process.
Macha had started to answer and then interrupted himself and corrected the guy, asking who he worked for.
The reporter said "AP."
Macha then pointed out that Prince "is an All-Star. Won the Home Run Derby," implying that the guy should probably know who he is.
The reporter goes on to ask if it's about where the ball hit him and said "it's baseball."
Macha snapped back at him "what's baseball?"
The reporter said "well, two of their guys get hit and then they come back and hit one of yours?"
Macha: "We're not trying to hit anybody, ok? We're not trying to hit anybody. We're losing by 13 runs. We're trying to get 24 outs, ok? We're not trying to hit anybody. Uh, that type of mentality I think, uh, should be taken care of. Um. We'll see what happens. But uh, as far as I'm concerned, the guy just hit him, hit him on purpose and walked straight off the mound into the dugout."
A few minutes later, in response to a question about Prince's reaction -
Macha: "I don't blame him. Everybody's trying to make a living. He is. And, uh, like I said, this kind of mentality puts everyone in jeopardy. Myself, the other team, the players for the other team, uh so, you know giving a guy a $500 fine and a two day suspension is not enough. This type of stuff should be cleaned up."
Another Reporter: "Ken, we usually don't see incidents like after something like this happened. Prince had to be restrained by his teammates or...."
Macha: "Ah, he ah, o, he ran over there and they weren't going to let him in and everybody came back. So I don't know if you can restrain Prince. I don't think I can. I don't think there's anyone else out there that can."
Another Reporter: "Will he play tomorrow?"
Macha: "Will Prince play tomorrow, I'm sure he's going to want to play, yeah."
Reporter: "That's not what I asked - will he play tomorrow?"
Macha: "Will he play tomorrow, yeah, he's been in every game, why wouldn't he play?"
After the game, BA and Bill mentioned the convergence of police and security at the tunnel next to the Dodgers dugout and a few minutes later passed on that they were told no cameras were being allowed underneath the stadium, so I'm sure that's what Macha was talking about here.
Drew Olsen said they were told a medical emergency occurred with a fan immediately post-game and that there were ambulances converging, which is where the no cameras, security thing came from.
Edit: The LA Times story on the game doesn't mention the hoopla at all.
Here's the AP story on the event, presumably from the above AP reporter.
A writer with the same name as the author of the AP story posted here, focusing much more on the post-game actions.
From that post: Prince Fielder was stopped by security at the Dodgers’ clubhouse door after the furious Milwaukee slugger attempted to challenge reliever Guillermo Mota, who hit him with a pitch in the ninth inning of Los Angeles’ 17-4 victory over the Brewers on Tuesday night.
Mota hit Fielder with two outs, apparently in retaliation for a pitch that hit Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez in the seventh inning of Los Angeles’ highest-scoring home performance in 30 years. Home plate umpire Marvin Hudson immediately ejected Mota, who slowly left the field while Fielder voiced his anger.
When the game ended, Fielder charged through the underground tunnels at Dodger Stadium to the door of the home clubhouse, shouting obscenities with many fellow Brewers trailing behind. Several security guards and teammates Bill Hall and Casey McGehee prevented Fielder from entering the locker room in search of Mota.
Fielder had calmed down moments later, but his actions set up a potentially explosive series finale Wednesday night.
“He came inside. It just got away from him,” Fielder said. “It happens. That’s baseball. He tried to come inside.”
When asked about his postgame march to the other side, he deadpanned: “I don’t remember that.”
Most of the Dodgers didn’t know about Fielder’s actions, since their locker room door is at least 30 feet from the clubhouse. They had plenty of their own anger after Brewers reliever Chris Smith hit Ramirez when the Dodgers had a nine-run lead in the seventh.
“It’s just part of the game,” catcher Russell Martin said of Mota’s pitch. “Our premier hitter gets hit, and he gets protection. I understand (Fielder) is frustrated, but you don’t take care of that after the game.
“We don’t want the same situation as last year in the playoffs, when Philly threw at Manny and we didn’t retaliate,” Martin added, referring to last fall’s NL championship series against the Phillies. “We don’t want to be known as a team that doesn’t have each other’s backs.”