The melee in San Diego on Thursday night between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres didn't just result in a broken collarbone for Zack Greinke; it may derail the Dodgers' season.
While West Coast baseball fans went to bed after the incident, the East Coast woke up to the aftermath, which included Quentin blaming his outrage on a Greinke comment after the pitch struck him, Greinke's teammates defending their pitcher and a debate on the appropriate suspension for Quentin for charging the mound.
No baseball brawl is without media coverage, outrage and blame. More often than not, the pitcher is to blame.
Famously, the Yankees-Orioles rivalry of the mid-90s came to a head during a heated brawl in Yankee Stadium after Armando Benitez placed a fastball between Tino Martinez's shoulder blades in May of 1998.
15 years later, two National League West rivals became entrenched in a similar altercation, which is likely to spill over into Monday's series in Los Angeles.
Despite Greinke's ability to control and command his pitches as well as any pitcher in the game and his lack of remorse in the immediacy of the pitch, the blame does not belong on the pitcher in this instance. Instead, the blame lies on Quentin, who, after being hit 115 times during his major league career, decided 116 was enough on Thursday night.
Before assessing intent on Greinke's part, consider the game situation: a 3-2 count to Quentin, with the Dodgers leading 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning. As Dodgers manager Don Mattingly put it, the idea of Greinke giving San Diego a free baserunner there is, well, nonsense.
"That shows zero understanding of the game of the baseball," Mattingly said (via Bill Plunkett of the OC Register). "He's not throwing at him at 3-2 in a 2-1 game."
Of course, this, in the eyes of Quentin at least, was about more than a pitch that seemed to get away on Thursday evening in Petco Park.
Dating back to as early as 2008, when both Greinke and Quentin were rivals in the American League Central, this hit-by-pitch pattern has happened before.
Heading into Thursday, Quentin was only 6-for-24 off Greinke in their respective careers, but three of those hits were home runs. Now, three hit-by-pitch lines also make up the box score of their battles.
Still, history doesn't give justification for Quentin's actions. If you are a believer in the old-school mantra of players policing themselves, the Padres outfielder should have taken first base and allowed his pitching staff to retaliate for him.
But by taking matters into his own hands, Quentin helped cost San Diego both the game and his services for possibly 10 games. For a team that is struggling for offense, losing Quentin for double-digit games is very significant.
The fact that Greinke, recently inked to a $147 million deal, got hurt in the process gives the incident more publicity, but it would have been an unwise move on Quentin's part regardless of how valuable the Dodger arm was on the mound.
Los Angeles has every right to be angry right now. The late-inning home run by Juan Uribe secured a much needed win over an inferior opponent, but the battle will wage on between these teams over the course of the summer. Due to their status as divisional rivals, we'll be treated to 16 more Dodger-Padre games in 2013, including 10 between now and the All-Star break.
Ironically, San Diego has the right to be angry with its own player here as well. Other San Diego hitters, including the pitcher's spot in the order, will be on high alert come Monday at Chavez Ravine.
If another brawl ensues or a Padre is hurt by an inside pitch, fans will look back on Quentin's actions as the start an unnecessary feud.
Was Carlos Quentin justified in charging the mound on Thursday night? Comment below, follow me on Twitter or "Like" my Facebook page to talk all things baseball!
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