BALTIMORE (AP) -Orioles manager Dave Trembley met with pitcher Daniel Cabrera on Saturday, one day after the right-hander threw an inside fastball to Boston’s Dustin Pedroia that nearly started a brawl.
The pitch came immediately after Cabrera was called for a balk that forced in a run. Both dugouts and bullpens emptied, and although Cabrera had to be restrained from going after the Red Sox, no punches were thrown.
“Uncalled for, unprofessional, no need to do it,” Trembley said Saturday.
The balk occurred because Cabrera was distracted by Coco Crisp, who was dancing off third base while the pitcher went into his windup.
“I told (Cabrera) from a baseball side, the whole situation never would have occurred if he had pitched out of the stretch,” Trembley said. “I said, ‘You can avoid that situation from now on.’
“So I don’t think you’ll see him pitching out of the windup anymore when you have a fast runner at third. But I wanted to hold him accountable and responsible for what happened last night, and I think he understands that. Unacceptable.”
Cabrera on Saturday reiterated his contention that the fastball to Pedroia got away from him.
“Anybody can have a ball slip from his hand,” he said. “I don’t know why everybody is making such a big deal.”
Said Trembley: “The dog ate my homework, too.”
But Trembley said Cabrera listened attentively to what he had to say, and the manager walked away from the meeting certain that he got his point across.
“He was apologetic,” Trembley said. “He knows he crossed the line and we’ll move on from it. I told him he needs to assume the responsibility that goes with being one of the top pitchers on this team.”
Erik Bedard, Chris Ray and Adam Loewen are out with injuries, leaving Cabrera as the most experienced starter in the current rotation.
The Orioles will probably reach a decision Sunday on whether to shut down Bedard for the season, Trembley said.
Bedard has halted baseball activities while he tries to recover from a strained muscle near his rib cage. The AL strikeout leader hasn’t pitched since Aug. 26.
“I think you want to do what’s right and definitely utilize common sense,” Trembley said.
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