Talk about an expensive bust:
Right-handed pitching ace Zack Greinke, who signed a six-year guaranteed contract worth $147 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the off-season, broke his left collarbone Thursday night during a brawl that began after he hit San Diego Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin with a pitch.
MLB.com says more will be known about the extent of Greinke's injury later today. But, it reports, a broken collarbone "can take anywhere from two weeks to three months to heal and on rare occasion requires surgery."
The Los Angeles Times describes what happened in the sixth inning of the game in San Diego. There were no outs:
"When Greinke hit Quentin with the Dodgers holding on to a 2-1 edge, Quentin dropped his bat and glared toward the mound. Greinke appeared to say something to him.
"Quentin, who is listed by the Padres at 6 feet 2 and 240 pounds, attacked. Greinke, considerably lighter at 195 pounds, dropped his glove.
"A few steps before reaching Greinke, Quentin lowered his left shoulder. Greinke did the same. They crashed. Catcher A.J. Ellis wrestled Quentin to the ground from behind. Shortstop Justin Sellers also flew in."
After the game, Greinke told reporters that "I never hit him on purpose. I never thought of hitting him on purpose. He always seems to think I'm hitting him on purpose, but that's not the case." (Greinke, who made his Major League debut in 2004, has now hit Quentin three times. Quentin is the only player Greinke has struck with pitches that many times, according to ESPN).
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said after the game that Quentin shouldn't be allowed to play until Greinke is able to return to the field.
Quentin, the San Diego Union-Tribune writes, told reporters that while it's "unfortunate" that Greinke got hurt, the brawl wouldn't have happened if the pitcher hadn't said something. "Myself and Greinke have a history," said Quentin. While he didn't tell reporters what the pitcher supposedly said, Quentin described it as "the final straw."
Greinke "denied he said anything after hitting Quentin," the Union-Tribune adds.
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