Baltimore Orioles: Accountability must exist in Kansas City

As the Kansas City manager, Ned Yost needs to step up and ensure that what happened with the Baltimore Orioles ceases to occur in Kansas City.

The Baltimore Orioles certainly hope that last night’s theatrics are over. However there’s more to blame here than just Yordano Ventura or even Manny Machado. (Yes, some folks firmly believe that Machado could have avoided this had he simply not charged the mound. My point would be that it’s tough to let a 99 MPH fastball that hits you go by the wayside.) But I’m talking above both of them.

I know for a fact that Buck Showalter and even Orioles’ veterans have talked to Machado about his temper flares over time. And you’d be remiss to argue that he hasn’t kept it under control for the most part. Again, I think you have to excuse what happened last night on his part, because the fact is he was baited. At a certain point, you can’t just let it go.

However this type of thing has been a problem with Ventura for some time. He’s had run-ins with Anaheim, Oakland, the ChiSox, Toronto, and now the Orioles. Yet it continues to happen, and there’s no reason to think that it won’t happen again in the future.

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Kansas City manager Ned Yost has to at some point step in and make it known to Ventura in no uncertain terms that these actions are unacceptable. I suppose it’s possible that he has – but if so it certainly hasn’t put a stop to anything. So that means that Yost is either an ineffective leader/communicator, or he simply hasn’t said anything.

Part of being a good manager (in any industry) is putting those under you in a position to succeed. If in fact Yost has in some manner spoken to Ventura, then the message hasn’t gotten across – and thus he’s all but adding to the problem. On the other hand, if he hasn’t even addressed it, that’s an even worse issue. Either way, he and his team stands to lose out.

Ventura is going to be suspended, and probably more severely than Machado, because of this. So had Yost at some point gotten the message across, his team might not have to do without Ventura for awhile. Is that putting guys in a position to succeed?

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I felt that Yost’s comments after the game were very telling, when asked if his guy was at fault (quote courtesy of Brittany Ghiroli, mlb.com):

"That’s a tough question to answer. You know, Ventura, in Manny’s first at-bat, was pitching him in. Obviously, he didn’t like it; flew out and was screaming at Ventura. I’m thinking ‘OK, he’s going to pitch him inside again.’ I mean, looked to me like he got away [from that]. I don’t know. That’s something you’re going to have to ask [Ventura], but I don’t know who’s at fault there."

I do understand not wanting to throw your guy under the bus. However to argue that the pitch got away is almost laughable. Again, this is where leadership comes in. If MLB is smart, they’ll have a conversation with both Ventura AND Ned Yost. Because if this is allowed to continue, someone could get seriously injured.

Next: Baltimore Orioles: Manny Machado rumbles Ventura to the dirt

The fact is that they could have been injured last night. Did Manny have to charge the mound? No. Was it justified? In my view, yes. And that’s where Kansas City needs a leader in their dugout who’s going to make it known in no uncertain terms that this isn’t acceptable. Just as it’s not acceptable to simply look the other way when your guy pulls a stunt like that.