Update: Dodgers' SP Zack Greinke fractures collarbone in brawl

Update (10:54 p.m.): As the Dodger game ended (a 3-2 victory), Vin Scully passed along word that Zack Greinke fractured his left collarbone in the brawl with Carlos Quentin tonight. What a terrible end to the night.

Enter a player who, coming into the 2013 season, had been hit 114 times in his 8-year career, including 40 times in the last two seasons. Said player gets hit in a 2-1 game in the sixth inning and somehow thinks it's intentional.

Carlos Quentin, you suck.

Zack Greinke was leading 2-1 before getting to a 3-2 count on Quentin to begin the bottom of the sixth inning. Greinke hit Quentin with a pitch on the hands. Quentin looked at Greinke, Greinke may or may not have said something and Quentin charged the mound.

Greinke stood his ground and used his non-throwing shoulder to take the brunt of the hit from Quentin, who has anywhere from 30 to 40 pounds on Greinke.

There was a brawl that also included Matt Kemp getting ejected from the game (and will likely be suspended for at least a game or two). Vin Scully said a pitch that was high and tight to Kemp earlier in the game could have explained why Quentin thought Greinke hit him on purpose. But there appears to be another reason.

Greinke, while with the Royals, faced Quentin when he was with the White Sox. Apparently, these two have a bit of history.

"An instance between Carlos Quentin and Greinke with one out in the fourth stood out as the game's only real fireworks, and even this uprising didn't amount to much. Quentin was hit squarely in the back by a Greinke pitch and immediately took a couple of steps toward the mound.
Home-plate umpire Bill Hohn stepped in front of Quentin and catcher Miguel Olivo quickly restrained the slugger. Television broadcasts showed Quentin telling Olivo that he was all right, and Quentin moved down to first base.

By Greinke's estimation, it was a first-inning pitch that got away and almost hit Quentin in the head causing the residual anger three innings later.

'He had a reason for (being upset),' said Greinke of Quentin. 'Any time you throw it that high, it's justified. You've got to be better than that and not pitch like that. You're going to make mistakes, but the last thing you want to do is hit someone where it could seriously hurt them. As soon as I let go of it, I was scared for him.'"  

Could Quentin have been holding onto a grudge for four years? Only he knows. But the fact he charged the mound, almost inexplicably, to may have potentially injured the Dodgers' prized free-agent signing is bush league. No matter the length of Quentin's suspension, it won't make up for whatever may or may not be wrong with Greinke and losing Kemp (despite his struggles) for a couple games.

Greinke left the game after the fracas, but it's unknown whether it was because of injury or an ejection.

Brawls are part of the game. Brawls when one guy could be out just to hurt a pitcher who he dislikes is flat-out bullshit.

Grow a set, Carlos. Or, better yet, stop standing on top of the plate -- then you won't get hurt. Nice to see that Stanford education is paying off.

Photo credit: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue