Going into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Dodgers held a 2-1 lead over the Padres, and Zack Greinke was rolling along. Unfortunately, to lead off the inning, he hit Carlos Quentin with a 3-2 pitch.

Crappy situation to put the lead-off man on, obviously, but no big deal apart from that, except:

So Quentin is a goddamn idiot.

Nobody is dumb enough to think Greinke did that intentionally when he’s clinging onto a lead and rolling along, except Quentin, because apparently he’s still hanging on to something that happened FOUR YEARS AGO between the White Sox and Royals.

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.”

“Well, everybody that gets hit gets upset, especially when you aren’t swinging the bat well and all of a sudden you get hit,” Guillen said. “That’s part of the game. Carlos is a guy who is going to get hit a lot because he stands on top of the plate. I don’t think it was intentional.”

So at the time, Greinke was understanding about Quentin’s feelings, but even Quentin’s own manager, Ozzie Guillen, said he thought it wasn’t intentional.

Then there’s this fact:

One thing to consider: If Greinke had it out for Quentin, why wait? After HBP on April 8, 2009, they faced each other 15 times from ’09-’10.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 13, 2013

So there’s that.

If this was a vendetta on Greinke’s part, the argument is that he’s been holding this in for four years to get back at Quentin for … what reason now?

Ugh.

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And about Quentin crowding the plate? Yeah, he does it, and he gets hit A LOT by everybody.

There is one White Sox player who threatens to be the best ever at what he does: Carlos Quentin. That’s right, in more than 2,200 plate appearances, Quentin is already threatening the top of a certain leaderboard.

Yes. Carlos Quentin just might be the best hit-by-pitcher of all time. Since 2000, no one has managed to be hit in as many as four games in a row. Quentin was once hit in six games in a row, and is second on that same list with three straight earlier this month.

Quentin gets hit a lot, and by everybody, so for him to make this his stand is ridiculous.

He doesn’t even have good reason to have issue with Greinke specifically:

Tweet from Oney Guillen: “greinke has hit carlos many many times … told me long long time ago. if he does it again im going for him.”

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) April 12, 2013

@jay_jaffe Exactly. Blackburn, Lester and Bedard had done so even more often, 14 others in addition to Greinke had hit him twice.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) April 12, 2013

So despite Oney Guillen contradicting his own dad, being an idiot, and generally exaggerating, he confirms that Quentin has a vendetta against Greinke, not vice versa, despite the fact that he’s been hit twice or more by an awful lot of pitchers.

Look, if you’re going to crowd the plate in an attempt to take a side of it away from the pitcher and for better coverage, accept the consequences. You didn’t see Craig Biggio whining about it and throwing temper tantrums. It’s part of the deal.

The worst part though is that Greinke left the field with trainer Sue Falsone, meaning Quentin’s dumbass, illogical temper tantrum may have caused an injury.

Furthermore, the Dodgers basically have no recourse here, because the Padres suck:

Worst part is there’s no way to retaliate against this what do you do hit Will Venable?

— Andrew Grant (@realandrewgrant) April 12, 2013

As you know, I’m not one for throwing at guys as retaliation, but how are the Dodgers supposed to get justice for an opposing player basically trying to physically assault one of their own players? Trust MLB to do the right thing and suspend him for as many games as Greinke is out? Please, the team will never get the justice they want from them.

So now we all have to wait and hope that nothing is seriously wrong with Greinke, and all of this is because Quentin acted like a little child. And because he’s a fucking idiot.

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Update

BREAKING: Zack Greinke suffered a fractured left collarbone.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 12, 2013

Welp, there’s that.

Suspend him for three months.

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Matt Kemp thinks the whole situation is bullshit.

Clayton Kershaw may need surgery on his right hip and he could miss not only the rest of this season but the start of next season as well, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.

If Kershaw must undergo surgery to repair his ailing right hip, he isn’t expected to be pitching in the major leagues until the middle of May, according to people familiar with his condition who were not authorized to speak publicly about it.

Kershaw’s decision on whether to have an operation will be made after Kershaw receives a second opinion from Dr. Bryan Kelly on Tuesday in New York. Kershaw was unable to make his scheduled start for the Dodgers on Sunday.

The team fears he may have a torn labrum that would require surgery.

My opinion on Clayton is the same as it is regarding Matt Kemp: the team should shut them both down. 2012 is not the last year baseball will be played, and this team will be better next year simply by having some of these new pieces on the roster to begin the season. Their future years of service are far more important than a single stretch run in a season that has seen the Dodgers somehow stay in the race despite the unluckiness of multiple serious injuries to vital cogs.

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Scott Elbert was speculated to be returning as soon as Tuesday, but he’ll be out for the season and is set to undergo elbow surgery due to persistent problems.

Left-hander Scott Elbert is scheduled to undergo a season-ending operation Wednesday to clean up his throwing elbow.

The surgery will be performed by team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Elbert is expected to be ready for the start of spring training.

Elbert last pitched Aug. 26. The next day, he was put on the disabled list for the second time this season.

Elbert pitched a simulated game Friday.

“The next day, he went out to play catch and it was back, same thing,” Manager Don Mattingly said. “So we knew he was done.”

As unfair as it might be, Paco Rodriguez now becomes a key piece in the bullpen despite being in college to start the year.

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Kenley Jansen is likely to return on Tuesday. Jansen’s doctors have cleared him to stop taking blood-thinners.

If he’s back to normal then he’ll be an asset even if there’s initial rust, but something rubs me the wrong way about risking anything in regards to this problem. After all, we’re talking about a guy’s life here, screw baseball.

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Chad Billingsley‘s elbow is progressing well and he’s slated to start a throwing program in the coming weeks.

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Ted Lilly, rehabbing a shoulder injury, will have arthroscopic surgery on his pitching shoulder. According to head trainer Sue Falsone, he will be ready for Spring Training in 2013, the final year of a three-year contract.

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Dee Gordon was reinstated after missing 50 games and spending a couple of months on the 60-day DL with a torn ligament in his right thumb. Dee recently completed a rehab stint in Albuquerque.

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Room was made for Dee on the 40-man when the team placed Adam Kennedy on the 60-day DL with a groin strain.

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Don Mattingly has declared Javy Guerra likely out for the year, as was suspected.

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In minor-league injury news, Blake Smith, Gustavo Gomez, Brandon Martinez, Luis Vasquez, Steve Cilladi, Chris O’Brien, Angelo Ponte, Jharel Cotton, Sawil Gonzalez, Francisco Villa, and Matt Laney all landed on either the 7-day or 60-day DL.