Padres' Manny Machado again caught in controversy with takeout slide of Tommy Edman

Joe Rivera

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Padres' Manny Machado again caught in controversy with takeout slide of Tommy Edman image

Much ado about Machado.

Manny Machado is, once again, at the center of a baseball debate in Twitter circles, with a controversial slide en route to second base on Sunday lighting the baseball Twitter powder keg.

On a routine grounder to second, Machado was caught in the base path and took out Cardinals utility man Tommy Edman with a questionable slide.

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Really, as with most things instant replay, when it's slowed down to micro-frames, it makes the situation look worse than it is. Truthfully, Machado had a split-second decision to make with Edman entering the base path to get the ball; he stutter-stepped and eventually got down to get out of the way. The collision is a byproduct of a rough-and-tumble baseball play.

Machado checked in on Edman after the collision, and both parties seemed to be in agreement that it was just a hard-nosed baseball occurrence. These things happen. Everyone is cool, no one at fault.

Machado, though, a lightning rod for undeserved criticism and vitriol, stirred the pot with his actions, with fans (and players) debating whether the third baseman was in the clear for his decision.

The Padres would go on to win the game 5-3. 

Joe Rivera

Joe Rivera Photo

Joe Rivera is in his seventh year with The Sporting News, handling NFL, MLB and some things pro wrestling. A proud-ish Rutgers University graduate, Rivera combines a new-school flair with an old-school soul. He loves dingers, wrestling, comic books, movies, music and really bad puns. He is also a card-carrying BBWAA member and teaches Multimedia Sports Reporting at his alma mater.

You can find him and tweet him @JoeRiveraSN, if you're into that sort of thing.