Padres CEO Blames Zack Greinke For Brawl, Likens Him To Rain Man

Yahoo has obtained an audio clip of San Deigo Padres CEO Tom Garfinkel saying dumb things about Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke to a group of Padres season ticket holders. Greinke had his collarbone broken when Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin needlessly charged him after being hit by Greinke on a 3-2 pitch in a one-run game last week, but Garfinkel is convinced that Greinke hit Quentin on purpose. Why? We'll let him explain.

He threw at him on purpose, OK? That's what happened. They can say 3-and-2 count, 2-1 game, no one does that. Zack Greinke is a different kind of guy. Anyone seen Rain Man? He's a very smart guy. He has social anxiety disorder. He doesn't interact well with his teammates. He doesn't really eat meals with his teammates. He spends his life studying how to get hitters out.

Burn, I guess? Even if Greinke really did hit Quentin on purpose, it probably had nothing to do with his anxiety issues, and it's never a good look for a team executive to be joking about another player's mental health issues (issues which nearly cost Greinke his career, by the way) by comparing that player to a severely autistic movie character. Garfinkel later spoke to Yahoo and apologized for his comments:

"I was emotional the day after the game and regrettably, while defending our player, I said some things I shouldn't have, especially as it relates to Zack Greinke," Garfinkel told Yahoo! Sports. "I was out of line and I apologize.

"Obviously, I don't condone fighting and I wish it wouldn't have happened. You never want to see any player get hurt."

Garfinkel can chalk this up as a lesson, one that many powerful rich guys have learned before: Don't ever make off-color remarks, even in a room full of supporters, because somebody is always recording that shit.

[ Yahoo]