Tempers flare, but Dodgers bats don’t

With Brandon Webb batting and runners at the corners with two outs in the fourth inning, Penny threw what appeared to be a perfect pitch that Webb stared at. Plate umpire Gary Cederstrom called it a ball, leading the formerly temperamental Penny to throw his hands up and yell a few things at Cederstrom as he walked back to the mound. Once he got on top of the mound, Penny then held up his hands again, stretching them far apart, and although I’m not quite sure what Brad was trying to say there, Cederstrom responded by doing something that ought to get him suspended, in my humble opinion. He took off his mask and stormed out toward the mound, with Russell Martin following him to try to dissuade him and Grady bursting out of the dugout. In the old days, umpires tried to diffuse situations like this. Cederstrom did nothing but try to inflame it, with the sort of chip-on-his-shoulder attitude that perfectly illustrates the God complex that so many of these umpires seem to have today. Anyway, order was quickly restored, and Penny went about the business of striking out Webb. Webb then went about the business of continuing to dominate the punchless Dodgers who are now 1 for 23 w/RISP in their past four games, all of which will have been losses in about another hour. This one was pretty much over before it started — and it was really over after that weird play where Penny couldn’t get to the bag. Webb is two batters into the seventh inning, and he has thrown 78 pitches. Work the count much? … Oh, by the way, Kent is expected to return to the lineup on Tuesday night at Cincinnati. … Diamonbacks 3, Dodgers 0, bottom 7