Carlos Quentin drops appeal of suspension, won’t see Dodgers Monday

That’s one confrontation avoided, for now.

Carlos Quentin, Stanford man, has elected to drop the appeal for his eight-game suspension for charging Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke and began serving it Sunday.

Which means, of course, he will not participate when the Padres come to Dodger Stadium for a three-game series on Monday.

See, Quentin is smart. That’s what Clayton Kershaw said he’d be if he simply took the suspension and skipped the Dodgers’ series.

This is a good thing for all involved, the brawl that led to Greinke breaking his collarbone Thursday and being lost for at least eight weeks, much too fresh for such an immediate match between Quentin and the Dodgers.

Everyone needs a more time to exhale, relax and try to get some semblance of control over frayed emotions.

People are understandably upset, particularly those who wear Dodger Blue, but Manager Don Mattingly has tried to call for calm, not wanting to see retaliation.

“We’re going to play baseball,” Mattingly said. “We’re trying to win games. We’re not MMA fighters.”

None of this means a day won’t likely come when the Dodgers claim a measure of revenge against Quentin. Maybe it comes later this season, maybe next year, maybe in a spring training game, but memories figure to be long when a team loses one of its aces for two months.

For now, though, tensions will be greatly reduced Monday. And that happens to be the day of baseball’s annual celebration of Jackie Robinson. For Quentin, a smart move.

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