BOSTON – The Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles have something of a history of some chippy games in recent seasons and the first meeting of 2015 was no different in that regard.

In the fourth inning, having not given up a hit, Baltimore starter Ubaldo Jimenez hit Pablo Sandoval in the right shoulder and was immediately ejected by home plate umpire Jordan Baker.

Baker hadn't issued any warnings to either team and the ejection caught many by surprise. But according to crew chief Jerry Meals, Baker saw the Baltimore dugout react unhappily in the second inning when Sandoval went into second base with a hard takeout slide of Jonathan Schoop and believed the pitch from Jimenez had been thrown with some intent.

Sandoval, himself, didn't think he was being thrown at. 

"No, I don't think so,'' he said. "It's part of the game. Take one for the team. It was a good, clean slide. I slid through the base, so there was nothing wrong with it. You want to play hard. You want to keep playing hard. We want to play the game right.''

Red Sox manager John Farrell also defended Sandoval's style of play.

"It was a good clean, hard slide to break up the double play,'' the manager said. "Apparently, after the hit-by-pitch, Jordan thought there was intent. But that was a good clean hard slide. Honestly, yeah, (I was) a little surprised (by the ejection) because I didn't see anything that would have warranted a hit-by-pitch. 

But obviously, Jordan felt there was clear intent and whether he felt it it was because of the hard slide at second base, I don't know. But it was quick.''

The Orioles argued over the ejection of Jimenez, to no avail. He was replaced by Kevin Gausman.

The Sox offered no apologies.

"You always play the game hard,'' said Mike Napoli. "I didn't see anything wrong with how he slid. He was just breaking up a double play. Just play the game hard. I don't know if that had anything to do with why he got hit. But go in hard every time. You try not to hurt a guy, but you try to break up a double play and sacrifice yourself for the team.

"He went in hard. That's how we play the game here.''

As the NBA, NHL, NFL and MLS prepare to resume play in the near future, Major League Baseball still can't get out of its own way.

MLB reportedly rejected the Players Association's proposal Wednesday for a 114-game season in 2020 and apparently doesn't plan to make a counter-offer.

The league and the players have refused to budge on the issues dividing them: Players don't want to take an additional pay cut after agreeing to prorated salaries in March, while the owners are wary of extending the season too long due to the coronavirus pandemic and want players to agree to further reduced salaries to mitigate lost revenue.

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That stalemate has cost MLB valuable time, however, as the league doesn't appear close to beginning its 2020 regular season as the calendar turns to June.

So, who's to blame here? Lou Merloni believes it's everyone involved.

The former Boston Red Sox infielder ripped into both the league and the union Wednesday night during an appearance on NBC Sports Boston.

"Both sides suck, OK? That's the bottom line," Merloni said. "The Players Association comes back and says, 'Not 82 (games), we want 114' when they know that's the non-starter. The owners don't want to sit there and play until November. They're worried about the pandemic; they've got to get the playoffs in. And then the owners come back and say we're not even going to counter?

"Jesus, we're like a month into this thing. Can you string this thing out (any longer)? How about go in one room together and try to figure this out in a day or two?"

Compounding MLB's issue is that the NBA is expected to announce a return-to-play plan Thursday that would resume the 2019-20 season in late July. The MLS and NHL also have made headwinds toward resuming their seasons this summer -- which means baseball is wasting a much-needed opportunity to showcase itself as the only active pro sports league.

• Pedro has honest feedback for players, MLB amid stalemate

"I mean, you're running out of time and you're only screwing yourself. Even if baseball does come back, people have already said, 'I've had enough of you.' It's been like a month, a year, and you guys talk and bitch about this thing publicly. I don't give a crap anymore. I've got hockey, basketball, football is around the corner, hell, soccer is around the corner. I'm good.

"They don't even realize it! It's like they're in this bubble and they don't even realize what's going on around them right now. Figure this thing out: 70 games, 65, prorated (salaries), start playing some baseball, because your ass better be first coming back. If not, people are going to be done."

There's reportedly some optimism that the players and the union will resolve their differences and put a return plan in place. But with nearly one-third of the season already lost, the clock is ticking.

Check out Merloni's full comments in the video player above.

• Tomase: Can 'Bobby Bonilla Day' save baseball?

There's only one choice for best designated hitter in Red Sox history, but just in case there's any doubt, we'll quote broadcaster Dave O'Brien with the signature call from his WEEI days: "DAVID ORTIZ! DAVID ORTIZ! DAVID ORTIZ!"

No sense in even pretending there's any suspense on this one.

What's fascinating about ranking the Red Sox DHs, however, is just how few of them have actually held down the position for any length of time over the years.

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Only nine players have made at least 200 appearances there with the Red Sox since the DH was introduced in 1973, and four of them — Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice, Dwight Evans, and Manny Ramirez — have already appeared elsewhere in our outfield rankings.

That leaves five men to fill out the list, and about the only difficult omission is slugger Jose Canseco, who made 184 appearances between 1995 and 1996.

Click here for the Top 5 DHs in Red Sox history.