Red Sox, A's renew calls for Fenway's screen; fan still in serious condition

BOSTON - As a fan injured by a broken bat continues her recovery, Brett Lawrie - whose shattered lumber flew into the Fenway Park stands Friday night - and others continued the routine of playing games while pondering changes that may be necessary to prevent further incidents and injuries.

Tonya Carpenter remains at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where she was listed in serious condition Sunday morning.

Lawrie, the Oakland Athletics second baseman, was back in the lineup for the series finale on Sunday afternoon and went 0-for-4. His performance, though, was not because of what happened on Friday, he said.

"No, not at all," he said. "Not at all. Just keep going out and playing. Just understand that sometimes that's part of the game, and whether it hits somebody or it doesn't -- you saw how many foul balls went into the stands today. It happens on a daily basis.

"It's just one of those things that it's just part of the game. When you sit behind there everything's so close. You just hope that everything's OK. And I'm glad that it was."

Lawrie sent Carpenter, 44, flowers in the hospital. Her family released a statement Sunday that they "remain by her side," while Lawrie and others renewed calls for teams such as the Red Sox to extend protective netting from dugout to dugout.

"Oh, 100%," Lawrie said. "This is an older ballpark and the fans are right on top of you as soon as you come out of the dugout and all way down to the on-deck circle and then as soon as you get in there (at the plate). So it should be definitely something to take a look at and something that they should be looking to input. No doubt."

The Major League Baseball Players' Association has asked for the netting to be extended. Red Sox left-hander Craig Breslow, who has served as a players' representative and a member of the players' association executive board, said the players have lobbied the owners for the changes – so far, to no avail.

"I think for quite some time players have been in favor of protecting fans," Breslow said. "I think it becomes more of an issue for the teams because I can't imagine why players would be opposed to it. It's probably not as simple as should we protect fans or not. I recognize that. But at the same time, maybe it is that simple.

"It seems kind of unfortunate that it takes situations like the one we had a couple of nights ago to bring this to the forefront. But, nonetheless, I remember being at board meetings a few years when guys have said, 'Why don't we just extend netting all the way to at least the beginning of the dugouts?' And for whatever reason, it's never really gained traction. But I think it's become a team-side issue. And like I said, there are probably more variables in play. But it's hard to come up with any response more powerful than it could be protecting peoples' lives.

"There were internal discussions as far as I know. And I think at the time maybe we had heard some of the responses from ownership. But I think it would probably be wiser to get those directly from ownership. But there's really no reason that I can think of, conceivably, that any player would ever say that we don't think it's a good idea. It's not affecting the game. It's not affecting play. It's simply making a safer environment."

Red Sox CEO/president Larry Lucchino declined to comment on the topic when asked about the possibility of extending the netting at Fenway.

"Not at this time," Lucchino responded in a text. "Focus should remain on Tonya Carpenter's recovery and the family's request for privacy and quiet these days."

However, another club official said team executives will meet this week to discuss possible changes to fan protection at Fenway. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the topic.

One possible reason for not extending the netting has been that teams are afraid fans will balk at the idea of paying high prices to watch a game through a net.

"There's netting behind home plate which affects fans' view of the game," Breslow said. "So just think when a fan who's paying attention is still kind of defenseless, then something needs to be done. I just feel this isn't a case of not paying attention or being distracted. There just literally isn't enough reaction time to defend yourself. So I'm sure, much the same way safety came into play in seats behind home plate, they can also for those seats down the line, at least between the dugout and where the nets currently end."

In the meantime, Lawrie, although he has not contacted Carpenter directly, is keeping her in his thoughts.

"I'm sure that she's probably not up for a whole lot of talking, to be honest. But I'm just glad that everything's OK and she's got all my best wishes."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2015/06/07/tonya-carpenter-fenway-park-bat-safety-netting/28658623/