The incident should be over, really. If we start trading plunkings there's not only the risk of suspensions but of somebody getting hit in the wrong place by a pitch. No sense letting punks like Austin create those kinds of problems.
It's easy to overreact early in the season. Things can turn around quickly. What I'm surprised about with the Yankees is how many of the pitchers are off to bad starts.
Kimbrel is one of the very best relief pitchers in history, without a doubt.
Dombrowski might feel the same way. He did pay a lot to get him in the first place.
We may never get the full story. Personally I suspect that if MLB thought the slide was A-OK and that the Red Sox therefore overreacted, they would have gone a little lighter on Austin. But maybe I'm a touch cynical.
Such retaliation has been part of the game forever, as you know. The general consensus among players who have spoken on the subject seems to be that if you hit the guy in the back it's 'the right way'. Even Kimmi advocates this, I think.