Since he’s been in Los Angeles, though, he’s had a Kirk Gibson effect on the Dodgers, even though the personalities of the two men are polar opposites.

Or are they? Perhaps in the important areas, they have more in common than might be apparent at first glance.

“Just by what he did when he came here, his attitude, he’s had an effect on us,” Martin said. “That’s his work ethic. I consider him a leader. Sure.”

Martin downplayed the dustup in the third inning. He said Kuroda, who got the victory Sunday night in continuing his mastery of the Phillies, was not throwing at Victorino and insisted it was not retaliation for a wayward pitch at Manny by the Phillies in Game 2. Still, in baseball, as in life, it’s all about perception.

“We needed the confidence not to be pushed around and to play the right way,” Martin said. “That’s exactly what I’m thinking (in that situation).”

As for Manny, he sat smiling at his locker after the game, deflecting question after question about the fracas as if they were batting practice pitches. He simultaneously shrugged off the beanball battle and acknowledged that there is a necessary amount of action that needs to take place in such circumstances.

“It’s part of the game,” he said. “You have to protect your players.”

Slide show   Week in Sports Pictures Pain on the skating rink, flying high on the hardwood, upsets on the football field, and more. more photos

But he also said he didn’t think he was thrown at in Game 2 — “Maybe it slipped” — and didn’t think Kuroda threw intentionally at Victorino in response on Sunday. Manny basically was all over the map in his opinions on brushbacks, trying to defend the making of statements while dismissing any residual effects.

But he was quick to point out his status on the team.

“I’m not a leader,” he said. “I just play. I don’t have a ‘C’ on my chest.

“Maybe next year. Then you can say I’m a leader.”

Unlike Kirk Gibson, he might be the kind of leader who pulls a prank on a teammate in spring training rather than lash out over such a stunt. And like Gibson, he might just have some more drama left.

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