Zack Greinke and Carlos Quentin to meet; everyone be calm

Can we get this over with now? Probably not. Not for good anyway, but at least for the moment?

Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke is on the mound this afternoon in San Diego, which coincidentally, if somewhat oddly, marks the return of outfielder Carlos Quentin to the Padres lineup.

No rematches please. No repeats or getting revenge or even simple message pitches.

Someday it will happen, of course. Someday Quentin knows someone on the Dodgers will send a pitch at him to remind him of the day he charged the mound against Greinke and broke his collarbone. It’s atop those unwritten baseball rules.

But not today, please. Today just play baseball. Keep tempers at bay, move on as best everyone can, try to win a game.

Quentin has missed the last seven San Diego games with a sore shoulder. The Padres easily could have waited one more day to avoid all this, but to their and Quentin’s credit, they decided to play him once he was deemed ready, Greinke or no.

Neither side was real happy about the incident on April 11, the Dodgers losing their new ace in the second week of the season. The two players said they spoke afterward, though neither would expound on how the conversation went.

Greinke has struggled to find himself since having surgery and missing five weeks. In his seven games since returning, he is 2-2 with a 5.02 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP.

So the last-place Dodgers and Greinke have enough to worry about without rekindling the emotions of April.

Today, just play the game.