Indians Pitcher Plesac Puts Blame on the Media After Breaking the Rules in Chicago

Four days after being sent home by the Indians, pitcher Zach Plesac is firing back for what he has says is an unfair portrayal of him breaking the rules Saturday evening in Chicago.

In case you forgot, Plesac was sent home Sunday and placed on the team's "restricted" list for being in violation of the rules when he broke curfew and was caught by a MLB security official returning to the hotel.

Plesac, who was the winning pitcher in Saturday's 7-1 Indians win over the Chicago White Sox, put out a six and a half minute video on Instagram taking shots at the media.

"The media's portraying me and my best friend and teammate to be malicious with our actions when we were really ... practicing safe practices," Plesac said in the video.

"The media is really terrible, man, the media is terrible. They do some evil things to create stories and make things sound better, to make things sound worse. Truthfully, I’m disgusted the way the media has handled this whole situation surrounding our team.”

The pitcher did stand up for team president Chris Antonetti, saying that he made the right decision for sending him home Sunday for breaking the rules.

"It was a great decision on his part, so I did my time," Plesac said.

The 25-year-old wasn't the only Indians pitcher who was caught in violation of the rules, as fellow hurler Mike Clevinger was with Plesac while he was out with friends.

Clevinger, like Plesac, was placed on the team's "restricted" list, and was replaced in Tuesday's scheduled start by Adam Plutko.

He also has already been taken out of the rotation this weekend in his scheduled start at Comerica Park against the Tigers, a game that also will see Plutko get the start for the Tribe.

Plesac's video sticking up for himself and the situation included him saying that he and the group he was with, Clevinger included, practiced safe measures all evening.

"I went out to dinner with some buddies. We ended up going back to his place -- the same group that we went to dinner with ... and we opened up baseball cards," Plesac says.

"That entire night, dinner and hanging out at my buddy's place after, we were not with more than 8 people the entire night."

The pitcher's Instagram video was titled: "Not an apology. Not a justification. The Truth."

"Clearly, we’ve been exposed as being bad teammates, bad people and dragged across the mud, you know? So it’s hard to sit here and watch how things shuffle out, people not knowing the truth.

"I wanted to kind of voice my opinion. I understand that there are risks people are taking to play this game, and the last thing I would want to do is put anybody at risk – the last thing I’d want to do.

"My little brother has type-1 diabetes, my mom’s a nurse – I understand the significance of this illness and this disease. I know how important it is that we must follow certain procedures and guidelines to ensure safety for the entirety of a group.

"It breaks my heart for people to think I’m a bad teammate or a bad person. But I wanted to share with you guys that moving forward, there’s a selflessness lesson taught here.

"At the end of the day, I want everybody to be healthy. I want to be a good teammate. I want to win baseball games, man. That’s all I want to do. Whatever it takes for me to get back on that diamond and start shoving it up people, trust me, I’ll be ready when they need me."

This season in three starts Plesac is 1-1 with a 1.29 ERA. Last season in 21 starts with the Indians he was 8-6 with a 3.21 ERA.

He made the rotation out of spring training as the team's fifth starter. With an off day Thursday and another on Monday the Indians could go without needing a fifth starter for awhile.

The Indians have yet to respond to Plesac's video as of yet, and with the off day likely won't have to deal with it until tomorrow when they are in Detroit to play the Tigers.

If you'd like to see the video, check it out below.