PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The general managers of the Phillies and the Washington Nationals are trading barbs as the fallout from Joe Girardi's ejection from Tuesday night's game continues.
Girardi said Wednesday that his Nationals counterpart, Mike Rizzo, is "entitled to his own opinion" after he called Girardi a "con artist." Phils President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski, for his part, called Rizzo's comments "improper."
Girardi found himself embroiled in controversy at Tuesday's Phillies game when he requested that the umpires give Nationals ace Max Scherzer an extra check for foreign substances. A day after Girardi insisted that he was genuinely concerned and was not exhibiting gamesmanship, a skeptical Rizzo called him a "con-artist" on 106.7 The Fan in D.C.
"What are we idiots? Of course he was," Rizzo said. "Yes he was playing games. ... It had nothing to do with substances. He had no probable cause to ask for it. The umps shouldn't have allowed it."
He clarified, "I love Joe Girardi. ... I know him well. But, I know him well."
Related
Girardi and Dombrowski responded to the remarks.
On The Phils Radio Network Pregame Show, prior to Wednesday afternoon's game versus the Nationals, Girardi said, "Mike's entitled to his own opinion, and obviously he's gonna protect his club, just like I'm gonna protect my club. That's our job. So he's entitled to his own opinion."
Dombrowski defended his manager, telling reporters, "Joe Girardi is the furthest from a con man of anybody that I know. He's a very sincere individual."
Related
As the Phillies continue to sow doubts about their playoff chances this season, the big story in Major League Baseball this week is the crackdown on sticky substances used by pitchers.
Girardi was suspicious of Scherzer wiping his hair with his hand on Tuesday night — something the longtime manager insisted he'd never seen Scherzer do in the past.
MLB's new rules about foreign substances calls for routine checks of the pitchers. Managers can still request an inspection if they have reason to believe something is up. Dombrowski vouched for Girardi's motives.
"There is part of this rule that says, if the umpires think you are playing gamesmanship, that they can refuse to go out to the mound and check the pitcher, and they can also suspend you," Dombrowski.
Dombrowski said the umpires Tuesday night thought Girardi's suspicion was legitimate.
In an interview with The Athletic published Wednesday, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said the first two days of the extra enforcement (Monday and Tuesday) went "very well," because of no ejections. He said Tuesday's drama at Citizens Bank Park was "less than ideal, but that was one incident."