Kerry Wood throws his glove into the stands, gets all surly when asked about it

By Craig CalcaterraMay 9, 2012, 8:22 AM EST
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What is it with Cubs pitchers getting all surly after getting roughed up the Braves?  Last year Carlos Zambrano kicked off a mini Operation Shutdown after Atlanta torched him. Last night Kerry Wood walked two Braves and gave up two more and the lead. Then he had himself a little hissy fit.  Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com reports. Video of Wood’s comments below:

Kerry Wood walked off the mound and squeezed his glove before throwing it into the stands. He tossed his hat to the fans before disappearing into the dugout … His postgame media session lasted 45 seconds. He cut it off after a reporter mentioned the glove.

“Irrelevant, dude, and why the (bleep) would you even bring that up?” Wood said. “You guys have a good night.”

With that, Wood stormed away from his locker.

Yeah, silly to ask Wood a question like that given just how often players throw their gloves and hats into the stands. It’s a total dog-bites-man story.

Diamondbacks, T.J. McFarland avoid arbitration

Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
By Bill BaerJan 23, 2019, 9:11 PM EST
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Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports reports that the Diamondbacks and reliever T.J. McFarland have avoided arbitration, agreeing on a $1.45 million salary for the 2019 season. McFarland, in his third of four years of arbitration eligibility, filed for $1.675 million while the Diamondbacks countered at $1.275 million. McFarland ended up settling for just under the midpoint of those two figures.

McFarland, 29, was terrific out of the bullpen for the D-Backs last season, finishing with a 2.00 ERA and a 42/22 K/BB ratio in 72 innings. While the lefty may not miss a lot of bats, he does induce quite a few grounders. His 67.9 percent ground ball rate last season was the third highest among relievers with at least 50 innings, trailing only Brad Ziegler (71.1%) and Scott Alexander (70.6%).

McFarland was dominant against left-handed hitters, limiting them to a .388 OPS last season, but the D-Backs deployed him nearly twice as often against right-handed hitters, who posted an aggregate .764 OPS against him. It will be interesting to see if the club decides to use him more as a platoon reliever in 2019.