Cubs general manager avoids war of words with Matt Garza

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Matt Garza made headlines last week for advising Cubs right-hander Jeff Samardzija to follow in his footsteps and “pitch your way out of there” to leave Chicago.

Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer was asked about those comments today and mostly declined to take the bait, telling Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com:

Garza got his payday. He’s on a team that’s winning. I guess he feels like he’s in a position right now to make comments. It’s on us now to flip that script, to show that we’re a place that people want to be, to show that we’re a winning organization.

It doesn’t really bother me. Being traded is a hard thing, emotionally, for people. Even in a situation like that where we had a good relationship with him, there’s probably a feeling of rejection, for lack of a better word. People say emotional things when asked about it, because there’s probably some resentment they’re harboring.

It’s worth noting that the Brewers are Garza’s fifth team in eight seasons and his $50 million contract was quite a bit less than many people pegged him for heading into free agency, but as Hoyer points out it’s tough to really sling any mud back at someone when the Cubs are losing so much.

Plus, the Cubs did pretty damn well in trading Garza to the Rangers, getting a nice four-prospect return for a couple months of his services that ended up not even being all that helpful to Texas. And so far Garza has a 5.00 ERA for the Brewers.

Anthony Rendon fan interaction video looked into by MLB

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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OAKLAND, Calif. – Major League Baseball is looking into a video circulating on social media that appears to show Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon grab a fan by the shirt through the bleacher guardrails after Thursday night’s game in Oakland, a league spokesperson said Friday.

Rendon looks to have grabbed the fan’s shirt near his chest through the bars of the railing and exchanged words with him before appearing to take a swipe at the bill of the man’s ballcap and walking into the tunnel.

Angels spokesman Adam Chodzko says the team has no comment. The Angels do not play Friday, but the club expects Rendon to address the video Saturday in the clubhouse before the game against the Oakland Athletics in Oakland.

The video shows the fan, dressed in A’s colors, approach the railing as Rendon turns toward him from the tunnel walkway below. Rendon then appears to grab the man’s shirt and ask him what he just said, accusing the fan of calling him a derogatory term before swiping at his ballcap.

The A’s won the game 2-1.