Bob Costas has been offering insight and opinions on sporting events for more than 30 years.
He felt he went a bit too far this weekend, though.
Costas told the New York Daily News that he regretted his criticism of Chicago Cubs pitcher Pedro Strop on Friday night, which came during a broadcast of the Cubs' 3-2 loss in 10 innings to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Strop, a 30-year-old right-hander, entered in the eighth inning with the Cubs leading 2-1. Strop gave up a home run to Greg Garcia, then hit a batter, then walked a batter and was pulled after recording only one out.
On his way off the field, Strop pointed to the sky, a gesture Costas didn't like.
"We can only ask, or wonder, that he is asking for forgiveness for this atrocious performance," Costas said on the MLB Network telecast.
Costas was criticized for his comment on social media, then went back and rewatched the game to listen to his comments.
"I winced," Costas told the Daily News of when he heard what he said.
Costas then said he called the Cubs to request a meeting with Strop to apologize.
"The tone of it was not what I intended," Costas told the newspaper. "I intended it as a kind of sarcastic comment about this overall thing where everybody seems to be pointing toward the heavens for every accomplishment, large and small, or even no accomplishment at all. ... I owe him an apology."
Stop told reporters on Sunday that he accepted Costas' apology.
"Everybody makes mistakes," he said.
Rookie mistake
The term Rookie League can apply to managers, too. That was evident Friday night in an Appalachian League game.
The Kingsport, Tenn., Mets lost to the Bluefield, Va., Blue Jays 15-9, a loss that was magnified by the Mets' use of three position players as pitchers.
Afterward, Kingsport Manager Luis Rivera, in his first season with the team, told the Kingsport Times-News that he forgot to include some relief pitchers on his lineup card, so they were ineligible to play the game. When it came time to pull his starting pitcher, Rivera had to turn to position players.
"Some of the guys weren't ready to pitch tonight and I forgot also to put a couple of pitchers in," Rivera told the newspaper.
Outfielder Jose Figuero, first baseman Louis Ortego and third baseman Gregory Valencia combined to pitch three innings, giving up 7 runs on 4 hits and walked 7 without striking out any batters.
Take that
Bubba Watson's victory in the Travelers Championship was a long way off when his tee shot on the second hole landed behind a tree Sunday.
When figuring how to approach the shot, a nearby fan was caught on camera telling Watson to hit a low 4-iron. Watson, sitting about 100 yards from the hole, instead used a wedge and his shot landed a few feet from the hole.
Before heading to the green, Watson turned and addressed the fan.
"That's why you're on that side of the ropes," he said.
Sports quiz
Q. How many Major League Baseball teams have won and lost 10,000 games?
A. Three. The Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Sports on 06/29/2015