Cubs Manager Joe Maddon fired back at Pittsburgh Pirates skipper Clint Hurdle for criticizing Chicago star Javier Baez's bat flip on a popup.
Maddon was "surprised" and didn't "really understand" why Hurdle criticized Baez. He also said he believes "in not interfering with other groups."
"Be careful when you start becoming hypercritical because you're pretty much defining yourself," Maddon said prior to Friday's game against Atlanta.
The 25-year-old Baez homered twice for the second consecutive day in Chicago's victory over Pittsburgh on Wednesday. But he also flipped his bat high into the air on a popup to shortstop Jordy Mercer in the seventh inning.
Baez acknowledged after the victory it was a mistake and that a teammate talked to him about the display.
Hurdle questioned Baez's "respect for the game" Thursday, but the flashy star brushed off those comments after the Pirates beat the Cubs.
Maddon praised his player for owning up to his mistake. He also said he didn't see the bat flip.
"I think most of the time when you hear commentary -- or critical commentary -- it's really pretty much self-evaluation," Maddon said. "It's about what you believe. It's about your judgmental component. It reveals you more than the person you're talking about. I've always believed that.
"Whenever you want to be hypercritical of somebody, just understand you're pretty much revealing yourself and what your beliefs are."
Fire birds
A minor league baseball fan in Florida is on a mission to help a pair of ospreys whose nest atop the left-field lights is in the path of the weekly fireworks show.
Celine Sullivan is a longtime fan of the Daytona Tortugas. She tells the Daytona Beach News-Journal she watched the smoke and flaming debris swirl around the ospreys during a fireworks show after the home opener.
Sullivan and David Hartgrove of the Halifax River Audubon chapter asked the team to either stop the fireworks show or move it. It wasn't an issue last season when the nest was atop the first-base lights.
Team President Ryan Keur and city spokesman Susan Cerbone say they'll work on a solution.
Family feud
Golden State Coach Steve Kerr is estranged from his son.
Temporarily.
Nick Kerr works for the San Antonio Spurs -- the Warriors' opponent in a Western Conference first-round playoff series. This has long been a source of great amusement for Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich, who coached Steve Kerr as a player and remains close with him now. Popovich has said that Nick Kerr is the subject of additional security screenings at work, just to ensure he's not a spy for the Warriors. (No, Pop wasn't serious.)
Steve Kerr says he and his son are "recusing ourselves" from family interaction during the series.
"I think they already confiscated Nick's phone," he said.
Sports on 04/14/2018