Pine Tar issue brings Ozzie Guillen and Bryce Harper in the headlines - MLB Update
Prone to the controversies, Miami Marlins’ manager Ozzie Guillen was mocked in the game on Sunday, as he raises the issue of excessively high pine tar on the bat of the Washington Nationals’ rookie Bryce Harper.
During the game, Guillen shouted concerns about the pine tar, due to which when Harper appeared for the second time on the plate, he had changed the bat. However, what made Guillen feel insulted was the way Harper tried to communicate to Guillen that he
has changed the bat.
This therefore became the reason why Guillen termed Harper a little unprofessional later in the game.
Although the matter had been resolved quickly, it did create ripples of excitement for some time in the game.
In the meantime, the issue was a reminder of complaint the Nationals’ manager Davey Johnson had made against the Tampa Bay Rays’ relief pitcher Joel Peralta in the first half of the season, which had led to the latter’s ejection. Peralta was hiding the pine
tar. On knowing this, Johnson had reported it to the umpire.
In this respect, it was interesting to see Johnson coming up with explanations when one of his players is involved in the same matter. Far from acknowledging the mistake, he hit out at Guillen, accusing him of demoralising the confidence of his players.
"He was trying to intimidate my player, I guess. He was hung up on our player. He does what he has to do. One of my pitchers complained one time, and it was the first time I saw him do it all year. Some strange things go on out there," Johnson said.
However, Harper did not fall in line with the manager straight away and stated that he did not notice him in this regard. Instead, he was impressed by the way Guillen was speaking for his players and stepping out of the comfort zone.
"Not sure," Harper said. "Like I said, he's a good manager, he's a fiery manager and he battles for his guys. That's what he does."
He further elaborated that Guillen is a great manager to be playing under. With the way he has been trying to get his players perform well is incredible, he said of him.
Regardless of the incident, the Nationals’ manager will be happy as they won the game and did not let the incident derail their momentum in the series.
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