Maddon on possible retaliation by Pirates on Rizzo's slide |
Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo had three hits and three RBIs in his team's dominating 7-0 win over the Pirates on Memorial Day. However, the play that everyone is talking about is his controversial slide at Pirates catcher Elias Diaz.
After the player lingered on the ground for a few moments, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was ejected after arguing the play. Cubs manager Joe Maddon was on 670 The Score on Tuesday afternoon and was outspoken with his support for Rizzo. "What he did yesterday in a sense was he slid to the inside of the bag," Maddon said. "Which is what he should do. There's nothing else to do. That's the way it should be done. There is no argument. For me, it's an inane argument. I don't understand it. That's the way the play is supposed to be played. You move it along. The fans get upset about it only because they've been taught to think that's a bad play. "It's your job. It's part of the game. You're attempting to break up a double play." Maddon discusses the possibility that the Pirates might actually throw at Rizzo for payback in tonight's ballgame. "It's much worse when a team throws at a player intentionally than when a player makes a hard slide. There's no comparison between the two for me." This will be a very interesting game tonight and I hope that nobody gets hurt or thrown out.
