Cubs' Chris Bosio On Nationals' Tanner Roark's Criticism: 'Didn't Know Even Who Tanner Roark Was'
(CBS) After the Cubs finished off a four-game sweep of the Nationals on Sunday, Washington pitcher Tanner Roark tossed some criticism Chicago's way for walking star Bryce Harper 13 times in the series, calling it "scared baseball."
Combined with the high-profile series and Harper's stardom, Roark's comment created a national stir of sorts, about whether that was good for the game.
Inside the Cubs clubhouse, it created no ruckus. Manager Joe Maddon explained that it was simply the best strategy to win, as the Cubs walked Harper in any situation that was dangerous at all and challenged Ryan Zimmerman to beat them, and he didn't.
On Wednesday morning, Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio shared his view.
"We found a loophole, and the adjustment was never made in their lineup," Bosio said on the Mully and Hanley Show. "To be honest with you, when they first mentioned his name, I didn't know even know who Tanner Roark was when the comments first came out. I honestly forgot he was one of their starters. Being a young major league player, I'd probably prefer, if it was me, to sit back and start every fifth day and then get ready for my side (session). I leave that stuff to the beat writers and the journalists to talk about, because what good does it really do to comment on something like that when you just got swept. I'm sure Washington will have plenty of motivation the next time we play them, but the damage is done. We won four games against a really, really good Washington club. Honestly, I've gotten about five phone calls from coaches around the league about exactly how we did this and when did you pitch to (Harper) and why. There's a lot of talk going on out there that I choose to try to stay away from because it just doesn't deserve my energy."
For the record, Roark was the Nationals' starter on Sunday when they lost 4-3 to the Cubs in 13 innings, a game in which Harper was walked six times. Roark threw six innings, allowing just one run, unearned.
Listen to Bosio's full interview below.
