The Bernstein Brief: Cubs Mad About Reds Hitting Kris Bryant
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) Because it was getaway day in Cincinnati on Wednesday, reporters weren't afforded the chance to debrief manager Joe Maddon after the Cubs' 9-2 win over the Reds.
The eighth inning had opened with reliever Jumbo Diaz throwing a fastball that appeared to hit Kris Bryant intentionally, and then Maddon and others on the bench took vocal exception. That's confirmed now by a report in the Chicago Tribune.
"I was barking," Maddon told the Tribune.
Asked if he thought the Reds acted out because they were about to get swept, Maddon said, "You're going to have to ask them."
Meanwhile, the team is convinced that the order to plunk their best and hottest player came from above Diaz, Cubs sources tell 670 The Score, as they feel the mostly minor-league journeyman lacks the organizational clout to act on his own in such a way.
That was seemingly backed up by Reds manager Bryan Price, who acknowledged that a run-scoring squeeze bunt by Kyle Hendricks in the seventh set them off.
"Different managers have different ideas about what a safe lead is," Price told the UPI's Jeff Wallner. "I'll leave it at that."
The teams meet again Monday for a three-game series at Wrigley Field, with Maddon faced with the choice of responding in kind or just continuing to beat them like they have in nine of 10 games this year. From an outside perspective, there's no smart reason to continue a beanball war against a bottom-feeding team with nothing to lose, further endangering your own players with so much at stake.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. You can follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.
