Dusty Baker: Derek Lowe was probably drinking at the ballpark and doesn’t remember what he did
If Dusty Baker and Derek Lowe didn’t hate each other prior to Wednesday, they do now. During the Indians 5-2 loss to the Reds, Lowe took exception to a Mat Latos fastball that was thrown close to him and he felt was intentional. He was right. Lowe ripped Baker on Wednesday night and Dusty was asked to respond to Lowe’s comments on Thursday morning. He fired back incredibly hard.
“He had some words for me,” Baker said according to Cincinnati.com’s Reds blog. “I really didn’t want to make a public thing or a public spectacle … No. 1, you’ve got to ask him why he hit Joey Votto in the back two years ago. Yesterday, he took exception to a ball inside that didn’t hit him, then hit Brandon Phillips after that.
“I’m not denying nothing. I didn’t order anyone to hit him. I told (Mat Latos) to buzz him and make him uncomfortable. That’s what happened. Nobody hit him. Then he hit our guy.”
So Baker says he told Latos to throw at Lowe, but not into him. As for the history between Baker and Lowe, the Reds manager really started coming at Lowe when he was asked if it bothers him that Lowe said he has no respect for him.
“What he was talking about was something that he said and did a few years,” Baker said. “You got to ask him what that was. You got a lot people involved in the situation that didn’t need to be involved in the situation. It didn’t come from there.
“A lot of people don’t respect me. He don’t respect himself. The word was whatever he did and said probably there was a good chance he was drinking at the ballpark and he don’t remember what he said or what he did.”
Now that’s getting personal. We still don’t know how this feud even came about, but obviously it bothers both Baker and Lowe a great deal. As for the drinking accusation, that’s not the first time Lowe’s name has been tied to an alcohol problem. There were rumors that both the Red Sox and Dodgers let him walk via free agency because he likes partying a little too much. Whether or not it was necessary for Dusty to go there is open to your interpretation.
H/T Hardball Talk
Photo credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE
