Cubs manager Joe Maddon returned fire Friday over Pirates manager Clint Hurdle's assessment of Javier Baez's approach to baseball.Hurdle on Thursday characterized Baez as disrespectful to the game, and Maddon, by one assessment "clearly prepared" for the early media scrum, let loose Friday. "Whenever you want to be hyper-critical of somebody, just understand you're pretty much revealing yourself and what your beliefs are more than you are evaluating somebody (when) you have not spent one second in that person's skin," Maddon told reporters (via The Athletic).
Joe Maddon: "Whenever you want to be hyper-critical of somebody, just understand you're pretty much revealing yourself and what your beliefs are more than you are evaluating somebody (when) you have not spent one second in that person's skin."
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) April 13, 2018
It was part of a session in which Maddon also stood up for his 25-year-old second baseman by saying, "The mistakes of youth are preferable to the wisdom of old age."The trigger: Baez flipped his bat Wednesday after popping out to the infield in the Cubs' 13-5 win over the Pirates.On Thursday, Hurdle questioned the move."You watch him flip that bat in the air last night — where's the respect for the game?" Hurdle said. "The guy hits four homers in two days, so that means you can take your bat and throw it 15-20 feet in the air when you pop up like you should have hit your fifth home run? 
I would bet that men over there talked to him, because I believe they've got a group over there that speaks truth to power — and the kid's showing physical power."Baez took offense at Hurdle's comments."No one plays this game harder than me," Baez said, "but you don't go out there and talk trash about someone. To be honest, I got a lot of things I can say right now. But I don't control what's out there, what people talk about me. I'm just going to keep playing my game."We won [Wednesday], and it got to him. … People that talk about me, they can save it. I don't control it. I don't really care about it. I'm going to play hard every day. Whoever likes it, fine. Whoever doesn't like it, that's you."In fact, Baez probably didn't need Hurdle's input on the matter, because teammates already had told Baez that it was not a good look.Bob Hille/Omnisport
I would bet that men over there talked to him, because I believe they've got a group over there that speaks truth to power — and the kid's showing physical power."Baez took offense at Hurdle's comments."No one plays this game harder than me," Baez said, "but you don't go out there and talk trash about someone. To be honest, I got a lot of things I can say right now. But I don't control what's out there, what people talk about me. I'm just going to keep playing my game."We won [Wednesday], and it got to him. … People that talk about me, they can save it. I don't control it. I don't really care about it. I'm going to play hard every day. Whoever likes it, fine. Whoever doesn't like it, that's you."In fact, Baez probably didn't need Hurdle's input on the matter, because teammates already had told Baez that it was not a good look.Bob Hille/Omnisport
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