BOSTON - Zach Britton wanted the Red Sox to listen to their veteran voice, Dustin Pedroia. Britton felt that didn't happen eight days ago and ripped Pedroia for it.
At least Britton took his own advice.
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After a conversation with a veteran Orioles player, Britton has changed his tune.
“Dustin reached out to a veteran player on our team about the comments, and just wanted to clarify some things,” Britton said Monday at Fenway Park before the opener of a four-game series. “And once he did that, I think we turned the page and we moved on.”
The Orioles closer eight days ago questioned Pedroia’s leadership after Matt Barnes threw near Manny Machado's head.
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“Dustin, him telling Manny [Machado], ‘Hey, that [pitch] didn’t come from me’ may be even more frustrating,” Britton told BaltimoreBaseball.com. “Because he’s the leader of that clubhouse and if he can’t control his own teammates, then there’s a bigger issue over there.”
Britton, like Sox manager John Farrell, emphasized the Pedroia-Machado-Barnes incident was to be left in the past.
“There’s really not a whole lot I think that’s going to carry over,” Britton said.
Said Farrell: “I think much has been said about it. We’ve moved on from it. The fact is, we’re coming off a good weekend of baseball, something that hopefully we continue to build upon. And more than anything, [I’m] focused on our guys and what we need to do to be a little more proficient defensively and execute the game as called for.”
Barnes was of the same mind.
“I’m past it. It’s over with,” Barnes said. “I’m ready to go, coming off a good series win, trying to win another one against a division opponent.”
Barnes was unsure if he’d speak with Machado.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter had the same message as everyone else.
"I know the respect that our guys have for their club," Showalter said. "I think if you really took a poll, people are looking forward to playing baseball against a really good team. I know they have that same respect. The players, I think the people involved may look at it a little differently, maybe I’m naive about it. But I know how our guys feel."
Showalter briefly paused.
"Is that the obligatory question you had to ask?" Showalter said.