Reds manager David Bell doesn't care what David Ross thinks. Or Javy Báez for that matter. Or anyone else on the Cubs.
"I don’t care what they think of our team or any player on our team," Bell told Cincinnati reporters Sunday when asked about Ross and Báez' Saturday comments on reliever Amir Garrett.
"I really don’t care what another manager thinks of any player on our team," he added. "They don’t know anything about our players. They don’t know anything about our team."
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Ross and Báez fired back at Garrett's actions after striking out Anthony Rizzo in the eighth inning Saturday. Garrett pounded his chest and appeared to direct comments at Rizzo as he walked back to the Cubs dugout.
Báez after the game said, "He can be 6-7, he can be 10 feet, and we're not afraid of that." Ross called Garrett's actions "garbage."
Bell was interviewed on Zoom postgame Saturday before the Cubs' comments came out.
Báez, from the dugout, and Garrett exchanged comments Saturday before both benches cleared. Reds third baseman Mike Moustakas held back Báez in the fray.
Garrett wasn't available to Cincinnati media on Zoom after Saturday's game or pregame Sunday. Bell on Saturday said from his standpoint, Garrett was showing excitement "directed at himself."
There's history between these two teams that goes back to 2014, when Rizzo was ready to take on the entire Cincinnati dugout. Benches cleared in 2018 after Garrett directed comments at Báez after a strikeout.
MLB
Last season, benches cleared after pitchers from both sides threw up-and-in, and Rizzo and Bell exchanged comments on the field.