Manager Joe Girardi engaged in a brief shouting match with columnist Joel Sherman of the New York Post in the visiting clubhouse at Camden Yards, and the pair were separated by team personnel.
Girardi conducted his postgame press conference with reporters in a noisy hallway outside the clubhouse and was irked at having to answer repeated questions about CC Sabathia’s health, saying at one point, “I’m not lying. One time is sufficient.”
The spat between Girardi and Sherman continued into the manager’s office, where players overheard the exchange before Sherman exited and the door slammed shut behind him.
ESPN’s Andrew Marchand adds that the two were nose-to-nose at one point in the manager’s office.
Girardi’s frustration stemmed primarily from a blown call at first base that ended the game and stripped the Yankees of what would have been the tying run. This is all sounds like heat-of-the-moment stuff -- the kind of thing that can happen in any ultra-competitive environment -- but it’s sure to feed a range of narratives in New York. “Has Girardi lost his cool?” “Are the Yankees already panicking?” “Is this a sinking ship?”
The Bombers enter play Sunday in a tie with the Orioles for first place in the American League East.