Dusty Baker responded -- at length -- to Derek Lowe's post-game comments Wednesday night.
Quick backstory: Lowe, who was batting because the Indians were playing at Cincinnati, was brushed back by an inside fastball from Reds pitcher Mat Latos. Lowe then motioned toward the Cinci dugout, toward Baker. Later in the game, Lowe plunked Brandon Phillips.
In a Thursday morning post, Cincinnati.com's John Fay quoted Baker saying:
"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...."
After the game Lowe made vague insinuations about a past incident, but didn't explain what exactly had happened. When asked about it, Baker said:
"What he was talking about was something that he said and did a few years. 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..."
Fay then writes that things "really got ugly" when a reporter questioned Baker about the fact that Lowe doesn't respect Baker.
"Man, I don't care," Baker said. 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. OK.
"When he said I shook my finger at him to say I didn't have nothing to do with it. It wasn't to say I didn't have anything to do with it. It was to say: Don't mess with me or my team. That's what that means. He better learn sign language. OK."
The two teams wrap up their three-game series Thursday. Not to worry, though, because the Reds will be in Cleveland for a three-game series next week.
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