I guess Jose Bautista still hasn't learned when it's time to shut up.
After getting decked with a right cross from Rougned Odor back on May 15, for which Odor is currently three games into a seven-game reduced suspension, Bautista is talking about the incident again, and surprise, he's not backing down.
The Blue Jays slugger, who happens to be one of the most disliked players in the game as evidenced by the amount of current players who were LOLing at him on Twitter after the dust-up with Odor, gave an interview to Sports Illustrated in an article that is set to run Wednesday. And he's still talking crazy.
"Was [Odor] out to play baseball that day? Maybe partly," Bautista told Sports Illustrated. "Part of me also thinks that he was looking for a fight."
Clarification: Odor was looking for a fight when a guy tried to take out his knees after being hit by a pitch — a pitch that wasn't thrown by Odor.
Is Odor an angel? No, we've already established he's probably universally hated outside of DFW, and for that, we love him. But Odor had every right to be upset for being attacked for something that didn't involve him.
Let's move on to another Bautista comment from the article.
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"I could have hit him," Bautista told Sports Illustrated. "I could have hurt him. I chose not to. My cleats were down. I slid through the bag. Was it late? Yes, a hundred percent. But what can I do after they hit me? Should I ask my manager to let me pitch, which he is never going to let me do? Like, what am I supposed to do? Just sit there and take it?"
Answer: Well, Jose, perhaps you could rush the mound like a man and take issue with the guy who plunked you. Ever think of that? I'm guessing you might have briefly until you realized it was a rehabilitated felon on the mound who served time in the federal pen. Probably don't want to rush that mound.
Bottom line, Bautista's comments sound like they're coming from someone who lost a fight. The photographic and video evidence makes it pretty hard for Bautista to argue that fact.
