Toronto Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah has made some enemies within his own division, including Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo.
Alek Manoah’s rough start to the season just got even worse.
On the ‘Baseball Isn’t Boring’ podcast, Verdugo ripped into the Toronto ace for several altercations he had with the Red Sox last season. Specifically, he stared down Verdugo’s teammates in Franchy Cordero and Bobby Dalbec.
It’s one thing to pump himself up, or even his teammates, but to aim any form of disrespect in Boston’s direction — were that Manoah’s intention — is out of line.
Alek Manoah strikes out the side with a side of beef 😡 pic.twitter.com/OZKTuMvIsb
— Tim and Friends (@timandfriends) July 23, 2022
Considering this has happened more than once between Manoah and the Red Sox, it’s surprising Verdugo didn’t speak up sooner. A month after those events took place, Gerrit Cole ripped into Manoah after he plunked Aaron Judge, as well.
Red Sox: Alex Verdugo sounds off on Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah
“If it’s a genuine reaction and it’s for the boys, not directed towards somebody, then yeah (it’s fine),” Verdugo said. “Like I’ll say it right now, I think Alek Manoah goes about it the wrong way, 100 percent I think he does. You can find videos of him, footage of him in Triple-A going like this to hitters. Last year, telling Franchy and Bobby like go sit, s–t like that and looking right at them.”
The Blue Jays and Red Sox will face off many times this season, with Manoah taking the bump against Verdugo.
“So it’s like, s–t like that just pisses me off. It’s not the way it should be played. It should be played like you’re celebrating it with your team, you’re not f——g disrespecting another player who is – at the end of the day we’re just trying to compete, that’s it.”
Verdugo has a valid point here. It’s easy to see from the Red Sox perspective how Manoah is being disrespectful. Surely this won’t be the last we hear about it. Hopefully Boston uses their words or bats to get back at Manoah, rather than a fastball aimed at Vlad Jr.’s back.