All Things Bubba

Team previews are starting to appear in the Japanese press, including this one from the Asahi Shimbun. It mentions Andy Phillips and Todd Linden:

Infielder-outfielder Andy Phillips, a former New York Yankee, came over with Brown and Livesey from the Carp and outfielder Todd Linden is back after his infamous locker-room dustup with Nomura late last season. Linden hit a dozen homers in 284 at-bats with the club last year after joining the Eagles in June.

"Dustup"? What dustup?

The Google reveals this:

Rakuten's Linden deactivated after 'criticizing manager'

SENDAI — Rakuten Eagles outfielder Todd Linden was removed from the active roster on Sunday, leaving him out of the first stage of the Climax Series playoffs after Eagles manager Katsuya Nomura accused him of criticizing his game decisions. Linden will be sidelined until Oct 21 for what appeared to be a sarcastic remark directed at Nomura after he was removed from the starting lineup and made a pinch-hit appearance in the ninth inning in a 7-1 defeat to the Nippon Ham Fighters on Saturday.

Nomura was infuriated that the former major leaguer said, ‘‘Thank you’’ to him in a way he interpreted as being sarcastic. ‘‘He was being cynical about being left off the starting lineup. I won’t stand for players criticizing the manager,’’ Nomura said.

Nomura is no longer with the Eagles. They cut him loose, and hired Marty Brown, the manager the Hiroshima Carp let go.

Labels: Andy Phillips