Ozzie Guillen found himself in familiar territory during and after Sunday's Marlins-Nationals game: The fiery manager of the Miami Marlins was in the middle of yet another controversy. This time around, Guillen was tangling with D.C. phenom Bryce Harper.
According to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post, the drama began after Harper's first at-bat on Sunday. After the 19-year-old All-Star lined out to third base, Guillen complained to the umpires that there was too much pine tar on his bat. When Harper returned to the plate in the fourth inning he was brandishing a new bat and managed to get Guillen's attention.
"The next time Harper came up and pointed his bat at Ozzie, I guess kind of showing him up," Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison told the Sun Sentinel, describing Harper's actions as "kind of a slap in the face."
The Nats Enquirer took some screen shots of Guillen's reaction. After gesturing with a bat as a prop, Guillen went out to talk to the home plate umpire again.
When Guillen was asked what he was upset about after the Nationals' 4-0 win, the Miami manager wouldn't say what Harper did but called him "unprofessional" (not before calling him "cute" though).
"I’ve been praising this kid like everyday," Guillen said. "The last three times they asked me about him, the only thing I said was he’s a great player. What he did [today] was unprofessional."
WATCH VIDEO ABOVE
Harper didn't say much about the incident and called Guillen a "great manager," per Mark Zuckerman of CSN Washington.
However, Nationals manager Davey Johnson didn't shy away from throwing his two cents in.
"Ozzie had complained that the pine tar was too high up on Harper’s bat. So we changed it. Then he was still chirping about," said Johnson. "It got on the umpire’s nerves. It got on my nerves. He was trying to intimidate my player, I guess. That’s not going to bother our player. He does what he has to do."
Click HERE to watch video of Guillen arguing with the umpire and they're comments after the game.