The Texas Rangers are 2.5 games out of first place behind the Oakland Athletics in the American League West and after the team traded for pitcher Matt Garza at the deadline, they felt their rotation was fully set for a playoff run and one reason they got him was for his energy and passion, something that came back to bit him a bit this week.
According to ESPN.com, Garza came out and apologized for a rant on Twitter from Saturday night directed at Athletics second baseman Eric Sogard and his wife, Kaycee, saying that his competitive spirit got the best of him and sent his apologies to both Sogard and his family. Garza said he wasn't planning on talking to Sogard further and said that he regrets what happened after writing at Sogard's fiance's Twitter that she should "tell your husband to speak up so his wife doesn't have to do it for him ... Chumps! ... Hahaha!" He also added another one, writing: "certain people can't shut there woman up!"
The Twitter posts from Garza were apparently in response to Sogard putting down a safety squeeze bunt in the seventh inning of the A's 4-2 victory against Garza and clearly he was frustrated. He was responding to a tweet from Sogard's fiance and later Rangers assistant manager Thad Levine said that the posts were "inappropriate" and the team later issued an apology to the A's and the Sogards.
Garza has been very solid for the Rangers since being acquired from the Cubs at the trading deadline and this season he is 4-2 with 78 strikeouts and a 3.09 ERA. The loss against Oakland was his first as a Ranger and he had one stretch that saw him retire 12 of 13 batters, but it wasn't enough to overcome three early runs. The Rangers got Garza as a number of teams were chasing him and he has helped give the rotation depth while dealing with injuries.
"When we acquired him, we knew, appreciated and were excited about the fire and passion he was going to display on the field when he was playing and pitching and the fire and passion he was going to display in the dugout when he was supporting his teammates. It's our sincere hope that that's where it stays," Levine said. "We don't think it has a place outside of that. On behalf of the Texas Rangers, we certainly apologize to the Sogards and to the Oakland Athletics for what was said."