Dave Martinez on Laz Diaz: Ump is 'supposed to uphold the peace'

Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez had pointed words after home plate umpire Laz Diaz and star slugger Bryce Harper jawed during a game against the Atlanta Braves on Friday. Harper and Diaz were arguing with each other much of the night. It started when Harper disagreed with a call in the fifth and continued when Harper was in center field as they yelled at each other during the next inning. It stopped short of reaching a boiling point in the seventh when Diaz called a strike on a pitch that was clearly off the plate. Harper argued with Diaz while looking straight ahead, not making eye contact with the umpire. Martinez came from the dugout to back Harper, but Diaz did not eject either. "I'm not going to make any comments on balls and strikes there, but umpires are supposed to be non-confrontational, they're supposed to uphold the peace on the baseball field," Martinez said. "For me, I think the MLB needs to take a...

from ABC News: Sports https://ift.tt/2CXh0DO