After word leaked out that Coop called a team meeting to apologize to Pudge for not congratulating him on setting the all-time Games Caught record (hang on. Let's look at that again. Coop forgot to apologize to Pudge? What was he doing during the video tribute - taking a deuce?), JJO offers some advice:
Cooper needs to understand that the media isn't out to get him. My friend Jerome Solomon jokes that he cannot believe some people say Cooper can get angry. Well, Cooper was definitely angry Thursday, and he needs to learn to pick his battles.
It's one thing for him to lose the clubhouse, something he did weeks ago. But the media has never, ever treated him unfairly in Houston. He needs to grow up. Yes, grow the heck up and be a professional. Drayton McLane needs to talk to his manager and explain to him that he's the face of the club, and now the face of the club is coming off as an angry whiner.
Then this...
At first Rodriguez didn't want to discuss Cooper's meeting, but he later approached the Chronicle to say he forgave his manager.
"I appreciated that," Rodriguez said. "That says something about the manager for the manager to do that. I forgive him. It happened. We move forward and we won (Thursday), so that's the important thing."
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
