WASHINGTON (CBSDC) — In a recent CBS Sports Minute, John Feinstein said on the radio it was “good” Jayson Werth was going to jail for speeding, before labeling him “one of the most arrogant, least likable athletes in sports.”

Many Nationals fans did not agree with his assessment of the Nationals’ outfielder, and neither did the team’s general manager and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo, apparently.

Feinstein received an angry phone call from Rizzo on Tuesday, he told 106.7 The Fan’s Grant Paulsen and Danny Rouhier the following day, when he was asked to explain his incendiary comments about the beloved Werth.

“I will repeat to you what I said to Mike Rizzo yesterday, when he called screaming,” Feinstein said.

“Basically, I have problems with athletes who are willing to talk when they succeed and duck the media when they fail,” he said. “Twenty-four members of the Washington Nationals stood in the clubhouse after they lost to the Giants and spoke to the media in different ways, shapes and forms. One guy refused to do it. One guy, even after he had showered and dressed and was ready to leave the clubhouse, when he was asked — because there were three or four guys who he knew still there — said, ‘No, I’m not talking.’ I think going 105 in a 55 is a pretty bad thing, too, by the way.

“Mike Rizzo asked me if I’d ever gone 105, and I said, ‘No. I’ve done a lot of things wrong, but I haven’t done that.’ And Werth is one of those guys who, he thinks because he’s a baseball player that he’s above other people, and I have issues with athletes who feel that way. To give Rizzo his due, he says that he’s a great leader in clubhouse; Eddie Murray was too. Cal Ripken told me Eddie Murray was the best teammate he ever had. A lot of guys said that. He was terrible with the media.

“I can only judge people by how they treat the guys who I work with, or me. I had Jayson Werth on my radio show, he was terrible. I met him one time, because I introduced myself briefly just to thank him for being on the radio show. I’m sure he doesn’t remember it. Why should he? But I just don’t think he’s a good guy. And by the way, there’s a difference — that’s the other thing Rizzo and I argued about — there’s a difference between ‘likable’ and ‘being liked.’ I know he’s very popular with the fans. I know he’s liked by his teammates. I don’t think he’s ‘likable.’ That’s an opinion of mine.

“I was explaining to Mike. He said, ‘You’re inaccurate. He’s well-liked.’ I said, ‘ I didn’t say he wasn’t. I said he’s not likable. That’s an opinion. It’s different.”

Feinstein was then asked about the notion that he could have a distorted perception of Werth’s character because he doesn’t frequent the Nationals locker room as much as, say, the beat reporters who cover the team on a daily basis.

Not in line w/ fan base, clubhouse, etc RT @1067thefandc Feinstein calls Werth "one of the most arrogant, least likable athletes in sports.” — Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) February 3, 2015

“That was a big part of my conversation with Rizzo,” Feinstein replied. “Because he was saying, ‘You’re not around the team,’ and I’m not. I’m not a beat writer. He said I hadn’t been in the ballpark for two years — I don’t know where he got that, because that’s far from being true.”

“Now that I said what I said about him — and I said this to Rizzo — because I’m not a guy who believes that you drop a bomb on a guy, and then don’t ever meet him, which a lot of people do,” he continued. “I told Mike, I said, ‘When you guys come home, I will go and introduce myself to Werth,’ because I’m assuming he won’t remember the first time I did, and I’ll tell him: ‘I’m the guy who said that you’re one of the least likable athletes in D.C.’

“And if he wants to punch me in the nose, fine. My suggestion would be that Jayson Werth and I sit down and talk, because maybe I’ll see another side of him if he does that. Maybe he can explain to me why he acts the way he does sometimes with the media.

“My feeling has always been, that when you criticize somebody, you have an obligation to give them the opportunity … you know, like when Rizzo’s flak called me yesterday and said, ‘Do you have time to talk to Mike today,’ I said, ‘Of course I do.’ And I knew what it was about, and I knew he was going to yell at me; but I’m not going to duck anybody who wants to give me a hard time about something I’ve said or written.”

Listen to Feinstein’s full comments below.

Follow Chris Lingebach and 106.7 The Fan.