Evan Brunell is a baseball writer and the president of the Massachusetts chapter of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. You can read more about his lip-reading methods in his post rounding up the best manager-ump arguments of 2012.


Here's what we learned from 2013's arguments: When Terry Francona gets mad, he gets really mad. Joe Maddon likes to use the word "unbelievable," while Dale Sveum is particularly fond of the word "bullshit." In fact, the word "bullshit" is fairly common, as is calling someone a "piece of shit." Mike Redmond joins Don Mattingly and Joe Girardi (neither of whom is featured in 2013 after repeated appearances in the 2012 roundup) as purveyors of the word "horseshit."


Joe Maddon vs. Marty Foster, May 7

JM: [Obscured]

MF: He went right over it. He went right over it, Joe.

JM: No, you can’t say that, Marty! (putting hands to head, horrified)

MF: Oh, I can.

JM: Oh, you can’t say that, Marty! [Obscured] — can’t SAY THAT —

(Conversation obscured for a bit; Maddon goes over to home plate and shows Foster how the runner slid over the plate, and he is ejected.)

JM: What fucking now!?

MF: [Obscured]

JM: Oh, I don’t give a shit. I don’t give a shit. Marty, you can’t call that! You [Obscured]... can’t call that!


MF: [Obscured]

JM: Marty, that’s fucking impossible! Do you understand that? That’s a fucking awful fucking call!


MF: [Obscured]

JM: [Obscured]

MF: Obviously. Obviously.

JM: [Obscured]... explanation, Marty!

MF: Obviously.

JM: It’s fucking [Obscured]

MF: Obviously

JM: What the fuck, man!? You gotta be better than that!

MF: Alright, that’s it, Joe.

JM: That’s fucking brutal! (Walks away, turns around) Holy shit, skippy! Fuck! Unbelievable. That is unbelievable.


Terry Francona vs. Andy Fletcher, June 8

AF: (talking to Nick Swisher): … Don’t you come out here and fucking yell at me.

NS: I was not [Obscured]

AF: [Obscured] … You come out here cracking shit. [Obscured]

NS: [Obscured]

AF: Hey, [Obscured]. Are you kidding me?

AF: (To Francona) Your first baseman started yelling at me.

(Conversation obscured.)

AF: … begin with.

TF: [Obscured]

AF: Not about somebody else’s [Obscured]

TF: [Obscured]

AF: In your life, have you seen that!? In your life!

TF: [Obscured]

AF: (Tosses him)

TF: You don’t give a fuck, do you?

AF: I didn’t do anything wrong.

TF: You got a fucking smirk! I don’t think you give a fuck!

AF: I didn’t do anything wrong.

TF: YOU ARE A FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!

Joe Maddon vs. Scott Barry, May 8

JM: The ball never touched his foot! (Barry looks at him and warns him.) Yeah, but that’s a fucking out!


After the next pitch, Barry takes off his mask and takes a few steps, pointing at Maddon.

JM: That’s right, it’s enough! That’s exactly right! (Maddon is ejected.)

JM: [Obscured] That never hit his foot! It never hit his foot!

SB: [Obscured]

JM: Well, that’s why you should have went and stayed with it!

SB: [Obscured]

JM: You know it didn’t hit his foot! You KNOW (stabs air with finger) it didn’t hit his foot!


SB: [Obscured]

JM: Well then, why didn’t you tell him it did hit his foot?

SB: [Obscured]

JM: No, [Obscured]. … It never hit his foot. And you knew it! YOU KNEW IT!

SB: [Obscured]

JM: Because you knew it! Why didn’t you get the fuck out and look [Obscured]...

(Maddon turns to first-base umpire Tim Welke to plead his case.) It never hit his foot. It never hit his foot, Tim.


TW: OK.

JM: Okay!?!? This guy’s fucking out! [Obscured] Never hit his foot! NEVER. Not even close! Look at him! He’s not even finished coming around! Timmy, it’s unbelievable! It’s fucking unbelievable! (Conversation obscured,Maddon turns his attention back to Scott Barry.) What the fuck!? You’re standing right fucking there! And you fucking ignored it!


Terry Collins vs. Adrian Johnson, May 28

TC: You can’t discuss the call!? … YOU CANNOT DISCUSS THE CALL!?!? BULLSHIT!! [Obscured]


AJ: (Obscured, warning him)

TC: I DON’T GIVE A SHIT!

AJ: (Ejects Collins.)

Fredi Gonzalez vs. Doug Eddings, July 7


BU: Fuck! Call that a — [Obscured]

(Upton is ejected.)

BU: [Obscured] That’s fucked up, man! [Obscured] For real!? (Swats teammate’s hand away.) Let go, bro. (Looks back at ump.) For real, man!?


DE: [Obscured]

BU: Come the fuck on, bro. Come on. Nah, come on, man. Come on.

Fredi Gonzalez: (interjecting) That’s fine—that’s fine... (to DE’s explanation)

Remainder of conversation is obscured.

John Gibbons vs. Alan Porter, July 2

JG: No he didn’t. [Obscured]

AP: I’m telling you, I’m telling you—[Obscured]—not talking anymore.

JG: [Obscured]

AP: NO. We’re not going to talk anymore.

JG: We’re going to protest the call. If I told you [Obscured]

Remainder of conversation is obscured.

Mike Redmond vs. Mark Wegner, June 22

MR: That’s a double?

MW: Yeah, the fan reached right down.

MR: That ball wasn’t staying in the field, it bounced into the fucking stands.

MW: He reached right over.

MR: No way, [Obscured]. The ball was going right into the stands.

MW: [Obscured]

MR: No way, no way. That ball was going into the stands.

MW: [Obscured]

MR: Are you shitting me? [Obscured] That fucking ball bounced [Obscured]

MW: [Obscured]

MR: Yes it is, it fucking bounced into the fucking stands.

(Conversation obscured)

MR: Not cool. Fucking horseshit call. You fucking missed that call.

At this point, Wegner throws Redmond out.

MR: Throw me out? Why!? [Obscured] You fucking missed it! [Obscured]—missed it! Fucking—[Obscured]—Why’d you fucking miss it!?


Buck Showalter vs. Angel Hernandez, June 21


BS: [Obscured] you call foul ball, [Obscured]

AH: [Obscured], that’s my point.

BH: Why did you stop...[Obscured] Tell me why [Obscured]

AH: [Obscured]

BS: [Obscured]... you can’t have both! You [Obscured]

(Conversation obscured)

BS: The ball cannot be called over there! That’s all. You know it. [Obscured], you think about that!


AH: I can’t [Obscured]

BS: Of course you did!

AH: Because I thought the ball hit the bat!

BS: You’re supposed to be fair! You’re being unfair now.

AH: I did everything I could.

BS: Our guy’s running, the ball’s over there …

AH: He knows—

BS: Why’d he stop!?

AH: Why’d he stop?

BS: Because you called foul ball! [Obscured]

AH: No, Buck, because [Obscured] —

AH: The ball came back.

BS: Did you say foul ball?

AH: Yes, I did.

BS: Okay, that’s why he stopped.

AH: No, he didn’t hear that.

BS: You can’t be—OH, BULLSHIT!

AH: Okay.

BS: You don’t know what he did!

AH: That’s all I got, Buck.

BS: You can’t do that! Fucking ball’s rolling over here!

AH: Okay.

BS: [Obscured] He’s over here!

AH: [Obscured]

BS: YOU CALLED [Obscured]

AH: You go! (throws him out)

BS: The fucking, the ball’s rolled over here! Your arms are up here! (Showalter is pantomiming Hernandez giving the foul ball signal.)


AH: I know that!

BS: You can’t do that! You can’t [Obscured] you can’t do that! … (pointing to the other umps) he’s wrong, he’s wrong, he’s wrong, [Obscured] (“ejects” umpires from game).


AH: Okay.

BS: [Obscured] That’s wrong! The ball was over [Obscured] … you tell me how that’s fair! Tell me how that’s fair. Help me.


AH: [Obscured]

BS: Right, but the play’s not over, Angel. You stopped the play. You can’t make it roll away.


AH: I get it.

Dale Sveum vs. D.J. Reyburn, June 17

DS: Bullshit! [Obscured] Bullshit! Bullshit! [Obscured] He fucking blocked the fucking plate!


DR: No, his foot went in.

DS: Bullshit, he did! [Obscured] fucking [Obscured].

DR: Yes.

DS: Bullshit!

(Conversation obscured, during which Sveum is tossed)

DS: What’d you throw me out for!?

DR: [Obscured]

DS: [Obscured]—What’d you throw me out for? Why!?

(Fieldin Culbreth tries to intervene and speak to him.)


DS: What’d he throw me out for!?

FC: (Culbreth starts walking him off, answer obscured.)

DS: Bullshit! Why’d he throw me out?

FC: I, I don’t know.

DS: I was right, wasn’t I?

FC: Well, actually, I think he’s correct.

Kurt Suzuki vs. John Tumpane, May 12


KS: (Was just ejected.) Fuck you! That pitch is fucking outside!

JT: No, it’s not.

KS: Bullshit! I’m going to go look at it!

JT: Okay. [Obscured]

KS: BULLSHIT!

Ron Roenicke vs. Gary Darling, April 23

Third-base umpire Clint Fagan: Knock it off! (Addressed to Roenicke, who is yelling from the dugout.)


RR: … ball!

Home-plate umpire Gary Darling ejects him

RR: [Obscured] You screwed up! You screwed up, and you’re throwing me out!

RD: Bullshit! We told you that—-

RR: ‘Cuz you got mad!

RD: Oh, bullshit!

RR: Get your head out of your ass and call the game!

RD: [Obscured]

RR: No, it isn’t!

(Conversation obscured)

RR: I knew, and you throw me out for that!

RD: [Obscured]

RR: Oh, I don’t care [Obscured] … he blew it!

Kirk Gibson vs. Chad Fairchild, April 20

Ross is ejected after flipping his bat and helmet after a called strikeout. He walks out onto the field, not realizing he is ejected. He catches on and turns around.


CF: (Presumably asking if he was ejected.)

CF: Yes!

(Conversation obscured, but Ross is furious and Gibson has to bear-hug him to restrain him.)


CR: FUCK YOU CHAD! YOU’RE A PIECE OF SHIT!

(Conversation obscured)

KG: Bullshit. You’ve been [Obscured] there all fucking night. (Ejected) Oh, fuck you too! How the fuck [Obscured] … And you’re going to fucking throw him.


CF: [Obscured]

KG: Bullshit! How the fuck do you know, you fucking mindreader! You fucking mindreader!


Joe Maddon vs. Brian Knight, April 17

JM: (Jogging out, talking to himself.) No.

JM: Brian, there’s no [Obscured], it’s unbelievable. [Obscured] It’s unbelievable.


BK: [Obscured]

JM: Absolutely! The ball came up, and he [Obscured]

BK: [Obscured]

JM: [Obscured]... that’s not true! You anticipated that call [Obscured]

BK: [Obscured]

JM: No, Brian. Brian, I’ve got [Obscured]

BK: [Obscured]

JM: [Obscured], don’t you? That’s a fucking blown call, Brian! [Obscured] He caught it and went back down with it.


BK: [Obscured]

JM: Well, I hear that every fucking day!

BK: Okay, you’re going to get run.

JM: Yeah, I’m going to get fucking (Obscured by being ejected). How many fucking times. I’ve been [Obscured] That’s about the 10th time I’ve [Obscured]. … The ball comes up, he puts it back down and you call a fucking out.


Maddon then gets walked off the field by third-base umpire Gerry Davis, complaining the whole time.

Terry Francona vs. Jordan Baker, April 9


Terry Francona: I just said to you, I said, did you read his mind? And you said YES!

(Conversation obscured)

TF: OK, OK, I will.

JB: [Obscured]

TF: You listen! You tell me what you just said. You knew [Obscured] our pitcher, and I asked you a question.


(Conversation obscured)

JB: OK.

TF: [Obscured]

JB: OK.

TF: [Obscured]

JB: OK.

Terry Francona vs. C.B. Bucknor, April 6

(Most of the conversation is obscured.)

Terry Francona to Bucknor: I’m not, I’m telling you I know you get a lot of them, but that wasn’t one.


[Obscured]

(In the replay of Albers’ ejection...)

Matt Albers: (Obscured.) You’re stupid! Come on!

Bryce Harper vs. Hunter Wendelstedt, July 13


BH: Fucking outside! There’s no way! (Harper is ejected.) Terrible! That’s terrible! That’s twice! Are you kidding me? That’s fucking twice!

Bud Black vs. Laz Diaz, July 12

LD: You gotta get out of the way.

Chase Headley: I am getting out of the way.

BB: Bullshit! (As he is running out and overhears the conversation.)

LD: [Obscured] He’s trying to come back [Obscured]

CH: [Obscured]

BB to Diaz: [Obscured] Fucking coming over here!

LD: He’s coming back, [Obscured]

BB: Bullshit! [Obscured] — fucking grass, Laz!

LD: [Obscured]

BB: Goddammit, he can’t be on the fucking grass!?

(Conversation obscured)

LD:—pushed him out of the way.

BB: He’s supposed to get out of the way!

LD: No, he’s not —

BB: Bullshit!

LD: He was trying to back up, he was trying to back up.

(Conversation obscured)

BB: Fucking bullshit!

LD: No, it’s not. No, it’s not. No—

BB: [Obscured] (Thrown out of game.)

LD: I did not get it wrong. I did not.

BB: You fucked that up! [Obscured]

Video editing by Tim Burke

Evan Brunell is a freelance baseball journalist who has operated Fire Brand, a Red Sox blog, since 2003. He has written for NESN, NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and ESPN.