PCA, before Cubs’ loss to Brewers, expresses regret over choice of words with Sox fan
Pete Crow-Armstrong wanted the chance to address his interaction with a White Sox fan on Sunday at Rate Field, which was magnified on social media, like everything else these days.
His opening line was defiant, then he thought better of it and changed direction.
“If you're going to go and open your mouth like that, I think you should probably expect …,” Crow-Armstrong began. “I think I just regret my choice of words the most, and who that effects in my life, directly and indirectly.”
The Cubs could have used a few more passionate moments Monday. With a full house at Wrigley Field, they lost to Milwaukee 9-3, ending a 15-game home win streak that dated back to April 11. The Cubs' lead in the NL Central dwindled to a half-game over the Brewers.
The Cubs trailed 8-0 before collecting their first hit of the game, a single by Carson Kelly leading off the fifth. Dansby Swanson followed with his seventh home run of the season.
Shota Imanaga was tagged with 8 earned runs in just 4 ⅓ innings. The Brewers collected plenty of soft hits, but Christian Yelich and Jake Bauers hit home runs.
To reset Sunday’s scenario, it was the bottom of the fifth inning and White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas hit a game-tying 2-run double high off the wall in right-center field. Earlier in the inning, Crow-Armstrong made a great catch at the wall of a long drive by Derek Hill. This time, PCA jumped, crashed into the padded fence hard, but did not get a glove on the ball.
He stayed on the ground for a moment, likely shaken up by the collision, and he was directly in front of the “Patio” area where fans sit at field level with a screen separating them from the action. A woman in a white shirt ran over and said something, other fans reacted, and Crow-Armstrong clearly said something back as he walked away.
“I am intense on the field,” PCA said. “In a moment like that, I think I just let it get away from me a little bit. Again, poor word choice. Lack of awareness too, when it comes to who's watching me.”
The video making the rounds, shot inside the patio area, doesn't give a full account of what happened. What Crow-Armstrong said is barely audible, but has been reported as a nasty, junior-high level taunt, something that would get bleeped by network television.
Based on TV footage of the game, the woman starts speaking to PCA while he's on the ground, but the video begins when he's back on his feet. So while, “You suck,” can be heard, we don't know what was said when the interaction first began.
Does it matter what she said? Not really. Is this a big deal? No.
Let's face it, nasty taunts from fans were a staple of the Wrigley Field bleachers decades before smartphones were invented. Crow-Armstrong seemed to specifically regret using a certain B-word associated with women, which is the correct approach.
“I don't think any of the women in my life would ever think that I would use those kind of words regularly, especially referring to them,” PCA said. “So I'm just bummed out about the word choice and a bunch of little kids probably finding their way to social media and seeing that as well.”
Mild-mannered Cubs manager Craig Counsell admitted being ticked off by fans plenty of times during his playing career. An admitted Packers fan, Counsell could theoretically take offense to the frequent, “Green Bay sucks” chants that happened all weekend at Rate Field.
“I think every player could say that (they've been angered by fans),” Counsell said. “But it's part of it. Sometimes it's fun and sometimes it's funny, actually. Sometimes it's hurtful. And that happens a lot too.
“But we have a standard to uphold, that goes along with all the good stuff that we get to experience. And the fans being there is part of the good stuff. But there's still a standard that we've got to live by.”
Counsell has mentioned plenty of times the past three years how much the Cubs appreciate Crow-Armstrong’s fiery competitiveness, and doesn't want it to change. But sometimes it should be reigned in a little bit.
Crow-Armstrong went 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts in Monday’s game. Michael Busch had a pair of doubles for one of the few Cubs highlights.