A couple of weeks ago Alex Rodriguez accused Yu Darvish of being a distraction during Sunday Night Baseball.  Darvish has struggled in his first year as a member of the Cubs and injuries have kept him off of the mound.

A-Rod’s comments didn’t sit well with Maddon and the two exchanged words on the topic, via The Athletic.  Maddon called the exchange, “a strong conversation between two men.”

“My job, I believe, is to protect my brood,” Maddon had said. “Quite frankly, it’s no different than being a parent.”

Sounds like things got a little heated.  Maddon told reporters before Sunday night’s game that the he and A-Rod have a chance to become really good friends.

Via USA Today Sports:

“I felt good about it. Hopefully he felt the same. We talked openly about it. Under those circumstances for me, you speak in a candid manner and then you move on. I really believe through that conversation that we have a chance to be pretty good friends.”

Nothing like a heated exchange to bring people together.  Let’s hope the experience doesn’t keep A-Rod from popping off about other players in the future.