O’s skipper Buck Showalter rips Theo Epstein, Derek Jeter

Orioles manager Buck Showalter isn’t usually one for trash talk, but, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, the veteran skipper let some fellow members of the American League East have it in the April edition of Men’s Journal.

These quotes come without the questions that prompted them, but they’re pretty revealing anyway and worth discussing on some level.

First, Showalter on Red Sox GM Theo Epstein:

“I’d like to see how smart Theo Epstein is with the Tampa Bay payroll. You got Carl Crawford ’cause you paid more than anyone else, and that’s what makes you smarter? That’s why I like whipping their butt. It’s great, knowing those guys with the $205 million payroll are saying, ‘How the hell are they beating us?’ ”

And here’s Showalter on Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter:

“The first time we went to Yankee Stadium, I screamed at Derek Jeter from the dugout. Our guys are thinking, ‘Wow, he’s screaming at Jeter.’ Well, he’s always jumping back from balls just off the plate. I know how many calls that team gets – and yes, he [ticks] me off.”

Showalter managed the Yankees from 1992-1995 and those teams had awfully high payrolls, so it’s a little odd that he’d touch that topic. As for the Jeter thing? Sounds like he was probably attempting to fire up the down-and-out Orioles at the end of last season with all that shouting. This stuff is innocent.