Daniel Murphy Made An Umpire Cussin' Mad

There was a brief and confusing tiff between Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy and umpire Alan Porter during last night’s Braves-Nationals game. While in the field during the top of the second inning, Murphy asked Porter to shift out of his line of sight, which is a pretty common request from middle infielders. Porter did not receive the request well.

The two exchanged words for a bit ( you can see the full interaction here) while Porter stayed firmly planted in his position, and the whole thing ended with Porter grumblin’ and cursin’:

After the game, Murphy told reporters that he later spoke to Porter and cleared the air. From the Washington Post:

“Alan and I talked,” Murphy said. “I think we both understand we’ve got a job to do, and we were both able to discuss and work through that. By the end of the game, there were no problems whatsoever. I don’t foresee there being any problems in the future, either.”

It’s good that Porter and Murphy were able to work things out, and that Murphy kept his cool while Porter was barking at him. I have a feeling Porter wouldn’t have reacted so charitably if the cursing had been coming from the other direction.