Pirates' Rodriguez: 'I didn't hit anybody. I wish I had'

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Sean Rodriguez felt no remorse following his role in a benches-clearing scuffle during Wednesday's wild-card game.

In fact, he wishes he'd done more.

Rodriguez found himself in the middle of the on-field scrum after Pirates left-hander Tony Watson plunked Cubs starter Jake Arrieta, resulting in Rodriguez coming face-to-face with backup catcher David Ross.

"They said I threw a punch, and I did," Rodriguez told Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune. "I didn't hit anybody. I wish I had. It's the truth. It was Ross. I won't shy away from saying his name.

"He was putting his hands on me. I don't care what's said or what's going on at that point. You don't grab a man by the neck and expect nothing to happen."

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

Rodriguez's frustration, which likely stemmed from being pulled before even recording an at-bat, reached a tipping point when he returned to the dugout and attacked a Gatorade container.

He took to Twitter on Thursday to apologize for his actions, saying: "I want to apologize for allowing my emotions to control my actions in a negative manner. I also spoke to the cooler, personally, and he's forgiven me as Christ forgives all."

The Pirates lost the game 4-0 and were eliminated from the postseason.