Report: A-Rod, Maddon involved in heated argument over Darvish comments

While Alex Rodriguez and Joe Maddon told reporters their conversation ahead of Sunday night's game was productive, apparently it wasn't as civil behind closed doors as the pair initially made it sound.

The ESPN analyst and Chicago Cubs manager were reportedly involved in a heated argument during the pre-production meeting for Sunday Night Baseball, sources told Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. Maddon took the opportunity to stand up for injured pitcher Yu Darvish, who A-Rod criticized during an earlier broadcast.

Rodriguez was critical of Darvish for being around the clubhouse while rehabbing, claiming that some players would view that as a distraction. Those comments angered both Darvish's agent and Maddon.

Following his conversation with Maddon, A-Rod said that he doesn't plan on changing his approach while working future games and believes it's his responsibility to give his opinions and insights to viewers.

"My job is to say it fairly and objectively," he said. "I have over 25 years in the game, and I'm going to call it as I see it. We don't always have to agree on everything. But I do have a lot of respect for Joe - and obviously the Cubs organization - and I have for a long time and that hasn’t changed."

Maddon told reporters Sunday that one of his responsibilities as a manager is to look out for his players, and said that the conversation was positive.

"My job, I believe, is to protect my brood," Maddon said. "It's no different than being a parent, so if you're going to attack the group from the outside looking in, (my mom) Beanie raised me, my uncles and aunts raised me, my midget football coaches raised me, all these guys that raised me would have it no other way ...

"I responded very open and candid about my comments. We had a great conversation about that. That’s pretty much where I come from. I think it's hard to argue against that. I would respect anybody having the same opinion about protecting their brood."