Showalter says Yankees' complaints were "disrespectful to Flanny"

Manager Buck Showalter knows that the Yankees are chafed at the Orioles for refusing to schedule a doubleheader on Friday and costing them the Sept. 8 off-day. And he really doesn't care. Showalter spoke calmly today, but he didn't pull any punches while addressing the topic with reporters before Game 1. He also referenced the tragic death of former Orioles pitcher Mike Flanagan. "The way I understand, I think they approached Andy (MacPhail) less than 24 hours before," he said. "First of all, I felt that some of the stuff was a little disrespectful to Flanny, quite frankly. That didn't sit well with me very well. I can tell you that. I think we had an April rainout there and they just told us when we were playing. We were OK with that. Like I told you the other day, you tell us when we're playing, we'll play. "We understand that sometimes our opinions on things are not relevant. They come to me when there are two options and talk about it from a baseball standpoint. Every club does that. But some of it kind of has a feeling of hypocrisy. I don't know. I don't dwell on it. Their opinion on what the Baltimore Orioles should do for their fans and for their organization isn't really that relevant to me personally. I can tell you that. We'll do what's best for our fans and for our organization, and we expect it back that they're going to do the same on their side. "Somebody said they offered us to play them there and they were going to give us part of the gate. That's interesting. We also realize that there's a lot of Yankees fans here that come to the games and there are a lot of different things to think about. I'm real confident that our guys have thought about every possible thing and we hope that the scenario we've had coming back home here never presents itself again. I'm sure if they stopped and thought about it, if the same thing happened to one of their greats, that they probably would have given a lot of consideration to how they were going to handle that day. "You want me to keep going? A lot of people don't really care about what our opinions are about different parts of baseball. We play baseball. If there's something out there, it's all about what's best for the fans and a lot of different things. Where it fits into us with all the great modes of how we're able to do this between travel and food, I just find it... Is it raining, is it snowing, is it 18 innings, nine? Let's go. "We hope one day that we can be as competitive as they are. I respect where they are in the season and what their people are saying about the competitive part of it, but it means something to us, too. We'll continue to do what's best for the Baltimore Orioles and the fans, which are the same thing. Along the way, we'll wear that. Sometimes we confuse some things from a real life standpoint compared to what we're actually doing here, OK? Obviously, there's more, but I'll stop there." Also, Showalter said Jake Arrieta has more flexibility in his right elbow now than he did before the surgery to remove a bone spur. Chris Davis (shoulder) could begin baseball-related activities Wednesday or Thursday. Cesar Izturis (groin) could begin his injury-rehab assignment on Friday or Saturday. Jason Berken's wife will have induced labor on Tuesday. Alfredo Simon and Jo-Jo Reyes are in the bullpen today. Showalter listed two reasons why Mark Hendrickson was chosen to replace Troy Patton on the 25-man roster. "Mark was pitching fairly well, and with his family in York, I'm sure they liked having him home for the storm." Hendrickson has signed another consent form allowing the Orioles to option him to Triple-A Norfolk. However, it's "not a given" that he'll come off the roster once Patton returns Monday or Tuesday, Showalter said.