Zumaya apologizes for conduct toward umpire
On Wednesday night, minutes after walking four batters and hitting another in a disastrous ninth inning, Tigers right-hander Joel Zumaya sat at his locker, stared straight ahead and did not speak to reporters.
One day later, he left little unsaid.
Zumaya answered questions for 12 minutes before the team left after Thursday night’s game with the White Sox was postponed by rain.
Zumaya repeatedly scolded himself for his performance — the lack of command led to two earned runs in two-thirds of an inning — and his conduct toward plate umpire Mark Wegner.
Zumaya admitted “getting real bigheaded about myself,” said his concentration was “someplace else,” and acknowledged he yelled at Wegner “quite a few times” about his strike zone.