Giants apologize for GM's remarks

SAN FRANCISCO, June 3 (UPI) -- The San Francisco Giants issued an apology Friday for remarks made by an upset General Manager Brian Sabean concerning the loss of catcher Buster Posey.

Posey will be out for the rest of the season after being involved in a home-plate collision with Florida's Scott Cousins last month. The violent collision left Posey, last year's National League rookie of the year, with a broken ankle that required surgery.

Sabean, speaking on a San Francisco radio show Thursday, criticized Cousins for slamming into Posey.

"If I never hear from Cousins again, or he doesn't play another day in the big leagues, I think we'll all be happy," Sabean said. "He chose to be a hero, in my mind, and if that's his flash of fame, that's as good as it's going to get, pal."

The Giants issued a non-signed statement Friday saying, "Brian Sabean's comments yesterday were said out of frustration and out of true concern for Buster and were not meant to vilify Scott Cousins.

"Brian has been in contact with Florida Marlins General Manager Larry Beinfest to clarify his comments and to assure him that there is no ill-will toward the player," the statement said. "He has also reached out to Scott Cousins directly.

"The issue of catcher safety is a complicated one. There are a number of differing opinions around the circumstances of last week's collision and about what baseball should do to prevent serious injuries in the future. This issue goes far beyond last week's incident as there have been a number of recent collision-involved injuries."