Carlos Gomez offers no insight into New York Yankees verbal spat

NEW YORK -- When Carlos Gomez flied out in the sixth inning while the Houston Astros held a nine-run lead Tuesday night, the play seemed routine.

It turns out it wasn't, as the Houston center fielder engaged in a shouting match with members of the New York Yankees, yelling toward the dugout while running down the first base line.

The moment nearly sparked a benches-clearing brawl, but it was nothing more than words being exchanged as it commonplace in these incidents nowadays.

As far as getting Gomez's testimony (answers) about what actually unfolded, it was a tough challenge after Houston's 15-1 rout of the Yankees.

"I don't mean to disrespect anybody. The pitcher who's on the mound he knows, he played with me," Gomez referring to Chris Capuano, a former teammate in Milwaukee. "He knows that I don't mean it to show him up or something like that."

So what happened on the way to first?

"He invited me to dinner," Gomez claimed.

Who?

"I don't know. Just I hear, I say yes. Let's go after the game, let's go to dinner after the game.

After a question about his three-run home run earlier in the game, the attorneys (media) tried again, phrasing their inquiry like this:

Carlos, obviously they didn't invite you to dinner, did you get what they took exception to?

"I don't know. It's a question you have to ask them," Gomez said. "If they feel like I disrespect them when I throw my bat for frustration, they take it the wrong way because I don't mean to do that. I'm a passionate guy even when I strike out. I broke my bat. I got a lot of stuff -- it's not to show up anybody. It's a little bit of frustration.

"Everybody knows the last 2 1/2 weeks I've been having a tough time at the plate."

Another inquiry was about how television broadcasts showed Gomez saying "shut up" to the Yankees but without knowing who he was talking to.

"I don't know. Ask him," Gomez said.

Asked about his past reputation, Gomez said, "What do you mean?"

When the question was reworded about him stirring it up with opponents, Gomez went to the playbook, saying: "The only thing I know is every time I step on the field, I give everything I have. If you misunderstand the way I play the game, it's your fault. I only care how my team feels. And the only thing I know is every time I come here, all my teammates love me."

Gomez's answers may have been unclear but his performance was definitive. He had a three-run home run and drove in four runs after entering the game with four hits in his previous 37 at-bats.