OAKLAND, Calif. -- Texas Rangers right-hander Matt Garza apologized Sunday for his Twitter rant Saturday night aimed at A's second baseman Eric Sogard and his wife, Kaycee.
"No questions. Just a statement today," Garza said outside of the Rangers' clubhouse. "All I want to say is I let my competitive spirit cross outside the lines, and that shouldn't happen. I let my passion, my fire carry over, and that's not how this game should be played. And for that I apologize to the Sogards for anything that was said through my Twitter. That's all I have. I regret what happened, and I'm just looking forward to a great game today."
Garza said he hasn't talked to Eric Sogard and doesn't "plan to."
Garza reacted angrily Saturday when Sogard laid down a safety squeeze bunt in the seventh inning that pushed across a run in the A's 4-2 win. The A's bunted on Garza early and often in their victory.
Hours after the game, Garza reacted angrily on Twitter, responding to what appeared to be an innocent tweet by Kaycee Sogard.
In one of his milder tweets from his protected account, Garza wrote: "@KayceeSogard tell your husband to speak up so his wife doesn't have to do it for him ... Chumps! ... Hahaha!"
He also tweeted that "certain people can't shut there woman up!"
Rangers assistant general manager Thad Levine called Garza's tweets "totally inappropriate."
"I think that was certainly crossing the line and not sentiments that are condoned by the team, by any stretch," Levine said.
Levine issued an apology to the Sogards and the A's.
"When we acquired him, we knew, appreciated and were excited about the fire and passion he was going to display on the field when he was playing and pitching and the fire and passion he was going to display in the dugout when he was supporting his teammates. It's our sincere hope that that's where it stays," Levine said. "We don't think it has a place outside of that. On behalf of the Texas Rangers, we certainly apologize to the Sogards and to the Oakland Athletics for what was said."
Levine said he planned to "personally communicate our sentiments" to the A's. Levine was told that many women were offended by Garza's comments and responded via Twitter.
"I did not read those, but they would be entirely entitled to feel that way based upon the comments that I saw that he made," Levine said. "I think that's where we see this being such a serious issue."
Garza is no stranger to controversy on Twitter, and Levine said Garza might stop tweeting.
"That was part of our discussion with him this morning and something actually that he offered up as a smart move on his part just to maybe stop tweeting," Levine said.
Eric Sogard offered a calm response to Garza's rant.
"Obviously it's something you want to leave on the field and move on when the game ends," Sogard said. He added that he and his wife "took it as a joke, and that's how we'll continue to look at it."