Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter says that if New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi has such a problem with stealing signs, he may want to address it in his own clubhouse.
"The Yankees are actually one of the better teams at it," Showalter said Tuesday on ESPN New York 98.7's Mike Lupica Show.
Showalter added that the Yankees are experts at stealing signs from second base and agreed with a tweet from former major leaguer Darryl Hamilton that defended Orioles third base coach Bobby Dickerson.
Funny how Yankees accuse my boy Bobby D of stealing signs when everyone knows that's what they do!! Ask former Yanks still in league!!!
— Darryl Hamilton (@DHam18) September 10, 2013
Showalter, who insisted again that the Orioles weren't doing anything wrong, called Hamilton's words "well put."
"[Girardi] thought that he knew something was going on," Showalter said. "Obviously there wasn't, in our mind. Sometimes you are better off having them believe that. Sometimes paranoia in baseball is a good thing."
Showalter said there would be no carryover into Tuesday's game.
On Tuesday morning, Lou Piniella recalled that he had "conversations" with other managers about stealing signs. He said that they get heated, then you hear from the league office and you move on.
"These things have happened in the past," Piniella, a longtime former big league player and manager, said via phone. "You are talking about Girardi, who is very collected and calm. Showalter is basically the same way. They are both very good people. It is a very stressful situation where both sides need to win and the games are so important with less than 20 games to go in the season. I think Joe Torre will probably talk to both of them before tonight's game."
Piniella, 70, is now a YES Network commentator. In his time, he has done it all, from playing to coaching to managing. If the Orioles were trying to steal signs with Dickerson as the spy, Piniella says that is fair.
"It is part of the game," Piniella said. "Both teams are vying for wild-card spots, are playing very important games to decide it. Basically, things get a little more heated."
Although Piniella found no fault with Girardi, he did say there is an easy solution if you believe the other team is trying to find an edge.
"You just switch them," Piniella said of the catcher's signs. "That is the easiest way to do it. You can have very simple signs the other side can't get."
Piniella agrees with Showalter that there will be no carryover Tuesday night.
"The next day, reasonable people play baseball," he said. "That is what will happen here."