Manager comments on player eating lollipop during game

A manager said Tuesday that a player's decision to suck on a green lollipop while playing second base during Monday night's game "pisses me off." The player spent the bottom of the fifth inning with the candy in his mouth while his team trailed 4-1. No ball was hit to the player during the inning.

Background on the incident The manager made the comments during a weekly podcast appearance. He noted that the player often walks to the beat of his own drum and that the team has encouraged him to show his personality. The episode marks the latest example of the player testing the limits of that encouragement and will likely lead to a closed-door conversation.

Player's recent performance After going 1-for-4 with two strikeouts on Monday, the player entered Tuesday batting .226 with a .716 OPS, 11 home runs and 23 steals. He is on pace for 23 home runs and 48 steals, short of his stated goal of 50-50 entering the season. The 28-year-old pending free agent had a slow start to the season but performed better in May before a quieter June.