PHOENIX -- After speaking with Major League Baseball on Tuesday, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo apologized to Cubs manager Craig Counsell for the dispute between the two teams Monday night during Arizona's 7-0 loss.
In that game, the Diamondbacks saw Cubs third base coach Quinton Berry relaying to Chicago runners on second base when Arizona starter Merrill Kelly was going to throw a changeup. The runner at second could therefore relay it to the hitter.
That prompted Lovullo as well as pitching coach Brian Kaplan and bench coach Jeff Banister to yell at Berry to knock it off.
Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty then got into a shouting match across the field with Banister.
Lovullo and the Diamondbacks coaches were under the impression that there was a rule against base coaches relaying signs, which prompted him to call Michael Hill, senior vice president of on-field operations for Major League Baseball, and ask for a clarification of the rules.
"It was a fantastic conversation," Lovullo said. "The third base coach and the first base coach can do whatever they want, as long as they are inside of the dimensions of the base coaching box, so I stand corrected. And I had a chance to call [Counsell], apologized to him, and told him that we were wrong and they were doing everything right."
In a rule change made this year, coaches are not permitted to leave the box, which is a two-foot-long area designated by a half-rectangle, once a pitcher is on the rubber.
As Lovullo learned, they are free to pick up any signs they can and relay them as long as they remain in the box. Lovullo said Counsell accepted the apology and the two teams will move on.
"It's a very intense time of the year, and you know a lot goes on," Lovullo said. "Two teams trying to protect their turf. I told him that I'd take care of our clubhouse, which I did."
Said Counsell, "I think the world of Torey. I think he runs a great ship here. I think he's done a heck of a job. So I enjoy every conversation I get to have with him. So yeah, he felt like he wanted to do it, and I appreciated it."
The Diamondbacks went back and watched video to see what it was that Kelly was doing to tip off his changeup, and it's something that will be corrected by the next time he takes the mound.
In the future, they want the adjustment to happen quicker, something that Lovullo labeled "Operation Protect Our House."
"When they're showing us they got something, we need to fix it immediately," Lovullo said. "So we'll have that discussion in the dugout -- stop giving them information they don't need. This is the first time that we have seen something coming from a base coach."
Now that they know it's legal, Lovullo said they will free up their coaches to do the same thing. But he also added that it's not as easy as it looks, even if you do pick up a pitcher tipping his pitches.
"How do you get it?” Lovullo said. "How do you relay it? And can the hitter handle it? We're a young team. You know, they're a more veteran type of team that can handle the information that's coming right at them in a matter of less than a second [before the pitch]."