Reddick, Melvin clear up miscommunication

OAKLAND -- A's outfielder Josh Reddick said he spoke to manager Bob Melvin about the candid remarks he made in a radio interview Thursday that suggested the front office, specifically general manager Billy Beane, is restricting his playing time against left-handers despite Melvin's desire to keep him in the lineup regardless.

Talking with A's broadcaster Ray Fosse on 95.7 The Game on Thursday, Reddick said, "I know Bob's in there fighting for me. The other day I was supposed to play against [Jorge] De La Rosa, and Bob texts me at around 1:30 and told me he had been 'trumped,' was the word he used. I understood right away. I know it's not Bob."

But he meant no trouble for his manager in making such comments public.

On Friday, Reddick told reporters, "The bottom line is I want to be out there every day despite who's on the mound. That was the overall message, and how it came out may have not been how I really wanted it to come out. It was a miscommunication between me and Bob. Who knows at this point how things are worked out, but I've talked to Bob, and we've got it handled between the two of us, and we'll just leave it at that.

"I didn't want to make it seem like I was pulling my manager under the bus because I didn't want to do that to Bob, because Bob's been such a great guy, not only as a manager but a person to me in the four years I've been here, and I don't want to make anything come down on him more than it should."

Melvin was quick to take the blame for any misunderstanding, though.

"We had a miscommunication, and it was my fault," Melvin said. "I had told him earlier he was going to be in the lineup that day, and I went back and I looked. We have a lot of numbers and there's a metric system I look at that was basically an optimal lineup versus the pitcher that we're facing that particular night.

"I hadn't looked at it before. I changed my mind and I got back to him, and I didn't really explain to him why. Therefore there was a little bit of miscommunication.

"We had talked about it in the meantime. He knows that I make the lineup out. We'll leave it at that."

Reddick, who made his second consecutive start against a lefty on Friday, is batting .152 in 66 at-bats against southpaws this season, compared to .330 in 209 at-bats when facing a right-hander.

"I want to be out there whether it's Clayton Kershaw, Felix Hernandez or Dallas Keuchel," Reddick said. "I want to be out there no matter what my past numbers are against those guys because I feel like I can change the game with one swing or one defensive play in the outfield. That's just how it is. I want to be out there every day."