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Arrieta makes faux pas with faux stirrups

MILWAUKEE -- Jake Arrieta didn't exactly put his best foot forward against the Brewers on Thursday night.

"It was awkward to watch him," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said after his team's 5-2 come-from-behind win. "It might have been the socks."

Arrieta, who did not get a decision, wore faux stirrups with new shortened pants, although that wasn't exactly the look he wanted.

Tweet from @Cubs: The most controversial socks on Twitter tonight. pic.twitter.com/N7wXIDdqi4

"The socks were awful, the worst socks I've ever worn," Arrieta said. "I wanted to wear a different stirrup that we had with one of our throwback [uniforms]. We didn't have those. I wanted to wear my short pants for the first time -- they just got in. Unfortunately, the socks stunk, so you won't see those again. You'll see the high pants again, just better socks."

Clubhouse manager Tom Hellmann didn't pack the right stirrups for Arrieta's outfit, and the faux stirrups even started to fray during the outing. He did notch a quality start, and is 5-1 with a 1.53 ERA in his last eight starts. But he won't wear those white socks with the painted-on stirrups again.

Video: CHC@MIL: Arrieta fans six, holds Crew to two runs

"I loved the socks -- that was mid-'70s right there," Maddon said. "It was beautiful. If I could have just grown an Afro for a day, I would have done so just to support him."

But then he admitted it was definitely a fashion faux pas.

"They're awful, and it's a horrible look," he said. "You've got to love the tenacity it takes to wear something that awful, but then Jake makes it look good. There's all these different forces of nature at work."

Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. She writes a blog, Muskat Ramblings. You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat and listen to her podcast.
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