'I was frustrated' - Former Tennessee Vols baseball standout explains why he apologized to his teammates

Former Tennessee Vols LHP Garrett Crochet felt compelled to apologize to his Boston Red Sox teammates on Wednesday night after a 5-1 loss to the New York Mets. 

It wasn't because Crochet didn't pitch well -- quite the opposite, actually. Crochet gave up just one earned run in 5.1 innnings of work. 

Crochet was pretty much cruising when he was removed from the game at just 85 pitches. The former Tennessee standout wasn't happy when Red Sox manager Alex Cora came to the mound to make a pitching change, apparently cursing on the field when he saw Cora emerge from the dugout. 

“I was frustrated,” said Crochet after the game (via NESN). “Just wanted a chance to pick up my teammates in the bullpen. They’ve obviously worked really hard this series, and I wanted to try and keep them out of it as much as possible.”

“I apologized for yelling a curse word on the field when I saw him coming out there,” added Crochet. “I wasn’t trying to show him up. I was just really in the moment. I knew where my pitch count was and how my body was feeling. I was really excited to attack the next hitter. It was in no way my intention to show him up.”

That's nothing more than a competitive player who was in the moment. I'm sure each of his teammates more than understood. 

Boston, by the way, is being conservative with Crochet's innings by design. Essentially, they want to make sure they keep him fresh for later in the season.