Adam Dunn, J.P. Ricciardi differ over apology

Toronto Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi told reporters Tuesday that he apologized to Cincinnati Reds left-fielder Adam Dunn, which was news to Dunn.  

Ricciardi sparked a controversy last Wednesday by criticizing Dunn on The Fan 590, a Toronto sports radio station.

Asked by a caller if he might consider a trade for Dunn, Ricciardi replied: "Do you know that the guy really doesn't like baseball all that much? Do you know the guy doesn't have a passion to play the game that much?

"We have done our homework on guys like Adam Dunn. There is a reason we don't want Adam Dunn."

Dunn shrugged off the comment, calling Ricciardi "some clown sitting in the front office pushing paper."

What followed, Ricciardi claimed, was a game of phone tag. 

"I talked to Adam on Saturday, so I see it as a dead issue," Ricciardi said prior to Tuesday's 14-1 rout of the Reds.

"He called me. I tried to get his phone and I wasn't having any luck.

"He had called me. I told him I made a mistake and apologized.

"I let my guard down, which I shouldn't have done, but I did. All I can do is apologize."

'It is a lie'

Dunn denied either calling or speaking to Ricciardi. 

"If he said he talked to me, then it is a lie," Dunn told reporters following Tuesday's loss. 

"It is stupid, it is annoying. I'm tired of this, I'm done with it."

Ricciardi, though, was adamant that he spoke to Dunn.

"All I know is the person I talked to said it was Adam Dunn," Ricciardi said. "That's quite a prank to pull."

Ricciardi later claimed he deleted the caller's number from his cell phone.