Brandon Phillips won’t speak to local Cincinnati media after they ripped him

Oct 1, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips before the National League wild card playoff baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips is enacting Operation: Shutdown when it comes to the local Cincinnati media.

Phillips is seemingly just generally ticked, but he’s specifically ticked about questions that were raised by the local media people about his production.

So, Phillips is now going Quote Nazi on the Cincy writers. No quotes for you!

“I don’t have nothing to say to those cats,” Phillips explained to MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince. “They know what the deal is. They just talk about how I was falling off and declining. How the [expletive] am I declining? I had 100 … ribbies [RBI] last year. And I did that with one … hand. And I won a Gold Glove? So how the [expletive] am I declining? Come on, man.”

It’s interesting to note that Castrovince, in the very piece where he printed Phillips’ quotes about not speaking to the local media, raised the same questions about Phillips that brought about Operation: Shutdown in the first place.

Is Anthony Castrovince now covered under the Operation: Shutdown umbrella, or does his national media status impart immunity?

Brandon Phillips, please clarify. What are the specific parameters of Operation: Shutdown?

By the way, yes it is legitimate to question Brandon Phillips’ production. The Reds themselves showed that they are questioning it by trying to shop Phillips.

Does Operation: Shutdown extend to the Reds’ front office too, or do those guys get a pass just like the national writers?

Brandon Phillips has a little Kanye to him, if you ask me.

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