Mike Shildt blames Dave Roberts for suggesting Manny Machado intentionally threw the ball

Mike Shildt disagrees with how Dave Roberts treats himself.

On Tuesday, hours before Game 3 of the NLDS between Shildt's San Diego Padres and Roberts' Los Angeles Dodgers, the Padres manager subtly took a dig at Roberts for claiming Manny Machado threw a ball at him during a controversial Game 2.

When Shilt was asked if he believed Machado was trying to hit Roberts with the ball he threw toward the dugout before the seventh inning Sunday night, he answered emphatically, “No.” He added, “Manny has an exceptional arm,” meaning he could have beaten Roberts if he wanted to.

When asked for his thoughts on how Roberts handled himself, Shildt said the following:

“Well, I may just have a different philosophy in dealing with it… I came into this game to help players make the most of their God-given abilities and compete on the field and respect the opponent. That's me.” I will never disparage any other player on any other team, especially anyone I've mentored in the past. I don't want to do that either.

This was clearly a direct shot at Roberts, who managed Machado for several months at the end of the 2018 season.

“I have a lot of respect for their club, the players in his club,” Shildt said. “As far as Manny is concerned, it's unfortunate that people can't move on from the things of the past. I thought Manny's professionalism and leadership skills were on display the other night in a very difficult environment. But people clearly have the right to do so.” Share what they want and how they want to share it.

On the surface, these were remarkably innocuous comments, but the subtext is clear. The Padres and Dodgers may respect each other, but they definitely don't like each other.