Today, in an interview with USA Today, Bosio claimed that he had been fired over a misunderstanding with an African-American clubhouse attendant. According to Bosio, the attendant overheard Bosio call a white pitcher, Daniel Stumpf, “Spider Monkey,” which was the coach’s nickname for the player. From the article:
“Someone in our coaches’ room asked me (Monday afternoon) about Stumpf,’’ Bosio said. “And I said, “Oh, you mean, ‘Spider Monkey.’ That’s his nickname. He’s a skinny little white kid who makes all of these funny faces when he works out.
“The kid thought we were talking about him. He got all upset. He assumed we were talking about him. I said, “No, no, no. We’re talking about Stumpf.’
“And that was it. I swear on my mom and dad’s graves, there was nothing else to it.’’
If that is 100% true, then the firing is all kinds of stupid.