The Pittsburgh Pirates recently won a series against the Chicago Cubs. Chicago's loss prompted manager David Ross to call Pittsburgh “not a good team.” The comments ruffled some feathers, even though Ross was making the point that the Cubs simply can't afford to lose to below-average ball clubs amid their NL Wild Card pursuit. Ross reportedly texted Shelton after making the comments, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune.

“David Ross texted Pirates manager Derek Shelton last night about his comments after Cubs loss Thursday, explaining he was frustrated afterwards,” Montemurro reported.

Ross also addressed his comments, via Montemurro as well.

“I've got a ton of respect for every team we play,” the Cubs manager said. “Hopefully they use my words and kick the crap out of the Reds.”

Cubs-Pirates: David Ross call out Pittsburgh

The Cubs are trying to clinch an NL Wild Card spot. For those who missed Ross' original comments, he was clearly frustrated about the way Chicago played versus Pittsburgh.

“That's not a good team that just took two out of three from us,” Ross said previously, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN. “Or not our caliber of team, I believe. We have to turn it around. It's on me. It's on the guys in the room.”

Ross' words drew a reaction from Pirates star Bryan Reynolds.

“We can use it as motivation,” Reynolds said, per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “If we're such a bad team, maybe he should have managed his team a little better and beat us.”

Perhaps' Ross text will help the Pirates move on from his statement. After all, Ross wasn't necessarily wrong, as the Pirates are just 73-81 in 2023. Still, typically it's better to not call out a team when you are an active player/manager.