The absurdity continued over relatively benign comments by Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia about Phillies star Bryce Harper, which the latter clearly took exception to during the NLDS.

Now, that drama has spilled into the press box. 

The debate over whether Arcia’s comments were fair game to report has divided baseball circles, with some believing that Fox Sports’ Jake Mintz was just doing his job, while others have claimed that clubhouse comments are off the record other than if they come from an agreed-upon interview. 

All of this started after Game 2 when Mintz included a line in his story noting that Arcia was poking fun at Harper — after the Phillies slugger was doubled off to end the game — inside the clubhouse after the win, including saying “ha-ha, atta-boy, Harper!”

Harper got wind of it and stared down Arcia twice after hitting homers during the Phillies’ Game 3 win.

Arcia acknowledged he said it, but added it wasn’t something meant for Harper to hear. 

“He wasn’t supposed to hear it. That’s why we were talking in the clubhouse,” Arcia said.

All of this led to a lengthy rant from reporter Alanna Rizzo on MLB Network’s “High Heat,” in which she insulted Mintz first without using his name. 

“And then some jackoff comes in at the end of the season that gets a credential, God only knows why,” said Rizzo. “And the clubhouse is a sacred space. And, remember, I’ve been in clubhouses for the last 16, 17 years. I remember I would go in there, get my job done and get out. That is their space. So for this idiot to go in there and take something out of context just to make him give himself a name is ridiculous.”

Then she took shots at him by name. 

“First of all, this guy, Jake Mintz, that’s not even a reporter,” she continued. “That’s taking away from true reporters and true journalists. Where were you on the random Tuesday in April in Cincinnati when this team was playing in Cincinnati? Where were you on a rain delay? And you have to sit in the press box for all of this time. It’s ridiculous.”

Though Mintz hasn’t seemed to address the controversy, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post took to X to defend her fellow scribe. 

“I’m sick of watching people, particularly colleagues in the media, criticize my friend @Jake_Mintz for it,” she wrote on X, noting that she also included the comments by Arcia in a story of her own. 

“He yelled the phrase when cameras and recorders were rolling,” Janes continued in the lengthy thread on X. “I have audio. Had he done it at a slightly different moment, a camera sending an interview live to the truck might have caught it. Would you be eviscerating that network? Or would you say, Shouldn’t say that with cameras around?” 

And while all this was going on, Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman weighed in on X, appearing to criticize what was reported about the incident.

“It’s ridiculous us players have to watch what we say in OUR clubhouse,” he posted. 

The Phillies hold a 2-1 series lead over the Braves as they play Game 4 in Philadelphia on Thursday.