CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals won't see each other until early May, but the heat already has been turned up on one of baseball's best rivalries.
Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant called St. Louis "boring" during a comedic moment at the team's annual fan convention this weekend. When Cardinals star catcher Yadier Molina heard about the comment, he responded by saying "only stupid players and losers" make fun of other cities.
Bryant was being interviewed on a stage by former pitcher Ryan Dempster on Friday night when the two joked about the possibility of playing for the Cardinals.
"Who would want to play in St. Louis?" Bryant asked. "Boring. So boring. I always get asked, 'Where would you like to play? Where would you not like to play?' St. Louis is on the list of places I don't like to play. It's rough."
Dempster piled on, adding that at one point in his career there was a chance he was going to be traded to St. Louis.
"I'm like, 'Zero chance in hell,'" Dempster said. "No way. Won't even go there as a free agent. Not happening."
Cardinals outfielder Marcell Ozuna, commenting on Molina's post, also took exception to the comments.
"From outside they speak and talk like tiger but at the end they gonna be like little cat .. #cerorespectforthisstupidplayers #quevivastlouis #LOVESTL," Ozuna said on Molina's post.
The teams first square off next season on May 3-5 in Chicago. Bryant and the Cubs don't make their first appearance in St. Louis until May 31.