A gooey goofy argument from Ozzie Guillen

Pine tar, a sticky substance used to create grip on wooden bats, is back as a topic of discussion after a dormant period of roughly 29 years.

Back on July 24, 1983, George Brett got caught on a technicality for having pine tar too high on his bat. According to the rules, it can only be 18 inches up from the handle. Brett hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth inning off fellow Hall of Famer Goose Gossage to give the Kansas City Royals the lead. But manager Billy Martin emerged from the Yankees dugout to protest the excessive pine tar on Brett's bat. The umpire agreed, and Brett's home run was disallowed. Brett's protest is legendary, and probably the signature highlight from his career.

The Yankees won that day, but the decision was reversed on appeal days later, and the game resumed later in the season, with the home run counting. The Royals won the game.

Fast forward to Sunday, and place Ozzie Guillen in the Martin role and rookie sensation Bryce Harper as Brett.

It wasn't nearly as dramatic, and perhaps was a little gamesmanship, getting in the rookie's head a bit. After all, pine tar on the bat isn't going to affect what happens to the ball after it's hit. Not one bit. That's why Brett's home run was allowed back in 1983. Allowing excessive pine tar would actually help the pitcher more if the ball remained in play, which is why the rule exists in the first place.

So it really wasn't about pine tar. Guillen apparently took offense at a gesture Harper made to the Marlins dugout with his bat.

"I could say a lot of [stuff] about this kid. I've been praising this kid. The last three times [the media] asked me about him, I said he is a great player," Guillen said to MLB.com. "What he did today was unprofessional. I'm not going to tell you guys what he did. I'm not going to be talking about this guy on ESPN or Baseball Tonight or everywhere. I'm going to talk to his manager in a little while."

Harper took it all in stride and tried to stay above the fray, at least publicly.

"That's the type of manager Ozzie is," Harper said to MLB.com. "He's a great manager to play for, and he's going to battle for you no matter what. That's a manager you want to play for."