Not-So-Good Fellas

I'm not going to lie. I love baseball brawls. They beat out altercations in every other sport by far. Hockey fights are commonplace. NASCAR crashes are dangerous and potentially life threatening. Basketball fights get out of hand fast (just ask Ron Artest) and football fights are primarily non-existent.

Baseball however, has real fights. For the most part, baseball players police themselves. When someone gets out of line, he'll catch some chin music that will put him back in his place. Occasionally suspensions are handed down by the almighty Bud Selig (I cannot put into words how much I dislike Bud Selig, actually maybe I can, check back for a later blog), but usually the players take care of it by themselves. Until ill-tempered veterans, pissed off by losing playing time to 60 year old comedians, put their ego ahead of logic and rationale and do stupid things.

The recent Yankees/Rays feud finally boiled over yesterday. It began with Tampa Bay outfielder Elliot Johnson running over New York catcher Francisco Cervelli on a bang-bang play at the plate. Cervelli suffered a broken wrist which required surgery. New Yankee Manager Joe Girardi lashed out against the Rays' hard nosed style of play in 'meaningless' spring training games. In the first inning yesterday, Yankees starter Heath Phillips struck Rays third baseman Evan Longoria. Phillips was ejected. Later on, Shelley Duncan of the Yankees slid spike-high into second base. Duncan was out by seven feet and slid late, spiking Rays shortstop Akinori Iwamura. Duncan was immediately ejected. Jonny Gomes, right fielder for Tampa Bay at the time, rushed in from the outfield and shoved Duncan. Benches cleared and bullpens emptied. Five players were ultimately ejected and suspensions are likely to follow.

While I feel no moral obligation to advocate for peace, I compliment every player involved, except Duncan. Johnson had to pull a Pete Rose on Ray Fosse because he's trying to make the team. If he pulls up and is tagged out, he could be red-tagged and replaced by Billy Crystal by sunset. Cervelli shouldn't have been blocking the plate if he didn't want to get hit. Heath Phillips wanted to defend his catcher and show his new manager he is a team guy so he sent the necessary message to Tampa Bay. But what Duncan did was disgraceful. I've played baseball and am perfectly aware of the accidental spiking a player can deliver/receive. But when you are dead to rights at second on a ground ball, there is absolutely no reason to wait to slide until you are right on top of the base and come in with your legs at your opponents waist. I would have reacted the exact same way as Gomes if I saw a teammate in harms way.

They say spring training is meaningless, but this incident, when looked back upon, may have been the most meaningful moment of the Rays season. Tampa Bay is loaded with talent and on the verge of breaking out. It takes something like this to unite the team and put a chip on their shoulder. We are witnessing what the Houston Rockets are doing despite doubters counting them out after the injury to all-star center Yao Ming. Tampa Bay has a powerful one-two punch with Kazmir and Shields. They follow that up nicely with Garza and Sonnanstine. An explosive line-up consisting of Carl Crawford, BJ Upton, Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria will be exciting to watch all season long. The addition of veteran Troy Percival at the back end of the bullpen could be one of the most underrated moves of the off season.

So watch out for Tampa Bay. In a division dominated by the Yanks and Sox, it could be a three horse division with the Rays making a name for themselves and yesterday's events could be the reason why.