All Things Bubba

Yesterday, there was a bench-clearing brawl during the Yankees-Rays game. In an earlier game, Tampa's Elliot Johnson flattened New York's Francisco Cervelli in collision at home plate. The Yankees were irate, since it's only a spring training game. Cervelli's wrist was broken, and Shelley Duncan had hinted that he would find a way to retaliate.


Sure enough, he slid hard into 2B, spikes high. He ended up stabbing Akinori Iwamura in the thigh. Jonny Gomes ran in and tackled him, and the benches emptied.



Duncan was ejected. He said he didn't do anything wrong, and that his spikes weren't that high. Uh, right. Let's take another look:


Yankees coaches Bobby Meacham and Kevin Long were also ejected. Pitcher Heath Phillips was ejected for pitching inside.

The Yanks play Tampa again on Saturday. And about a million times during the regular season.

Girardi is getting some criticism, for complaining about the collision at the plate, and implying there would be retaliation. I hope he's not this hot-tempered all the time. While many fans want the Yankees to retaliate more often, in this case, it didn't deserve retaliation.

Last year during spring training, Bubba broke up a double play by sliding hard into 2B. Brendan Harris wasn't happy about it, but everyone understood that Bubba was "playing the game right." He wasn't trying to hurt anyone; he was just trying to make the roster, and his baserunning is a big part of what he has to offer. He had to show what he can do.

Similarly, Elliot Johnson is a kid hoping to break into the big leagues by virtue of his speed. You can't expect him to not knock the catcher over - any more than you can expect a young catcher to not block the plate. And Girardi, of all people, should understand that.

I just hope no one gets hurt. It would be monumentally stupid if someone gets seriously injured because of a spring training feud...with the Rays.

Labels: Yankees