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MLB

Where's the Line Between Playing Hard and Playing Dangerous?

Posted Mar 09, 2008 4:07PM By Tom Fornelli (RSS feed)

Filed Under: New York, Yankees, Rays, AL East, MLB Video, Tampa Bay

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The collision in the video above resulted in a broken wrist for Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli. Now even though Cervelli probably wasn't going to make the Yankees roster this season, the play and subsequent injury did anger his manager Joe Girardi after the game.
"I think it's uncalled for. It's Spring Training. You get people hurt and that's what we've got – we've got Cervelli hurt. I know they had an incident four or five days ago. I'm all for playing hard, but I don't think it's the time when you run over a catcher in Spring Training."
Girardi's response then brought on this response from Rays senior baseball advisor, and Pedro Martinez punching bag, Don Zimmer.
"It stunk," Zimmer said."Somebody said on the bench when it happened that Girardi looked like he was angry. Now I took it that he was angry because his man got hurt - not because anybody did anything wrong. That's the way I took it, knowing Girardi. And somebody on the bench said he thought Girardi was mad because he bowled him over. I said, 'No, I don't think so. That's not Girardi.'
Then when I pick up the paper this morning, I was dumbfounded. [Cervelli] blocked the plate. What happens if our man slides in with the plate being blocked and breaks his leg? ... I am surprised the way Girardi said what he did. The plate was blocked, and our guy bowled him over. That's the way to play the game. I mean, I'm talking about a guy who is like a son to me. But I can't believe he went after it the way he did, because that's not Joe Girardi - and being a catcher on top of that."
So who's right?

I have to say, that much like Zimmer, I'm surprised by Girardi's comments. I understand that as a manager, he has to protect his players, but at the same time, Joe was a catcher. Any catcher knows that if you are blocking the plate, the runner needs to figure out a way to get around you, and sometimes that means going through you.

I know this is spring training, and it can be argued that these games don't mean anything, so dangerous plays like this are unneccesary, but what about the runner? Should he risk injury by sliding into the catcher? Should he just give up an accept the fact that he's out?

Let's not forget that Elliot Johnson, the Ray who bowled over Cervelli, is fighting for a spot on Tampa Bay's roster. So maybe these games mean nothing in the standings, but they damn sure mean something to a lot of the players involved.

Just like Cervelli was trying to impress his manager by showing he's not afraid to block the plate, Johnson was trying to impress his manager by showing he'll do whatever it takes to get his team a run. Neither player was wrong here, and it's just unfortunate that Cervelli was injured in the process. Sorry, No Photos

Tags: Don+Zimmer, DonZimmer, Elliot+Johnson, ElliotJohnson, Francisco+Cervelli, FranciscoCervelli, Joe+Girardi, JoeGirardi, Pedro+Martinez, PedroMartinez

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