The Yankees and Red Sox have been rivals for ... forever .. but after Saturday's home plate collision incident and the subsequent "retaliation" pulled by Shelley Duncan on Wednesday, it appears that the Yankees have cultivated a rivalry with another AL East team -- the Rays.If you recall, Saturday''s game featured a rough collision at home plate by Elliott Johnson that broke Yankee catching prospect Francisco Cervelli, and on Wednesday slid cleat-first into Rays' second baseman Akinori Iwamura. The benches cleared, five players were ejected, and now the three players that were most integral in the action have been suspended. Obviously, Shelley "Spirit Coordinator" Duncan was one of the three; he will miss the first three games of the season, as will Melky Cabrera. Jonny Gomes will only miss two for his tackle job. They'll also all be paying fines, but I'm not sure how much they'll be ponying up
It's no surprise that those guys were penalized. I, for one, think they absolutely deserved it. It seemed very obvious that Duncan's wacko slide was intentional, and I don't think it was appropriate to pull that move, particularly in Spring Training. If this was a late September game that the Yankees had to win in order to get closer to a playoff spot and were down by a couple runs, maybe I would feel differently. Is that fair of me? Probably not ... but I have a feeling a lot of fans feel similarly. Am I right? Comment away!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-14-2008 @ 4:15PM
GreatR said...
The girls of summer (Yankees) block the plate and then cry because the catcher is in a collision. Yankees are soft. Spiking a second baseman in the groin is a cowardly response to a perfectly appropriate play. Perhaps the girls should just forfeit spring training games if they don't want to play baseball. I only hope the Rays take out A-Rod or Jeter (spike to groin)....oh I forgot girls don't have the goods down there.
Reply
3-14-2008 @ 5:38PM
A BaseBall Fan said...
Melky?....Melky...I never heard his named mentioned until today....too many dark blue shirts on the film...what did Melky do? And hey Greatr...Arod and Jeter weren't even at the game...but I guess you realize their greatness when you want to injure them based on more studpidity like Duncan with his foot up by the players groin. Baseball yes, WWR, no.
Reply
3-14-2008 @ 5:56PM
Dave said...
I'm a Yankee fan who thinks they really blew this whole thing. First, the play at the plate was hard baseball. Maybe he put his shoulder down more than he had to, but the cather blocked the plate. I agree with Popey's opinion. Giradi's comments were off base and Duncan's slide was intentional.
Reply
3-15-2008 @ 1:34AM
Greg said...
"The Yankees and Red Sox have been rivals for ... forever .. "
ESPN has not taught you well...
Reply
3-15-2008 @ 2:14AM
jose said...
HEY GREATR, YOU ARE A IDIOT, AND A HATER ON TOP OF THAT. A-ROD AND JETER WERE NOT AT THAT GAME AND I BET IF YOU EVER MEET A-ROD OR JETER YOU WOULD PROBABLY BE ALL OVER THE PARTS YOU SAY THEY DONT HAVE. I REALLY DISLIKE PEOPLE WHO HATE BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE SUCCESSFUL. YOU MUST BE A DEAD SOX FAN. THE YANKEES ARE THE GODS OF BASEBALL PERIOD. AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO OR SAY TO CHANGE THAT....
Reply
3-15-2008 @ 10:12AM
Grer The Sarcastic Bastard said...
Let's see. Suspensions.
Duncan, check.
Melky, check.
Gomes, check.
Elliott Johnson...
Elloitt Johnson???
You mean the punk that started this mess in the first place WHO PROBABLY WOULD HAVE SCORED IF HE DID A HOOK SLIDE INSTEAD OF BUM RUSHING THE CATCHER JUST SO HE WOULD HAVE SOMETHING ON HIS AUDITION TAPE gets off scott-free???
And you wonder why Yankee fans are arrogant?
Reply
3-15-2008 @ 7:41PM
YaNKee4LyFe said...
Ladies & Gents,
It was a spring training game. There is no need to bumrush a catcher. This is a time to just get ready for the regular season.
Do I condone sliding spikes up into 2nd? No way! I think they could have done something else.
Has anyone heard where Tonya Harding is?
Reply