Not a good start for the new Joe.
I'm a huge Yankees fan, and yet I will be the first one to tell you New York is at fault in the recent brawl with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Manager Joe Girardi's comments following the Rays' Elliot Johnson's collision with Yankees' catcher Francisco Cervelli last Saturday set off this entire string of events.
"It's just disheartening. It's spring training, I just don't understand," Girardi was quoted as saying.
It's unusual for a hard-nosed catcher like Girardi to be upset over a clean play like Johnson running into Cervelli. Even former Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer, who says Girardi is like a son to him, found the reaction odd.
"I can't believe that he went after it the way he did," said Zimmer, who is now a senior adviser with Tampa Bay. "That's not Joe Girardi."
New York's Shelley Duncan then responded on Wednesday by spiking Tampa Bay's Akinori Iwamuri during a slide into second base. That was not a clean play.
I don't blame the loyal Duncan, who appeared to be caught up in his manager's unfounded anger and believed he was simply coming to the defense of his fallen comrade Cervelli.
"What matters to me the most is the respect of my coaching staff and my teammates," Duncan said following the play that Rays' manager Joe Maddon called "borderline criminal."
Duncan's hard slide led to a brawl, which will probably lead to a regular season suspension for the outfielder and maybe others. And the bad blood looks like it will continue into the 19 games the Yanks and Rays play between April and September.
I was extremely pleased when the laid back, out-of-touch Joe Torre was finally replaced by the more hands-on Joe Girardi, but the new skipper certainly overreacted on this one.
Yankees Brawl: Joe Girardi at Fault
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1 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Patrick SJ Read 11 months ago
brawls like that are good for the team - Girardi had to puff-up for his old position and it was only pre-season, its not a pennant race here -
after pre-season play was elevated, sure Shelly showed some country-ball with high feet. He didnt gauge, rather he showed em a look at what that style play could result too - no one got hurt and this is baseball, not ballroom dancing, right?
A coach always sticks by the team - always. Even when wrong they have to support one another. It is team dynamic 101 - the coach leads through inspiration and action - not with a clip board.
How'd you get this one back up there anyhow? Cool -
Great write up about the situation and agreed, it was just pre-season, dude. why all the hostility Joe?
- just my take is all.
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