Fists Fly On Field, In Dugout At Fenway

  It was obvious that there would be fireworks in Fenway after Rays manager Joe Madden jawed at Coco Crisp from the mound after sliding wide and hard into second base, but nobody expected it to spill over between Red Sox teammates in the home dugout.

  James Shields threw a waist high fastball directly at Crisp in obvious retaliation for the hard slide the night before. Crisp, Shields, and Jonny Gomes, who may have gotten the best shot in on Crisp, were all ejected for their involvement during the on-field brawl. Suspensions will likely follow the ejections for the three.
 
 This would have been the story of the game if not for what would later occur in the first base dugout.

  Since 2004, the Red Sox have pride themselves on being a group of "unique" personalities that have meshed together in pursuit of a common goal. Finally, the personalities clashed. The 500 Home Run club's newest member, Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis argued in the dugout before Ramirez threw a backhand which landed on Youkilis's face. 

  The two were separated by coaches and teammates. Following the game manager Terry Francona said Manny and Youkilis were "exchanging some views on things". Jason Varitek also stayed diplomatic, stating that the reason(s) for the altercation "stay with the team".

  Perhaps the red-hot Ramirez is riding his recent milestone and stellar hitting a little too high for teammates or perhaps Youkilis was unhappy with Ramirez running gingerly out to the mound during the brawl with the other team. Youk should know better that Manny won't even run out of his jock for a ball in play down the left field line, why would this have been different.

  Youkilis has been one of Manny's biggest supporters over the years, even working out in the off-season with Ramirez, but that was well before being smacked across the mouth.

  Trouble in the clubhouse wouldn't be coming at the best time. A clubhouse divided without one of, if not the biggest hearted men in the sport in David Ortiz in the line-up certainly wouldn't help Boston remain in first place in the AL East.

  This isn't a Reggie Jackson vs. Billy Martin affair from the Bronx Zoo of the late 1970's for the Yankees. If anything it could be worse. For several years the Sox have been all about team unity. While the players may still have a chip on their respective shoulders, Francona will surely be able to put the incident behind the team and it's operations.