Comments on: The Fightin’ Devil Rays!

By: Brian Sadecki

Brian Sadecki — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:47:57 +0000

A) I never said it was OK.
B) That. Picture. Is. Taken. After. The. Cleating.

It’s stuff like this that gives proper journalists credence when they criticize bloggers. You don’t have to abide by libel laws on your blog so you can just say that this guy tried to cleat a guy in the groin. It’s seems kind of silly to nit-pick where he cleated a guy but when the ding-ding is involved, it’s an important distinction.

Usually your bias is charming. It’s kind of disgusting and irresponsible here.

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By: Sarah Green

Sarah Green — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 02:02:09 +0000

Brian, I’m going with what I see right there in that picture with my own two eyes. Duncan’s spikes. Are. Right. Next to. Iwamura’s. Balls. Maybe you see something different when you look at it. And that’s fine. But even all the Yankee blogs I read this morning thought it was out of line. Only you seem to think it’s okay. Well, you and Shelley Duncan of course.

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By: Brian Sadecki

Brian Sadecki — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:55:15 +0000

“So now attempting to cross home plate is “charging” the catcher? If the catcher doesn’t want to be charged maybe he shouldn’t block the plate. So it’s the base runners responsibility to make sure not to make contact with a catcher blocking the plate?”

Absolutely, yes. He could have slid around the catcher like everyone else in ST does.

If you watch the video, you’ll see that only his ankle was blocking the plate. You can definitely slide into that play. He went OUT OF HIS WAY to tackle the catcher.

“There is no context in which it would be acceptable to spike someone the way Duncan did. It was a low blow with no justification. Any attempt to justify it is nonsensical. Lowering a shoulder into someone standing in the baseline is not the same as attempting to put your cleats through a guy’s sack.”

I wasn’t trying to justify Duncan’s slide. I was just saying that Girardi had a right to be angry. And I certainly wasn’t equating the two plays.

However, Duncan was nowhere near his sack. I blame Sarah for the inaccurate reporting on that one.

Would it be OK if he had just planted a shoulder into Iwamura ala Mike Lowell? Nobody raised a stink over that.

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By: melissa

melissa — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:36:03 +0000

So now attempting to cross home plate is “charging” the catcher? If the catcher doesn’t want to be charged maybe he shouldn’t block the plate. So it’s the base runners responsibility to make sure not to make contact with a catcher blocking the plate? That’s ridiculous and it doesn’t justify the Yankees retaliating not just once but twice. There is no context in which it would be acceptable to spike someone the way Duncan did. It was a low blow with no justification. Any attempt to justify it is nonsensical. Lowering a shoulder into someone standing in the baseline is not the same as attempting to put your cleats through a guy’s sack.

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By: Brian Sadecki

Brian Sadecki — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:25:30 +0000

The problems with Johnson’s charging the catcher are:
1) It’s spring training. These games are meant to stretch out pitchers and hitters and get the players into fighting trim for the season. The games don’t matter so why take the unnecessary risk of charging the catcher. And this isn’t the first time the Rays have done this. The Yankees have a prospect who can’t start the regular season because some kid was trying to impress his coach with his scrap-hearted-dirty-dirt-dog-ocity because he can’t do so with his bat. The real kicker is that if he succeeds, he’s still on Tampa Bay, a solid AAAA squad.

2) He didn’t even have to charge the catcher. He could have slid past his ankle (watch the video) like everyone else in ST. He went out of his way to lower his shoulder and really hurt Cervelli.

When you put it in context, it’s a lot less than a “clean play.” Just because it was technically legal doesn’t make it right.

Does Mike Lowell get the same stigma for what he did to Robinson Cano last season in retaliation for Dustin Pedroia?

Every team retaliates. Only the Yankees are hated for it.

Stankees? That rhymes with Yank– HEY!!!

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By: Doug

Doug — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:08:34 +0000

The Stankees are a bunch of low down dirty, and cheating players. Always have been always will be…

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By: melissa

melissa — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:38:51 +0000

It’s not surprising to see Dave Duncan’s son engaging in this type of pathetic nonsense. Tony LaRussa and his “long-time companion” have routinely encouraged their players to perpetrate this type of retaliatory behavior. Joe Girardi set the tone for this classless action by complaining about what was a completely clean play that resulted in an unintended injury. I am still trying to understand why the Yankees felt it necessary to try and “get even” not once but twice for a play that was in no way dirty. It seems like a sickening display of their sense of entitlement. “No castration, no foul,” is an utterly lame defense of Duncan’s spikes coming in late and high.

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By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:37:49 +0000

Greatest fight of all time, Izzy Alcantara kicks the catcher and then takes on all comers. Of course the Ryan/Ventura fight was just HILARIOUS!

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By: sully

sully — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:22:27 +0000

wait, wait. if drunk guys who fight have beer muscles then do baseball players who take on guys they shouldn’t have dip(chewing tobacco) muscles? ala zimmerman vs. petey martinez help i’ve been thrown down and can’t get to the dugout!!!

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By: Pimp Daddy Welfare

Pimp Daddy Welfare — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:45:13 +0000

I think it would have been funny if the yankers were playin the Rays today and Billy Crystal got plunked.

just adding my $0.02

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