March 12, 2008

What Part Of "Spring Training" Don't You Guys Get? : Spikes go high and benches clear between the Yanks and Rays. To paraphrase, Man, we talkin' practice here! With nifty spikes-to-crotch photo action!

read story | posted by The_Black_Hand to Baseball at 4:00 PM CDT (39 comments total)

I love how, in typical restrained fashion, the New York Post headline says "Yanks, Rays Brawl," then notes later that no punches were actually thrown.

However, several co-eds appear to have been slashed to death in a crack-happy killfest!

posted by The_Black_Hand at 4:02 PM CDT on March 12

"It's a baseball field. There's fans and kids watching. I had to let [Duncan] know that's not going to fly." (Gomes)

So, he ran in from right field and shoved him. So now, the kids will know exactly how to play the game.

posted by BoKnows at 4:05 PM CDT on March 12

Cleats to the groin? That's a seriously dickish move. But what do you expect for a guy with a girl's name?

posted by grum@work at 4:20 PM CDT on March 12

Thats what I come to SpoFi for, the "nifty spikes-to-crotch" action.

posted by lilnemo at 4:31 PM CDT on March 12

Yankee Shelley Duncan slides into second with his spikes high!! Yeah thats the ticket, see there, all yankees are evil and yea yea thats it yea see there, I mean come-on what else do ya need to prove the yankees are ..... oh never mind.

posted by Folkways at 4:37 PM CDT on March 12

With this incident, should be the beginning of interesting season. C'mon April 1!

posted by giveuptheghost at 5:00 PM CDT on March 12

Gotta love Shelley Duncan! One minute he's telling a little kid his favorite team sucks, the next he's applying spikes to unsuspecting Nipponese crotch. This guy is quickly becoming one of the most entertaining guys in the majors. It's just too bad that he isn't that great of a baseball player.

posted by Venicemenace at 5:06 PM CDT on March 12

I made a hard slide into [Iwamura's] glove

Give me a break. If you're going to pull out an unsportsmanlike move like sliding high don't back it up with some bullshit about trying to slide into his glove. Like Venice said, Shelly Duncan is quite the character.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 5:17 PM CDT on March 12

Sliding with the spikes to the crotch carries with it a certain death penalty. Not really, I'm just sayin'.

And I swear that I read something about someone throwing at Eva Longoria's head.
What's that?
Oh. Evan. Never mind.

posted by THX-1138 at 5:24 PM CDT on March 12

Don't you hate how SpoFi is constantly dominated by Yanks - Rays talk? Sheesh!

And yes, pulling out the "I play hard" quote was an interesting move on Duncan's part:

"To me, there's no malicious intent at all. I just felt I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. I play the game one way. I'll never stop playing the game that way."

That way being, obviously, with his foot firmly planted in some guy's scrotum.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 7:06 PM CDT on March 12

Duncan's explanation was bullshit, and everyone knew something was going to happen in this game. Girardi felt a few days ago that "we talking practice", as the intro. post says, but that didn't carry any weight when he was questioning his catcher getting plowed over and breaking a wrist, so it must have seemed evident the Rays wanted to play this game like it was Game 7. I think the running of the catcher was crap, and Duncan's move was crap, but it was inevitable.

The Rays have a recent history of fighting in spring training.

posted by dyams at 7:35 AM CDT on March 13

But com'on, did anyone actually see the Ryan Gomes shove to Shelley Duncan? Gomes sprinted to second from the outfield and when he got about 5 feet of Duncan, not only did he slow down, he basically gave him a love tap. If he really wanted to show that he had his teammates back, he wouldn't have looked like a chump with that so-called shove.

posted by BornIcon at 8:48 AM CDT on March 13

Gomes came in pretty hard, sprinting in from right field, from what I could tell, and he's not a small dude. He's a stocky, strong guy.

posted by dyams at 9:24 AM CDT on March 13

Gomes came in pretty hard, sprinting in from right field, from what I could tell, and he's not small dude. He's a stocky, strong guy.

Yea, and then he made that soft ass shove. He may have been running at full speed towards Duncan from right field but before he even made contact, he slowed down and then shoved Duncan like a 6 year old at Babe Ruth Little League.

What a joke that was! IMO, and I hate to say this but that may have lit a fire on a sleeping giant.

posted by BornIcon at 9:48 AM CDT on March 13

Maybe you need to watch it again (although the quality of the clip ain't too great, and it includes the play at the plate from the previous game). I couldn't load the video on the Post story linked. The shove didn't do too much but he (Gomes) came in with a full head of steam and started with a guy (Duncan) who was basically still sitting on his ass. Gomes then had to be held back by several players because he was going after Duncan. Again, I don't condone what Duncan did, but as far as any brawl that almost took place, Gomes took it up a notch.

posted by dyams at 10:06 AM CDT on March 13

Duncan's decision to substitute his lack of pure talent for enthusiasm is admirable, however his "I'll never stop playing the game that way" attitude immediately after he went too far is despicable.

posted by dfleming at 10:11 AM CDT on March 13

Gomes then had to be held back by several players because he was going after Duncan.

I think that you're giving Gomes way too much credit here. Gomes portrayed the typical, "Someone is holding me back so let me act tougher now" maneuver. Very weak.

posted by BornIcon at 10:18 AM CDT on March 13

Gomes portrayed the typical, "Someone is holding me back so let me act tougher now" maneuver.

Just going by what the videos of the incident showed. I can't make any assumptions on his mindset regarding being held back, if he actually wanted to fight or wanted to merely "act tough." I wasn't on the field and didn't get a chance to speak to him (Gomes). He made a decision to sprint in from the outfield and was the only individual who looked like he made contact in an effort to start a physical altercation.

And just to clarify, I don't give Jonny Gomes "credit" for anything.

posted by dyams at 10:24 AM CDT on March 13

I think that you're giving Gomes way too much credit here . . . Very weak.

What exactly were you hoping for, that he'd trade him multi-million dollar contract for a prison sentence?

posted by yerfatma at 10:39 AM CDT on March 13

I think I'd watch out for Iwamura in the future. There's an unsubstantiated report that he left the field talking about some guy named Miyagi, and mumbling "Wax on, wax off".

posted by Howard_T at 10:49 AM CDT on March 13

I wasn't on the field and didn't get a chance to speak to him (Gomes).

You didn't have to, his intent was clear.

"I had to let [Duncan] know that's not going to fly." (Gomes)

His sloppy shoving style may just be genetic.

posted by BoKnows at 10:58 AM CDT on March 13

What exactly were you hoping for, that he'd trade him multi-million dollar contract for a prison sentence?

I personally wasn't hoping for anything or for anyone to actually get hurt. I'm just pointing out that what Gomes tried to do proved to be futile, IMO.

posted by BornIcon at 11:10 AM CDT on March 13

But that's easy to say. Instinctively, plenty of people might sprint in. When you start there's no thought to it, you're just upset. But during that 100 yard (or so) journey, you have time to think about just what you're going to do when you get there and how there aren't too many good options. Only a complete meatstick never thinks about the consequences of what will happen next.

posted by yerfatma at 12:43 PM CDT on March 13

Only a complete meatstick never thinks about the consequences of what will happen next.

And there are none of those in baseball. Nuh - uh.

I think this is all related to the new manager and Steinbrenner. Guys aren't sure what is to be expected in the post-Torre/George era. The team looks wound a little tight right now.

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 2:43 PM CDT on March 13

Only a complete meatstick never thinks about the consequences of what will happen next.

So, where does that put Gomes? He 'instinctively' sprinted from right field all the way to second and still managed to make contact with Duncan. So does that make him just half of a meatstick?

posted by BornIcon at 2:44 PM CDT on March 13

So does that make him just half of a meatstick?

Macho Man says: "Snap into a Slim Jim!"

posted by BoKnows at 3:41 PM CDT on March 13

Oh boy, it begins already, dial 1-800-WAAAHHH

posted by aMAIZEd Mark at 3:46 PM CDT on March 13

Looks to me like Gomes tripped over his feet before he got there.

posted by scuubie at 6:58 PM CDT on March 13

I think he just had to slow down a bit to ensure that he got lower and could control himself. He may have pulled the "hold me back" tough guy act afterwards but I don't think his shove was completely weak. It wasn't perfect, but I've seen a lot worse.

posted by Bernreuther at 1:41 AM CDT on March 14

Spring training is usually very uneventfull. When an episode like this happens it gives us all something to talk about. I was hoping that Billy Cristal would come running out and bitch slap Gomes. Now that would have been entertainment.

posted by amigo59 at 7:01 AM CDT on March 14

Looks to me like Gomes tripped over his feet before he got there.

that's what I thought as well...he sprinted, was slowing down to avoid killing himself before he shoved him, but stumbled so that the shove appeared "weak".

posted by bdaddy at 9:47 AM CDT on March 14

Back to Billy Ball. Oops, I thought your glove was 3 ft off the ground. Just call me the next Charlie Hussle (please). It wouldn't have happened under Mr. Torre...

posted by falconrod at 10:42 AM CDT on March 14

Here come the "Hank-ees." The Yankees' glory teams of the past wouldn't ever consider being goaded into cheap retaliation tactics like spikes-to-the-crotch on a slide.

If this was done to regain a little respect, Gomes pretty much told us by that sprint and shove that it didn't work. Nobody fears NYY anymore; nobody has since the historic collapse of '04.

posted by NerfballPro at 10:57 AM CDT on March 14

The actions of a couple of jackasses does not make the entire team jackasses. I plan to give them the benefit of the doubt and see if stuff like this happens into the regular season.

That said, just because as you put it, nobody is scared of the Yankees, doesn't mean they are not an incredibly talented team. I wouldn't mind if most of the team exchanged uniforms with my beloved Royals.

posted by hawkguy at 11:20 AM CDT on March 14

The actions of a couple of jackasses does not make the entire team jackasses.

No, but those 2 actions (throwing at the 1st batter, spiking at 2B) seem to imply
1) The coach gave the order for retaliation
or
2) the players knew that the coach would be OK with them retaliating

So while the entire team may not be jackasses, it seems their coach is.

posted by bdaddy at 1:00 PM CDT on March 14

The outcry due to this situation is getting a bit ridiculous. Did everyone just crawl out from under a rock? Been taking a 40 year nap? There's retaliation, beanings, pitchers throwing intentially at batters, brawls, etc. all the time in baseball. The Yankees are involved and all of a sudden they're a team of jackasses and their coach is a jackass? If the Royals and Pirates were involved in this instead of the Yankees, would the astonishment be the same? I seriously doubt it. Just because it's spring training has nothing to do with it. You have professionals out there making a living. I've seen near-brawls in beer league softball, so claiming it's just spring training doesn't hold any water.

posted by dyams at 1:15 PM CDT on March 14

dyams, that's kind of the point I was trying to make. I guess I didn't phrase it very well.

posted by hawkguy at 1:24 PM CDT on March 14

I think this is all related to the new manager and Steinbrenner. Guys aren't sure what is to be expected in the post-Torre/George era. The team looks wound a little tight right now.

Maybe if this happens in the regular season, but it's a bit silly to buy into it now. I rarely if ever agree with Pete Abraham, but I thought he put the whole thing in perspective pretty nicely:

The idea that this somehow represents the “new” Yankees under Joe Girardi is laughable. Let’s review for a second:

A Class A catcher with a .261 career batting average and six home runs in 247 games got run over and broke his wrist. Most of the regular players were home when this happened. I would venture that most of them couldn’t pick Francisco Cervelli out of a lineup.

A non-roster left-hander who practically none of the regular players have ever spoken to grazed one of Tampa Bay’s players with a pitch.

Then Shelley Duncan, who has played in 34 big league games, decided to go all Rambo with his slide into second base.

Just so you know: Jeter, A-Rod, Damon, Giambi, Rivera, Mussina, Pettitte, Hughes, Chamberlain, Kennedy, Wang and Farnsworth weren’t in St. Pete today. That’s half the roster. They were back in Tampa cracking jokes with Billy Crystal, not looking to avenge Cervelli.

posted by justgary at 2:32 PM CDT on March 14

If the Royals and Pirates were involved in this instead of the Yankees, would the astonishment be the same?

If it was the Royals and Pirates, would anybody be watching?

posted by dta123 at 9:47 PM CDT on March 16

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