Sorry Quite Yanklyers. I have been in hibernation the past few days as I am trying to get over some kind of cold/sickness. But the Yankees news wire never stops now does it.
During the Saturday’s SPRING TRAINING game against the Devil Rays, Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli was barreled over by Rays Elliot Johnson. Girardi said:
“I think it’s uncalled for. Spring training, you’re going to get people hurt, and that’s what we got, we got Cervelli hurt. It’s one thing to get hit by a pitch, it gets away, but, I don’t understand it.”
I fully endorse playing hard in all aspects the game as it is the easiest thing to learn and do. But not everyone does it. I admire ‘all out’ players like Jeter and Eckstein and so should every other person, young and old. But I am going to side with Joe Girardi on this issue for a couple of different reasons.
Joe Girardi used to be a catcher and knows the nuances of the position and he especially played hard every game. He was completely right in calling out manager Joe Maddon and the rest of the Rays. After watching the replay a few times, I came to realize that the plate was blocked and Johnson was probably going to be tagged out if he didn’t try and knock Cervelli over. I also noticed his poorly executed attempt to slide into home plate. About halfway down the line, he knew he was going to run over the catcher. He went head and shoulders first into Cervelli’s chest without thinking of sliding. In the end, Cervelli broke his wrist due to the collision, but he amazingly held onto the ball. It was also thought that Johnson separated his own shoulder (no proof of that).
Spring training is about preparing yourself mentally and physically for the 162 game grind of the baseball season. It is extremely difficult to remain healthy during the course of the year. An exhibition game is exactly that…an exhibition game. This is not game 7 of the World Series and not even a regular season game! You just don’t try and hurt people in Spring Training. It is advised to run and play hard, but not to the extent of injuring another player. The same can be actually said for the regular season as well. A player can impress his coach by practicing hard day in and day out. I promise you, that will not go unnoticed. He clearly put his manager and team in a difficult position.
By the same token, Johnson is not soley to blame; I would put more of the blame on Maddon. He should have told his players what to do in such a situation. Maybe he did tell his players to go hard and play like it was the last game of the season, who knows? It was clearly a play in which baseball instincts took over and Girardi has every right to be upset at the Rays. There will be retaliation, it is just a matter of when that will be.
It is nice to see Girardi get heated about this play as it needed to be addressed. He clearly is installing a new managerial style within the Yankees clubhouse and it definitely works for me.
With all that being said, I have been known to knock over the pitcher covering the plate in Wiffle Ball. But Wiffle Ball, to a ordinary person like myself, is a *real* game.
Posted by cmarms 
