Crystal, The Moose and G.I. Joe

The Yankees second week of Spring Training has been filled with collisions, emptied benches, hypocrisy, a 60-year-old leadoff hitter and suspensions.  Here's yet another bare bones roundup of happenings at the Bomber Compound.  Continue Reading

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Playing hard.  The collision Saturday between the Yankees Francisco Cervelli and Tampa Bay's Elliot Johnson was the hot topic at the beginning of the week.  Yankee skipper Joe Girardi thought it was uncalled for while the Rays manager Joe Maddon called the play "hardball."  I guess it's a philosophy thing, but the hit was clean.  It was just unfortunate that Cervelli broke his wrist.  I was surprised that Girardi had such a problem with it.  The Yanks signed catcher Chad Moeller on Monday to fill in for Cervelli.

Playing hard revisited.  The Yanks and Rays met again four days later and all hell broke loose -- as far as Spring Training games go.  Yankee starter Heath Phillips was tossed for hitting a batter and Shelley Duncan took out Aki Iwamura at second.  The benches emptied and five guys were ejected.  The Frankenstein play was kinda bush league, but that's the way Shelley plays.  He empties the tank out there.  I didn't have a real problem with Duncan.  I did have a problem with Girardi's about-face on the situation, though.  "Shelley's play was aggressive. I don't think Shelley tried to hurt anyone. Other people may see if differently," Girardi said.

Aftermath.  Suspensions and fines related to the events Wednesday were levied Friday.  The skinny for the Yanks: Melky Cabrera and Shelley Duncan were fined and suspended for three games each; and Girardi, third base coach Bobby Meacham and hitting coach Kevin Long were fined an undisclosed amount.  Tampa's Jonny Gomes was suspended for two games and fined.  The suspensions will begin at the beginning of the season unless they are appealed.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  Major League Baseball always overreacts to situations that happen on the field.  I was shocked to see Melky's name mentioned, though.  According to a report, the Melk-Man went upside someone's head during the melee.

In other Yankee news:

Godzilla returns.  Hideki Matsui made his first appearance of the spring Sunday.  Matsui went 0 for 3 as the designated hitter.  Godzilla returned to left field for the first time on Thursday and seemed to be moving fine.

Hughes continues to sparkle.  So much for a battered psyche.  After an offseason filled with trade talk, Phil Hughes has yet to give up a hit in his six innings of work this spring.  Hughes is getting smacked around as I was writing this though: 1.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 K.  Still, I think the 21-year-old is poised for a solid year.

Return of The Moose.  Mike Mussina started off terribly this spring, but has pitched well in his past two outings.  Mussina was perfect in his five innings of work against the Pirates Thursday and gave up only one run in 2 2/3 innings against Tampa on Sunday.  Maybe the old man still has something left.

Stump goes down.  Former Yankee manager Stump Merrill was smacked in the face with a thrown ball during batting practice Wednesday.  Merrill, who now has the title of special assistant to the general manager, was taken to the hospital.  CT scans came back negative and Merrill said later that he "feels pretty good, all things considered."

Now batting ... Billy Crystal made his debut in pinstripes Thursday.  A lot of people had a problem with Crystal getting a chance to play for the Yanks, but I didn't have a real problem with it.  My brother sent me this e-mail:

What a joke! Spring training is for young kids trying to live out their dreams. Not for old billionaires to live out theirs. I'm flat out disgusted.

Brian at DF wasn't amused and I got an e-mail from Bookie Mom who had a little fun with Billy, but I didn't think it was a travesty of justice to give Crystal one at-bat.  He actually looked pretty good for a 60-year-old.  I thought they should have made him play the whole game at short.  Then Vinny from Kearny trumped that idea with a suggestion that he catch the entire game.  That would have been good stuff.

Let's see what Week 3 of Spring Training has to offer.

Mike covers the Yankees and Jets on his blog, Green Pinstripes.

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