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Spikes-High Slide Ignites Brawl

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By MARC LANCASTER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 13, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - It's fair to say most of the Rays expected something might happen Wednesday when they got together with the Yankees for the first time since a controversial home plate collision Saturday.

When it did, in the form of a bench-clearing brawl in the top of the second inning, no one on Tampa Bay's side was surprised Yankees first baseman Shelley Duncan was in the middle of it. Duncan had hinted at retaliation to the New York media the day after Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli suffered a broken wrist when Rays infielder Elliot Johnson ran into him at Legends Field.

It was the method Duncan chose to exact his revenge that stunned and infuriated the Rays, potentially antagonizing Tampa Bay to an extent that the feud might continue into the regular season.

Duncan hit a ball down the left-field line that glanced off third baseman Evan Longoria's glove for an error. He was easily safe at first, but decided to head to second base even though he had little chance to make it. Akinori Iwamura awaited him at second, the throw from Longoria already in his glove, and Duncan slowed a bit and went in with his spikes pointed up at Iwamura's thighs.

Iwamura, who emerged with a minor laceration above his right knee, held onto the ball to tag him out and Duncan was immediately ejected from the game. Moments later, Rays right fielder Jonny Gomes charged in to shove Duncan from behind, and both benches and bullpens emptied into a scrum around second base.

Duncan, Gomes and Yankees coaches Kevin Long and Bobby Meacham were ejected, and the Rays were livid.

"The other day we were playing in Tampa, that play you saw at home plate was a good, hard baseball play," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "What you saw today is the definition of a dirty play. There is no room for that in our game. It's contemptible, it's wrong, it's borderline criminal, and I cannot believe they did that."

Said B.J. Upton, who had a clear view of the slide from center field: "It was a dirty play. Just flat-out dirty. Period."

Duncan insisted there was no malicious intent, saying his only option was to try and dislodge the ball from Iwamura's glove. Asked if he would object to an opposing player sliding in that high on one of his infielders, he responded:

"I don't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure the spikes weren't that high. I've done it before, never had a reaction like that."

Suspensions and fines would seem likely for the principals in Wednesday's incident. Maddon said Duncan "absolutely" should be suspended for "a blatant attempt to hurt Aki" he called "premeditated."

Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said he would "absolutely go to bat" for Gomes if Major League Baseball suspends the outfielder.

Friedman said he had called MLB's discipline chief, Bob Watson, on Tuesday to let him know the Rays considered any dispute with the Yankees "a non-issue unless they make it one," citing Duncan's hints of revenge as a move to do just that.

Prior to Wednesday's game, umpire crew chief Jerry Crawford, who declined to answer questions afterward, discussed the situation with both managers.

It became clear in short order that the game was being played on a short leash when Yankees starter Heath Phillips was immediately ejected for hitting Longoria with a pitch in the first inning. The ball grazed Longoria's left forearm, and he said he didn't think it was intentional.

Some figured that pitch, on purpose or not, would suffice as the Yankees' response. Duncan thought otherwise and lost any respect the Rays might have had for him in the process.

"I've never played for the Yankees, but I've played against them and I watched them growing up. I just know that's not the Yankee way," Gomes said. "You rarely see Yankees do stuff like that."

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