The story: As retaliation for a questionable slide Wednesday, James Shields hits Coco Crisp. Coco Crisp doesn't like that. Coco Crisp attacks James Shields. And then things get, in the words of my man Will, totally brahsome.
Coco starts punching, the benches clear, Akinori Iwamura pounds the undercarriages of unidentified Red Sox with repeated jabs -- it was a great brawl. Satisfying stuff. Don't expect the rivalry to dissipate soon, either: Shields says he "lost all respect" for Crisp on Wednesday, and Crisp claims the Rays were "like little girls, trying to scratch out my eyes."
This is going to get better before it gets worse. I can't wait.
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Video Confirmation: The Rays and Red Sox Really Do Hate Each Other
Posted Jun 6th 2008 10:43AM by Eamonn Brennan (author feed)
Filed under: Boston, Red Sox, Rays, AL East, Tampa Bay
Cheap Yardwork: Week Eight
Posted May 18th 2008 10:15PM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Fantasy Baseball, MLB Locking Your Lineup, Fantasy MLB
Akinori Iwamura, 2B/3B, TB7 day stats -- .406/.441/.594, 1HR, 3RBI, 2BB, 0SB
Iwamura isn't going to set the world on fire with his power, but he gets hits (13) and he should score in the Rays lineup. Also, he's second base eligible. Not to mention the Rays have a nice set of matchups this week with Oakland and Baltimore on tap. A very nice start.
Jeremy Hermida, OF, FLA
7 day stats -- .269/.321/.615, 3HR, 5RBI, 2BB, 0SB
Hermida has been talent-laden for what seems like forever (it's actually not) and is finally starting to rake a little bit, even if his average numbers aren't especially appealing this week. Hermida is certainly a nice option in deeper leagues (only because of the Webb/Haren combo this week) and can help teams for the remainder of the season as well.
Blake DeWitt, 3B, LAD
7 day stats -- .467/.500/1.000, 2HR, 3RBI, 1BB, 0SB
Yes, he awkwardly has as many home runs in the past week as Andruw Jones does on the season. DeWitt probably got re-dropped in most medium sized leagues after getting hurt, but like the Cavs, he seemingly won't go away. Fortunately for him, he should continue to see playing time and is a nice option in most leagues as a CI.
Hey Rays, Shelley Duncan Doesn't Understand Why You're Upset
Posted Mar 13th 2008 3:30PM by Josh Alper (author feed)
Filed under: New York, Yankees, Rays, AL East, Tampa Bay
After yesterday's Yankees-Rays game devolved into a brawl thanks to Shelley Duncan's hard slide, Joe Girardi was asked if he thought it was a dirty play. He said he wanted to watch a replay but would speak to Duncan if he thought the slide, which drew blood from Akinori Iwamura's leg, was dirty.
Well, Girardi spoke to Duncan before today's game with the Pirates, Billy Crystal started at DH in place of Duncan, so that should tell you what he thought. Duncan wouldn't reveal the content of that conversation but he did express his ongoing confusion about why things escalated so quickly.
"I saw it a couple times. I still don't understand why they were as upset as they were."Shelley, I'm guessing it was because you tried as hard as you could to injure one of their teammates. Your reason for it, I'm assuming it was the home plate collision heard around the world, doesn't much matter and you should hope your teammates do the same thing if someone takes such a cheap shot at you. While it wasn't "borderline criminal" as Rays manager Joe Maddon claimed, it was a dirty play and I imagine that Girardi told you not to do it again.
Duncan will likely be suspended and MLB told Peter Abraham that any suspensions will be served during the regular season.
Jonny Gomes Did It for the Children
Posted Mar 13th 2008 6:10AM by Matt Watson (author feed)
Filed under: Rays, AL East, MLB Gossip, Tampa Bay
When we talk about yesterday's Yankees-Rays fight in the future, everybody is going to remember that Shelley Duncan started it. But while it was his slide into Akinori Iwamura that caused tempers to flare, Iwamura was actually arguing with the umpire when Jonny Gomes poured gasoline and lit a match by flying in from right field to tackle Duncan. Why did Gomes react like he did? Why, he did it for the children, of course:
"I just think Duncan tried to inflict some pain on Aki," Gomes said. "I was taught all the way from T-ball to have a teammate's back. It's a baseball field. There's fans and kids watching. I had to let him know that's not going to fly."Good for him for putting his foot down and fighting the good fight (literally). If he'd done nothing, the fans would have left the park shaking their heads in shame that their favorite team is a bunch of pansies, and the kids would be all confused about what sportsmanship and fair play is really all about. Duncan is just lucky that Gomes didn't hit him with a garbage can.
On a side note: the Rays know they traded Elijah Dukes, right? Did they mean for their team photos to look for mugshots or is that just a nice bonus?
(Disclaimer: Despite my holier-than-thou tone, I actually don't mind Gomes' decision to get involved -- it's his lame justification that ticks me off.)
Rays and Yankees Go at it Again!
Posted Mar 12th 2008 6:00PM by Yankees Chick (author feed)
Filed under: New York, Yankees, Rays, Tampa Bay
The Yankees and Rays faced off for the first time since Saturday's ill-fated game, which left a Yank and a Ray with injuries, and things were wild again. Despite Girardi saying he didn't want his players to retaliate, Shelley Duncan warned us all on Sunday that he was going to play rough during today's game, and he was true to his word. During the first inning, Yanks pitcher Heath Phillips (who? Yeah, I'm with you) plunked Evan Longoria and was ejected from the game, and while the Rays didn't retaliate, Duncan went ahead with his plan for some roughness in the second inning. While running out a ball hit down the left-field line, Duncan slid hard right into second baseman Akinori Iwamura -- with his cleats spike-side up. He ended up kicking the poor guy in the thigh, narrowly missing his crotch-zone (good thing he missed, or Akinori would have been in the same boat as Felix Pie). Jonny Gomes rushed to Aki's defense from his post in right field, tackling the Shellster. Both benches cleared and four more people joined Phillips on the ejected list: Gomes, Duncan, hitting coach Kevin Long, and third base coach Bobby Meacham.
Today's brouhaha was more dramatic/exciting than Sunday's, and it was essentially all the fault of the Yanks. Sunday's game and Girardi's criticism of the Rays' play brought about the question of whether it is appropriate to go all out during a Spring Training game, and most folks agreed that the collision at home plate was not excessive. How will people react to Shelley's maneuver? Was it acceptable? Would it have been OK in the regular season?
I can't wait to hear what Girardi has to say about this one, now that the tables have turned!
Yes, His Name Really Is Evan Longoria
Posted Sep 28th 2007 2:00PM by Matt Watson (author feed)
Filed under: Rays, AL East, MLB Rumors, Tampa Bay
Let's get this out of the way: Evan Longoria, the top prospect for the Rays, has a name that looks an awful lot like Eva Longoria, TV star and annoying NBA fan. Hard-core baseball fans have known this for awhile and no longer think it's funny (it never was in the first place, really), but casual fans might want to take a moment to chuckle. Done? Good, because you're going to see a lot of Longoria next year. The third overall pick of the 2006 amateur draft absolutely killed minor league pitching this year, hitting a combined .299 (.922 OPS) with 26 home runs and 95 RBI between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham.
By this time next year, he could be a front-runner for the AL Rookie of the Year award -- the only question is whether he'll break camp as the team's starting third baseman or be called up later in the year. Joe Maddon explains to the Tampa Tribune why the latter might be better for Longoria's overall success:
"Sometimes it's more difficult for a young man to come out of spring training and have all this pressure attached to him to be this person," said Maddon. "Whereas if he goes to the minor leagues, gets off a great start, gets in the flow of things, comes up and, boom, he just continues it along."
Joe Torre Suspects the Devil Rays Cheat
Posted Sep 2nd 2007 5:00AM by Matt Watson (author feed)
Filed under: New York, Yankees, Rays, AL East, The Word
Akinori Iwamura has a funny-looking bat: instead of having a round end, it's sheared flat, not unlike the end of a 2x4. Why does he like it this way? I have no idea ... and neither does Joe Torre:With two outs in the second and Iwamura at-bat facing a 2-2 count, Yankees manager Joe Torre stepped from the dugout to talk to home-plate umpire Kerwin Danley, who called in the rest of the crew for a conference.I never really paid attention to Iwamura's bat before today ... but it's not like this is the first time Torre has seen him at the plate. Before Saturday's match, Iwamura played 10 games with at least 48 plate appearances against the Yankees. Why wait until today to speak up? And better yet, why wait until a 2-2 count before making him use a different bat? Talk about breaking a hitter's concentration ...Sorry, No Photos
Rays manager Joe Maddon was then summoned from the dugout. When the meeting was finished, Iwamura had to hand over his bat to the umpiring crew. He then struck out swinging to end the inning.
"I was surprised," Iwamura said. "... Even before I left Japan, I sent my bat to see if it's OK with Major League Baseball." [...]
"Torre contends that no manufacturer makes a bat sawed off at the end like that, and he wanted to determine whether it was a legal bat or an illegal bat," crew chief Dana DeMuth said. "We respected his request."
MLB ROY Watch: Can Josh Hamilton Keep It Up?
Posted Apr 27th 2007 5:08PM by Matt Watson (author feed)
Filed under: Boston, Red Sox, Reds, AL East, NL Central, MLB Awards, Cincinnati
We here at the MLB FanHouse will be musing once a week until the end of the season on who we think leads the AL and NL Rookie of the Year award races. This is the first installment.National League: Josh Hamilton
Considered an afterthought by many even after his hot spring, Hamilton has surprised everyone by showing off an uncanny amount of big-league power for a guy with almost no experience above the low minors. He wasn't originally expected to play everyday, but he's forcing his way into the lineup with six home runs in his first 51 at-bats, hitting .294/.400/.706 while looking every bit like the former first-overall draft pick he was.
Also in the mix:
Jason Hirsh, Rockies
Carlos Ruiz, Phillies
American League: Daisuke Matsuzaka
Dice-K has been solid, but he's the early-season favorite almost as much by default as anything he's actually done: Alex Gordon has been awful (.159/.284./.290) and Delmon Young has been good but not outstanding (.274/.290/.422 with three home runs and 13 RBI). Matsuzaka's countrymate Akinori Iwamura has actually put up the best numbers among AL rookie hitters (.339/.479/.482), but in the end I have to hand it to Dice-K for meeting expectations and then some with 31 strikeouts in 27 innings. His 4.00 ERA is hardly jaw-dropping, but it's skewed by one bad start against the Yankees, for which he'll have a chance to avenge this weekend.
Also in the mix:
Akinori Iwamura, Devil Rays
Delmon Young, Devil Rays
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