TAMPA – Peace, love and understanding never looked so boring.
Alex Rodriguez had run through a Bobby Meacham stop sign and was clearly going to be out at the plate in the fourth inning, and catcher Josh Paul was lined up for a loud collision.
If the Rays and Yankees were going to continue their blood feud, this was going to be the moment. Rodriguez would slam into Paul much the way Elliot Johnson went into Francisco Cervelli did a week ago when the Yankees’ top catching prospect fractured a wrist and after Shelley Duncan went into second base with is cleats up this past Wednesday.
Yet, as a packed Legends Field crowd awaited the latest physical confrontation between the teams, Rodriguez slowed up and made himself available for an easy tag. Instantly, the bad blood between the Rays and Yankees had subsided, and the remainder of the 7-2 Rays victory was incident-free.
“That could have been a big story,” Rodriguez said of him trying to bury Paul. “When the kid got run over I was at home and the other day I wasn’t in [St. Petersburg]. But that’s all behind us now. We have talked about it enough and it’s back to baseball.”
As he plowed through Meacham’s stop sign – something Rodriguez said was his fault – his mind was empty in regards to running over Paul.
“Not one thought,” said Rodriguez, who attempted to score from first on Jorge Posada’s double to right. “I was looking for an oxygen mask at that point.”
“I guess he was following his manager’s advice: Don’t run people over at home plate,” Rays catcher Mike DiFelice said. “Maybe that’s what he was doing, abiding by the spring training rules they set. I’m not sure. But as a catcher, I’d never take it for granted that someone’s going to stop.”
Melky Cabrera and Duncan have been suspended for three games and fined $2,500 and $3,000, respectively. Joe Girardi was docked $1,000 and Kevin Long and Meacham are $500 lighter. Reggie Jackson also was tagged with a $250 fine and told he can’t be in uniform for the remainder of the spring training games. Tampa Bay’s Jonny Gomes was fined $2,000 for shoving Duncan in the back. Duncan and Cabrera were going to talk to their agents last night before deciding to appeal or take the three-game bans at the start of the season.
Since the teams meet once more in spring training (Friday) and 18 times in the regular season, it’s likely to flare up again. However, for one day it was a lovefest under a high sky.
“We have a lot of respect for that team,” said Rodriguez, who went 2-for-2 and is batting .476 (10-for-21). “And now we are back to playing baseball.”
Duncan was glad to get Wednesday behind him.
“It wasn’t even on my mind,” Duncan said of the Rays retaliating against him. “I was really focused on the game today. It was pretty cool, a routine spring training game. I just want to play baseball.”
The events leading to yesterday had Rays pitcher Jeff Niemann thinking.
“The situation has gotten so much out of hand, let’s just play baseball, get back to the basics,” Niemann said. “That’s all we were doing today, playing ball. We wanted to attack him outside and go there. We came in later. We definitely weren’t not going to throw in because of all this stuff.”
Like Duncan, Girardi was pleased there was nothing but baseball.
“It was nice, I think everyone is trying to turn the page,” Girardi said. “You just want to play baseball. You don’t want guys on the field and getting suspended.”