Duncan's dirty play turns Rays devilish

Akinori Iwamura's unborn children were in jeopardy Wednesday thanks to the antics of Shelley Duncan.
Duncan's spikes dug into Iwamura's thigh after a diabolical slide into second base, touching off a spring training brawl between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees. Rays' right fielder Johnny Gomes charged in from the outfield and crashed into Duncan, sparking some pushing and shoving between the two teams as the benches emptied.
The mutual dislike between the two clubs started last weekend when Tampa's Elliot Johnson ran over New York catcher Francisco Cervelli on a play at the plate, leaving Cervelli with a fractured wrist and Yankees' manager Joe Girardi with a serious case of disgust. Girardi was livid with Rays' manager Joe Maddon and criticized Johnson for making such a play in an exhibition game.
Keep in mind that Johnson is fighting for his professional life. He's just trying to make a team in the Rays' system. Cervelli's injury was an unfortunate accident. But for Maddon to come out days later and call Duncan's retaliation "borderline criminal" is about as ignorant as it gets. Maddon has encouraged this sort of chippy behavior from his own team and his players should expect to get as good as they give.
And Duncan's feigning ignorance over his disgraceful slide is just as ridiculous. He said on Thursday that he watched a couple of replays and that he didn't see what was wrong with trying to plant his left foot through Iwamura's testicles. Johnson's collision, though unexpected considering the nature of the game, is something that you will see countless times this summer. Duncan's Karate Kid impression is unlikely to be repeated by anybody who doesn't want to be beaned or spiked themselves. He did the right thing trying to defend his teammate, but he went about it the wrong way.
As a Boston Red Sox fan, I can only hope that this bad blood continues throughout the regular season. The Rays' roster is full of talented young players who won't be intimidated by the Yankees and their collection of All-Stars now. Tampa will have extra incentive to beat New York all 19 times the two teams meet this season, something that could help the Red Sox pick up a game on the Yankees here and there. The Rays are nowhere near New York as far as talent goes, but effort and determination might be enough to coerce an extra inning out of a starting pitcher or add one or two miles-per-hour on a reliever's fastball. Position players will be less likely to give up on at-bats at the end of long road trips or stretches where they've played 12 games in 12 days. They'll make the shaky New York pitching staff grind its way through innings and force the Yankees' aging, taxed bullpen to pile up extra work.
What a shame it would be if the Rays caused the Yankees to finish in second place behind the Red Sox for the second straight year in the American League East. Please note the sarcasm in that statement. It's almost as genuine as Duncan saying he "(doesn't) understand why (the Rays) were as upset as they were."