Cabrera, Duncan suspended by MLB
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Mar 14, 2008 
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MLB has issued this press release:
YANKEES, RAYS DISCIPLINED
Discipline has been issued to six members of the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays as a result of the bench-clearing incident that occurred during the top of the second inning of their Wednesday, March 12th Spring Training game at Progress Energy Park, Home of Al Lang Field, in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Bob Watson, Vice President of On-Field Operations for Major League Baseball, made the announcement. Shelley Duncan of the Yankees has been suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount for his violent and reckless actions, which incited the bench-clearing incident. Unless appealed, Duncan’s suspension is scheduled to begin on Monday, March 31st, when the Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays in their first game of the 2008 Championship Season.
Jonny Gomes of the Rays has been suspended for two games and fined an undisclosed amount for his violent actions, which escalated the bench-clearing incident. Unless appealed, the suspension of Gomes is scheduled to begin on Monday, March 31st, when the Rays play at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore in their first game of the 2008 Championship Season.
Melky Cabrera of the Yankees has been suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount for his violent and aggressive actions during the incident. Unless appealed, Cabrera’s suspension is scheduled to begin on Monday, March 31st.
If any of the three players appeals his suspension, the discipline issued to him will be held in abeyance until the process is complete.
In addition, New York manager Joe Girardi, third base coach Bobby Meacham and hitting coach Kevin Long have been fined for their roles in the incident.
It’s ludicrous. Either the games count or they don’t. If they don’t count, then what happens in them should not effect the games that do count.
Why does Melky get more games that Gomes!???? Total Bs!!
Outrageous that Melky gets more days than Gomes. There was no “bench clearing brawl” until Gomes ran in from RF and pushed/shoved/tackled Duncan. I hope they appeal these and make those points. I know a good lawyer if they need one!
unfortunate, but hopefully this will settle soon. I just want some baseball.
Anyone know exactly what Meacham and Long did?
Any idea why Gomes gets a lesser suspension than Duncan or Melky? Running across the field and tackling someone seems to be on par with what either of them did.
WHAT ABOUT FREAKING MADDON – HOW DID HE GET OFF SCOT FREE
That kid Johnson should be suspended for starting everything!!
As I understand they don’t have to serve the suspension at the same time.
Do you guys think this has an effect on how the yankees shape out the roster?
Shelley should serve it to start the season and Melky should appeal his suspension.
He should get no more than 2 games. Giving him more games than Gomes, who turned the thing into a brawl, is a joke.
But, that’s how Bob Watson rolls.
This seems just factually wrong in two crucial respects. From what I have seen, Duncan did not incite the bench clearing. The benches did not clear until Gomes tried to tackle Duncan from behind. If Gomes hadn’t done that, there would have been no bench clearing.
They should appeal.
Luthienq
I emailed Mark Fiensand on this, he said Long told him the ump thought he escalated the flight.
this is baloney
i didnt even know Melky did anything that day… so maybe we’ll see Brett Gardner start in CF? Will they just shift Damon over?
HOW DOES GOMES GET AWAY W/WHAT HE DID !!!!
Well at least Joe G will be there opening day!
Does anyone know if Melky can appeal based on the fact that Gomes got fewer days’ suspension, but was in fact the instigator of the entire incident. That is such utter bs.
Bob Watson is an imbecile.
3 games for Melky is absurd…totally absurd. Your telling me that longoria and other Tampa players were just taking punches and crying? Give me a break.
Ahhh…good to see MLB sticking with their “joke of the sports world” policy.
They are about as good at handing out punishments as they are at keeping steroids out of baseball.
I’m going to wait for the results of Shelly’s congressional hearing before making up my mind about the incident.
Like I said earlier giving Melky more games than Gomes is total BS as far as I am concerned.I am really starting to not like the Rays and Madden as the days go on.Not a single person be it a writer or a Tampa player or coach even mentioned Melky in any articles or there quotes so now they call the office and complain about something he did, just like they called the office and complained before the game even took place.
Ah I’d love to be sitting in the bleachers when they get on Gomes.
Some of the things might 
me.
he said Long told him the ump thought he escalated the flight….
He thought thats a goooood reason, I don’t want to be biased. but thats just ridiculous.
The Rays called us babies. Yet they went crying that Melky hit us.
That is why they are in the basement.
Shouldn’t Gomes also get ten yards from the spot of the foul for his block in the back? Damn special teams.
I see some good in all of this. It’s only April, yet the team is cranked up and ready to go. They have a common enemy (Tampa) to rally against. It brings them together, in my opinion. Additionally, Tampa is that pesky division team who always plays better against us throughout the season. If we can use this momentum to win those extra games vs Tampa, it can only help us in the standings. As for the suspensions, it’s only 3 games and nobody is hurt yet. We’ll still have 159 to play.
What in the hell is “2008 Championship Season” ????
oh don’t worry our bleacher creatures will welcome Johnny Gomes to NY properly …
If they have evidence of Melky punching Longoria then he should absolutely be suspended, but the event never escalates if it isnt for gomes. Running in from RF after the initial slide and trying to tackle Shelley really started the events afterwards but MLB apparently didn’t agree. Also, I don’t know if this has been answered yet, but what did Meachem and Long do to get fined?
And it’s an absolute joke that MLB is fining Joe but not Maddon. Gotta be fair.
This is absurd, 2 yankee suspensions and 3 coaches fined versus 1 Ray suspended.
“Shelley Duncan of the Yankees has been suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount for his violent and reckless actions, which incited the bench-clearing incident.”
This is ridiculous! Shelley didn’t incite the bench-clearing, Gomes did!
Shelley was playing baseball, his slide may have been intentional, maybe not, unless someone can read minds, it’s all subject to interpretation. Gomes charging Shelley however had nothing to do with playing baseball. There’s nothing subjective.
In terms of Melky, I haven’t seen a video of him whacking someone in the head. But if such a video exists, then I can’t defend him.
Please Girardi don’t let Igawa pitch tomorrow. You’re almost guaranteed to miss your first game if he’s on the mound!!!
Will Matsui be able to play the first 3 games of the season in left field? If not, we’ll need an OF on the bench to start the season. Does this help Jason Lane’s case over Morgan Ensberg???
3-0 Yanks on a arod homerun. Now back to work for me, I have a zillion things to do.
What did Melky do ?????????????????????????????????????????????
Evidence ????????????????????????????????????????
Is MLB a communist institution ???????????????????????????????????
is there any audio or gameday of todays game with hughes??? anyone…I cannot find anything but live box score.
You’re right Johnson. Even trying to be objective here, let’s say Duncan and Cabrera (assuming there is video taped evidence as suggested) did as they are accused – then suspensions are justified. BUT, not giving Gomes at least the same, if not more, days is not justified. That same videotaped evidence that incriminated Melky shows Duncan walking off the field and getting hit in the back by a running/tripping Gomes. And how do you fine Girardi but not Maddon??
Hopefully they let Gardner play those 3 games in CF. What did the Dirty Rays send in there own tape of Cabrera hitting someone? I would like to know which tape caught that..So Gomes running in from RF and grabbing Duncan is ok?? Like the 2nd baseman couldn’t defend himself. I hate how the team that starts everything never gets anything for for it… it is only the retaliation. Like Boston hitting Jeter and Arod 100 times and nothing happens to them only when the Yanks defend themselves. It is like clock work that every time they get hit it is on purpose but no one cares about that.
” ….Like Boston hitting Jeter and Arod 100 times and nothing happens to them only when the Yanks defend themselves. …”
That’s why you should always do a preemtive strike. So first game against Red Sox this year, have Farnsworth drill Fat Ortiz in the head.
i’m a little ticked Gomes got less than Melky and Shelly.
But I’m outraged that Maddon is not being fined at all…
Tomorrow is Jobas day to pich but he is pitching against the Tigers instead of the Dirty Rays maybe because they were scared if he would involve himself in all of this. I guess because of what happened against Youk last year. So instead they will let Igawa and his sunglasses make a fool out of himself on the mound.
We need more facts about Melky hittlng Gabrielle.
With all the press around this is the first we are hearing of it?
Actually, Igawa is the perfect guy to pitch against the Rays tomorrow.
If they hit Duncan, you don’t even have to tell Igawa to retaliate. He will just hit guys naturally.
When the Rays cry to the Commissioners Office again about it, the Yankees can show the welt Igawa gave his interpreter when he drilled him.
this is poppycock, POPPYCOCK!!!!!!
You know, I’ve seen the Bleacher Creatures be pretty vicious to opposing outfielders just because they’re bored and have nothing else to do. I can’t even imagine what they’ll do to Gomes.
i can’t WAIT to hear what the creatures will do with him…
This comment thread is exactly the reason Yankees fans are hated.
Your guy came in spikes up. Had he not done that, Gomes wouldn’t have felt the need to defend his teammate.
HE STARTED IT and he TOLD everyone he was going to DAYS before the game.
That’s what the suspension is for.
No one in the league except the Yankees thought the play at the plate was excessive and just about everyone in the league except the Yankees thinks what Shelley did was pre-meditated and with intent to hurt someone.
The best part is, you fans think this makes your team look tough when all it does is make them look whiny from the first game and bush from the game that garnered the suspensions.
Hey Mary, whats the opposite of above me?
Wonder how the Sox fans feel about “Yankee Bob” now.
Look, I agree Gomes violation should be penalized equally, but let’s take it down a notch. Do you realy think MLB would suspend Melky without evidence? The Yanks would be so happy to appeal that, and MLB would have egg on their face – and apparently their image is just about the most important thing of all to them.
And there no reason at all to suspend Johnson. He made a play which his manager encouraged, but which the Yanks choose not to make in ST, for good reaso in my view. There’s no rule against what he did – in the regular season he’d be applauded. There’s been some difference of opinion on the matter among managers – they seem to bend over backwards to avoid criticizing their colleagues in public. It would be better if Maddon wouldn’t go so gung-ho in the spring – but apparently he feels players are incapable of discerning the difference between spring and regular season games. Or as we heard Pinella stupidly comment yesterday, he wants his guys to start winning. Does he think they’re trying to lose?
Sorry Mary, but you’re just wrong. Some people do think the Johnson play was excesssive, they just don’t blame Johnson for making it, and they’re right about that. But last I checked teams don’t need to paractice that play – there’sno tackling dummies in MLB camps that I’ve seen.
And not everyone agrees that Duncan had “intent to injure”. But apparently you’re Carnac and can see into the minds of others. The play was over the top – a “too hard” play. And that is being addressed within the team. We’re willing to reevaluate when we’ve made a tactical error.
Perhaps Rays fans should take a step back and look at all this from a different perspective. I’m sure if Carl Crawford had separated his shoulder when he barreled into Quintero last week, prompting Maddon’s encouraging comments, your take on the appropriateness of that approach might take a bit different turn. Wouldn’t seem so much like “good, hard baseball”. More like stupid.
Mary:
I don’t mind so much that Shelley was suspended; I think it was dumb of him to slide like that anyway. But Duncan was walking away, was not touching Iwamura, the friggin ump was right there and in control of the scene. Then Duncan gets hit by Johnny Goons in the back.
If Shelley got 3 games, Goons ought to get about 5 games for being “third man in.” IMO the league has a greater interest in keeping other players from expanding the fight than in critiquing slides.
I doubt the bleacher creatures will do anything (unless they want to get thrown out). You’re not allowed to say that someone “sucks” anymore. Such is life in Yankeeland-Utopia.
I’m honestly surprised that Duncan didn’t get suspended for a longer period of time. He made comments that indicated his actions were premeditated and showed absolutely no remorse. Plowing into a catcher who is blocking the plate is part of the game, cleating a second baseman in the thigh is not. I am a bit surprised that Melky received 3 games as well, but there must have been something in the tapes.
And does anyone know if Cabrera did anything particularly worse than any other player in the fight? I completely agree with the Duncan and Gomes suspensions, but this is the first I’ve heard about Melky.
Finally, since the Yankees will face RH starters in their first 3 games, Duncan shouldn’t appeal, but Cabrera should. Then let Cabrera sit out once Duncan’s back.
Bill – get your facts straight.
Cervelli was in front of the plate, he wasn’t blocking it at all.
“His left foot was right there blocking the plate, and my options were either hook around and slide, I thought that would probably have taken too much time and I would have been out,” Johnson said. “The time that I had there, the instinct was slide and be out or hit it him and see if I can pop the ball loose.”
Yes, Bill – Cervelli’s left foot was blocking the plate. NOT HIS ENTIRE BODY.
Johnson is full of cr*p – he could easily have tagged the back of the plate without lowering his shoulder and at full speed taking out Cervelli.
I don’t want to go back and forth in perpetuity, so this will be my last post. Johnson doesn’t agree with your assessment of the situation; not to be snarky, but I’m pretty sure he had a better view. He felt the plate was blocked, and that a collision was the only way he was going to be safe. Considering it was a spring training game the takeout was probably unnecessary, but it was perfectly legal. The games might not count, but they’re still playing baseball.