Yanks Lose Cool During Brawl With Jays

Tonight’s rather dull Yankee game turned into something out of WWE in the 8th inning when Jorge Posada went after Blue Jays pitcher Jesse Carlson and an all-out brawl ensued.

In case you missed it, here’s the background:

-The Yanks hit two Blue Jays earlier in the game.

-Carlson threw behind Posada during his at bat in the 8th. Posada took exception….benches cleared….but cooler heads prevailed.

-Later in the inning, Brett Gardner hit a double that drove in Posada, and as Jorge crossed the plate, he threw a shoulder into Carlson….then all hell broke loose.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good brawl (see a blog post from a week or so ago where I referenced my all time favorite…Nolan Ryan splitting Robin Ventura’s face open), but my criticism of the Yanks here is this:

Why stoop to the Blue Jays’ level and get involved in petty junk when all that can arise from it is injury and/or suspensions?

Hey Yankees: YOU’RE GOING PLACES, hopefully, the World Series. You have to be weary of teams like the Blue Jays who you’ve kicked around all year and want to get chippy.

And of all people to take the bait, you’d least expect an all-time veteran like Posada.

Come on, Georgie!! What were you thinking?!!

I realize nobody likes getting a 95 MPH fastball whizzed by their ear, but you should have left it at simply giving Carlson a piece of your mind.

You did that during your at bat, the benches cleared, and that should have been the end of it.

Posada made a big mistake when he threw his shoulder into Carlson while crossing home, clearly instigating the melee.

So now what? You get to throw a few punches (that never seem to really accomplish anything during a close-quarter baseball brawl….except for Ryan, of course!!) and look tough?

Big deal. I’m not impressed.

I thought you were a lot tougher a few weeks back when you took back-to-back line drives off your bare hand while behind the plate…and kept on playing through the pain.

That’s Yankee grit. Not this stupid hot-head routine.

If you were smart you would have bagged it before things got out of hand.

Now let’s hope nobody got hurt and the forthcoming suspensions don’t affect preparations for the playoffs.

Matt Estreich for The Huddle