Rays AAA 2B Elliot Johnson broke Yank catching prospect Francisco Cervelli's wrist.
Cervelli broke his right wrist while making the tag, and Yankees manager Joe Girardi was angry with the aggressive play.
"I think it's uncalled for," Girardi said. "Spring training, you're going to get people hurt, and that's what we got, we got Cervelli hurt. It's one thing to get hit by a pitch, it gets away, but, I don't understand it."
Cervelli, in addition to having one of the coolest names in the minors, was the Yanks' most advanced catching prospect. He would have started this year at AA (Montero and Romine are the real studs, but they both only played rookie ball last year at 17 and 18 years-old.
One of the things that delayed Posada's debut was a leg broken in a collision at the plate. It also led to those swipe tags.
Hopefully Cervelli can heal quickly and put it behind him.
Girardi was (rightly) furious. While I understand that Johnson is trying to win a spot on the team (he's on the 40-man, but not in the depth cart), it's only spring training.
Expect some fireworks when the Rays come to the Bronx the first weekend of April. The Rays have earned a bit of a bad boy reputation the last couple of years, brawling repeatedly with the Red Sox. Joe G. seems old school enough to not stand for some of the nonsense Torre let roll off his back.