1. Joe Girardi said he would not comment until after seeing film of Shelley Duncanâs slide on Wednesday against the Rays that precipitated an on-field skirmish. If you notice in Girardiâs comments he speaks mainly about Duncanâs intent, which Duncan has said was to try to knock the ball out of Akinori Iwamuraâs glove with his foot. I think that is a crafty way for Girardi to avoid saying whether the play was dirty. This way he only has to talk about what he believes Duncan was thinking.
2. Just beautiful how life works: If Duncan and Melky Cabrera each serve their three-game suspension to begin the year, they will miss three games against the Blue Jays at the Stadium. But will be back for a full four-game series, drum roll please, against the Rays.
3. My two cents about the NCAA Tournament is this: The only item more distasteful than watching the media and fans trying to make cases for teams with 12 losses and 3-7 records against opponents in the top 50 is when the coach of that team then whines when his club does not get into the bracket. We have lowered our standards too much in this country when we allow discussions about why a team that finished seventh in its conference belongs in a supposedly elite tournament.
