New York Yankees: Suspensions Given Out After Brawl with Rays

The New York Yankees have played horribly against the Rays this season, and on Tuesday night things got rather ugly between the two.

A new rivalry seems to be brewing in the AL East. The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays had an altercation on Tuesday night after Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman threw a 101 mph fastball over the head of Rays batter Mike Brosseau.

After the pitch, the umpires met and gave a warning to both dugouts but no one was ejected from the game. Rays manager Kevin Cash was clearly not happy about the decision, as he had a word with the crew chief after the decision to warn both teams.

Chapman went on to strike out Brosseau and the Yankees won the game. As Brosseau was walking back to the dugout it seemed as if something was said from the Yankees dugout, as Brosseau turned around and started yelling back. Both benches cleared but ultimately not much came of it.

After the game, Kevin Cash had some strong words against the Yankees. Cash was quoted saying “It’s ridiculous. Enough is enough. … It was mishandled by the Yankees. Poor judgment. Poor coaching. Poor teaching.” He finished his press conference off with what seemed to be a threat to the Yankees, saying, “I can assure you, other than three years ago, there hasn’t been one pitch thrown with the intent from any of our guys. Somebody has to be accountable and the last thing I’ll say is I have a whole damn stable full of guys that throw 98 mph.”

Cash was also upset because he believed Joey Wendle was plunked purposely in the first inning by Masahiro Tanaka. The MLB responded on Wednesday by dishing out suspensions. Aroldis Chapman got a three-game suspension, while Kevin Cash and Aaron Boone got one.

My reaction to these suspensions is that Rob Manfred again is terrible at his job.

Aroldis Chapman has been off the injured list for only three games and has always been a wild pitcher. He never has the best control and a lot of time, will just throw as hard as he can, not knowing exactly where it’s going.

Manfred must not have taken into account, the score of the game, and the standings in the AL East. The Yankees were up 5-3 against the only team ahead of them in the East and a team in which they had a 1-7 record against this season.

The last thing Chapman would want to do in that position is bring the tying run up to the plate in a game the Yankees desperately needed to win. The pitch was clearly dangerous and luckily it didn’t hit him but there is no way there was intent behind that pitch.

Manfred also suspended Aaron Boone for one game, for doing absolutely nothing. Aaron Boone is a manager at the end of his contract, needing to win games, and there is no way he would have wanted Chapman to hit Brosseau in this situation.

Aaron Boone got suspended simply because he is the manager of the Yankees, and Manfred didn’t know what else to do. Lastly, there was the one-game suspension given out to Rays Manager Kevin Cash.

This suspension should have been longer if you’re going to give the same amount of games to Boone. Cash finished his press conference with an open threat to the Yankees that he has numerous guys who can throw 98 mph, implying that they were going to throw at the Yankees’ batters.

Kevin Cash may be the biggest hypocrite in all of sports based on his comments. He openly admitted in his quote that he had a Rays pitcher throw intently at the Yankees. This time was back in 2018 when Andrew Kittredge threw at Austin Romine and nearly drilled him in the head.

The Yankees retaliated when C.C. Sabathia purposely hit Rays catcher Jesus Sucre in retaliation, ultimately starting the bad blood between these teams.

Earlier this season when the Yankees and Rays met, Andrew Kittredge threw a few pitches high and in to DJ LaMahieu, leading to ejections for Aaron Boone, and hitting coach Marcus Thames.

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When Kevin Cash was asked about it after the game he was quoted saying, “The only thing we’re mindful of is, we’re trying to compete and go out and win. I think it’s best to leave it at that.”

So to get this straight, if the Rays throw high and in, it’s part of the game, but when the Yankees do it, it’s bad coaching, bad teaching, and handled wrong by the Yankees.

Kevin Cash must not know how bad the Yankees are struggling, and how badly they need to win games. There was no way Chapman intended to hit Brosseau, and for Cash to act as if himself and the Rays are saints is ridiculous.

Rob Manfred showed once again he has no idea how to deal with suspensions and should try and look into the score of the game, and the team’s standings before he makes rash decisions.

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Let’s hope the suspensions and accusations from the Rays, light a fire in the Yankees, and get them back to winning baseball games, and win the AL East title.

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