Johnson's play irks, injures the Yankees

TAMPA – Rays manager Joe Maddon wants this team to be the best base running team in baseball this season, and one way to accomplish that is to be aggressive on the base paths.

But that aggressiveness led to some angry words from New York Yankee manager Joe Girardi after Rays minor league infielder Elliot Johnson collided with Yankees catcher Fancisco Cervelli in the ninth inning of the Rays 4-2 victory Saturday at Legends Field.

Johnson lowered his right shoulder and banged into Cervelli, fracturing the catcher’s right writs.

Girardi said the aggressive base running by Johnson was “uncalled for.”

“I don’t understand it,” Girardi said. “I’ve always known that you don't do it. I know kids are playing aggressive and they're playing hard - that's how you want them to play - but maybe if it happens too much you should mention something.”

It was the second time this week a Ray initiated contact at home plate. Carl Crawford lowered his left shoulder into Houston catcher Humberto Quintero on Wednesday, but Crawford couldn’t slide into home because the bat was on the plate.

Johnson’s play was much more aggressive.

“It’s part of the game,” Cervelli said before going to St. Joseph’s Hospital. “It’s OK.”

Maddon didn’t think Johnson crossed a line for a spring training game, either, but his remarks came before it was learned Cervelli fracture his wrist.

“I loved the hardball right there,” he said. “We're playing it hard, we're playing it right.”

Johnson didn’t see anything wrong with the play, either.

“I'm trying to show these guys what I can do,” he said. “I'm just trying to score the run. That's my job. And looking back at it I'd have to say I'd probably do the same thing.”

Girardi saw it differently.

“I think it's uncalled for,” he said. “Spring training, you're going to get people hurt, and that's what we got, we got Cervelli hurt. I know they had an incident four, five days ago. It's one thing to get hit by a pitch, you know, it gets away, twist an ankle running the bases, but I don't understand it.”

It was a rough afternoon for Cervelli, who was hit on the left forearm in he seventh inning by a 98-mph fastball from Rays rookie David Price.

"It's my day," Cervelli said.

- Roger Mooney, Herald Staff Writer