Somebody tell Joe Girardi to grow up!

The "No-Class" Yankees have fully embraced their "Low-Class" leader and played down to the level of a bush-league team today. In an exhibition game against the Devil Rays, the Yankees intentionally threw at a batter in the first inning and in the second inning had a "spikes high" slide that cleared the benches.

On Sunday, [Yankees Shelley] Duncan had dropped a hint that the Yankees might match the Rays' intensity on the basepaths.

"What it does is it opens another chapter of intensity in the spring training ballgames," Duncan said, referring to the home-plate collision. "They showed what is acceptable to them and how they're going to play the game, so we're going to go out there to match their intensity -- or even exceed it."

"There's going to be no malicious evil intent in terms of carryover, but it just adds a different type of fire to your gut when you play that team because you understand how they're playing the game and what their mind-set is," Duncan said Sunday.

Follow this link to the ESPN story that contains the above quote and look at the picture. It contains a Gene Puskar/AP photo of the play. This is not a "high slide", this is left foot firmly planted, metal spike first, in the groin of the Tampa Bay player. The photo clearly reveals Duncan's mindset and it IS malicious and evil.

The story reports:

But Girardi also said he didn't want the Yankees retaliating against the Rays in future games.

So what is it Joe? Are you lying, or have you already lost control of your crybaby team.

For those that would pause to defend Joe, just watch the YES Network archive film from a few years ago when Joe was the catcher. It makes it clear he used to admit that sliding in spring training was not evil, especially when the catcher chose to block the plate and take away other options.

You know, its not often I side with Don Zimmer. But he is right in this case that Joe needs to grow up and set a positive rather than negative example for his Bronx Blowhards. After all, they have an idiot owner that will only make it worse.

Perhaps the dumbest thing about this is, when you play in one of the toughest divisions in baseball, it is always nice to have a bunch of games against a team that sleepwalks to a 50-110 record. That is, until you are dumb enough to make them mad and they start circling the calendar. Mark this prediction down: the Rays will win the season series and those extra losses will keep NY home in October.