By Dustin Hockensmith
Fantasy Sports 101 Baseball

March 13, 2008 - When Shelley Duncan slid spikes up into into Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura on Wednesday, he did more than ignite a benchclearing brawl. He turned philosophical differences between the Yankees and Rays into an unwanted rivalry, all while managing to alienate himself from teammates and manager Joe Girardi.

Not a good day's work for Duncan, who could also be facing punishment from the Yankees and/or Major League Baseball.

The philosophical difference at the heart of the matter stemmed from a Saturday incident where Rays minor leaguer Elliot Johnson ran over Yankees minor league catcher Francisco Cervelli.

Girardi and Rays manager Joe Maddon exchanged verbal jabs in the press afterwards, expressing polar opposite opinions about spring training etiquette.

And when they got together on Wednesday, it didn't take long for Yankees left-hander Heath Phillips to put more fuel on the fire. He grazed Rays third baseman Evan Longoria with a high and tight fastball, which prompted an immediate ejection even while Longoria claimed that the pitch was unintentional.

Cooler heads could have prevailed after that, and it wouldn't have mattered if Phillips' loose fastball was simply a mistake or retaliation for Saturday's incident, which led to a broken wrist and surgery for Cervelli.

But, the next inning, Duncan reached on a single and was out by a mile trying to stretch it into a double. He slid spikes up into Iwamura, and a brawl ensued when Jonny Gomes raced in from right field to shove Duncan. Gomes and his teammates already had their eyes on Duncan after he made some veiled references to retaliation in the press.

Derek Jeter and company can't be fond of Duncan igniting a rivalry with a team the Yankees had previously thumped year in and year out. The last thing they want is more headaches and 110 percent effort from a perennial doormat that feels disrespected.

The clubs face each other 18 times throughout the year, so carryover and future incidents are virtual guarantees.
 
Spring Training Differences
It's become more apparent than ever that interests in spring training baseball are too varied across all parties. Minor leaguers, star players, managers and general managers all have different agendas for spring workouts, and it's fuzzying the line between practice time and real games.

Unfortunately, there's not a simple solution to eliminate these kinds of misunderstandings. What one minor leaguer sees as the right thing to do to grab his manager's attention could be taken quite wrong by a veteran. And you can't very well eliminate minor leaguers from participating at big league camp because those games serve as useful tools to gain experience.

The easiest solution is to implement a must-slide rule at the plate. Let a 25-year old minor leaguer look for other ways to impress management while knowing that a big collision will cost them. Not a perfect solution, but it might just keep a fastball - or Shelley Duncan's cleat - out of another player's ribcage.