Shields did not throw a fastball at Coco's head. He hit him below the waist. Therefore, IMO a long suspension is not in order.

Shields basically hit Crisp in the butt with a pitch. Crisp acting like the punk that he is started the fight and should get at least 10 games for doing so. I'm not a fan of either team but what Shields did should have been expected and he did it in a classy way. Crisp on the other hand - classless as usual

TB has been trying to get 'respect' by throwing at people for 10 years; whether they are winning or losing clearly does not matter. If they want respect then they should think about growing up. Coco slid to the glove side, trying to knock the ball loose. He didn't go for the legs, where he could have caused injury; he just played good hard baseball. If TB wants wants to play in a sissy league then let 'em go. Bunch of whiney b-----s.

kudos at shields for 1) throwing at the thigh; and 2) admitting it.

“I think what (Crisp) did (Wednesday) was an absolutely dirty move, bush league and not supposed to be in the professional game of baseball."

This is terrible journalism. You don't even explain what it was that Crisp did that offended Shields. Honestly.

Coco is weak sauce! He wouldn't last a day playing ball back in the day. What kind of a wuss complains about a 2B blocking the bag with his knee anyway? Spike the guy if it offends you so much - don't take it out on the wrong middle infielder, then act like a dip when you get thrown at!

Peter O'Neil -- This is a BLOG -- things are a little different here than in a published report. The assumption is that we all saw the dirty slide by Coco that Shields rightly plunked him for. Coco is a punk -- sure wish they had traded him over the winter.

(found this post through foxsports.com)

The most cowardly actions and the person who I've lost the most respect for in this altercation is Carl Crawford. He is the longest tenured Ray, he is a leader on that club. And if he didn't feel like breaking up the fight, that's his decision. But to lay down on the ground so he could punch a man who already has three grown men literally on top of him, shows the kind of thug I used to think he wasn't. If he wanted to fight, fight Manny, Tek, or someone else who isn't under three people.

I was rooting for the Rays up until this point, hoping that they would pull off the greatest upset of the year in the AL East. But now I realize that Josh Hamilton, Elijah Dukes, and Delmon Young were not exceptions. Through the actions of those three and Carl Crawford and James Shields I see the true culture of Tampa Rays baseball: thuggery and drug abuse.

I hope commissioner Selig contracts this team so revenue is no longer shared with a team that funnels people devoid of moral character into Major League Basebell

So according to Tampa Bay, what Crisp did in a regular season game, a good hard slide at second was dirty. Does anyone NTO remember the guy from Tampa pretty much bulldozing the Yankees catcher at a pre season game??? They want respect, finish anywhere (although they probably will this season) above the basement and play baseball instead of whining about dirty moves when they do it themselves!

Unfortunitally for the Sox this rumble with the Rays exposed Manny in terms of not coming out on the field with the rest of the team to protect his guys. Yuk stepped up and got in Manny face which may have a much greater impact on the Sox long term then anything Coco did.

Coco did the take out slide because on a previous play the Rays SS blocked the plate with his thigh, causing Coco to jam his thumb. The Rays player had a right to make that play, but Coco got hurt and angry. So Coco did a rough take out slide as payback. He had a right to do that, he slid on the basepath and made contact with his body. He didn't do an out of the path elbow shiver or shoulder block. But as a Sox fan, when Coco got hit in the leg, he should have just gave the pitcher a dirty look and said, "Okay." The Rays didn't throw at his head or his hands, so he shouldn't have charged the mound. That was more of a result of Coco's own frustrations over losing his starting job to Ellsbury. So at this point, everything should have been even. But the Rays chose to gang up on Coco--I think it was three or four on one. I think because they chose to gang up on Coco that this will continue. I guarantee Josh Beckett will remember the next time he pitches against the Rays.

Crisp is bush league - 'nuff said. A "b' league player is not worth the effort to write a long diatribe

Chris C is way out of line. All baseball teams "send messages" to other teams. Also, I don't know what he is watching but Crisp slid very late and could have caused injury to another player. Good baseball is avoiding the tag not kicking the ball out, unless you play high school sports all of your life. As far as the retribution is concerned, it was a non vicious "message" that required only tipping the hat and going to first base, not charging the mound; that was a punk move on Crip's part. He was looking for ESPN time.

For all the posters that claim that Coco's slide was "hard baseball" you must not have seen the slide, first off..he didn't even slide untill he was on top of the bag..then the attempted elbow to the "boys" was really a low blow( no pun intended) As for him getting beat up one 3 on 1 or 4 on 1... what do you expect? he charges the mound with at least 5 Rays players around him that's going to happen he had to expect it...shoulda thought about it before charging.

Scott you are mistaken. Addiction is a disease that affects many americans, and for Hamilton to reclaim his life is a shining example of resilence and hope. You sir should not cast stones. As for the play Coco got what he deserved. Baseball players should police themselves, not the commish or anyone else.

The shortstop the night before blocked second bas e with his knee, that is bush league. If the ss was covering second on the steal he would have bben taken out and not the 2nd basemen. The pitcher should understand bush league tactics before he talks about respect.

sgabaseballfan...grow men don't fight the way TB did. Gomes and Crawford acted like complete thugs and wussies throwing punches when Crisp was on the ground with 4 other guys on top of him. If Shields wants to lose respect and talk about Crisp "not being professional (i got a kick out of that quote)how about losing respect for them. Is it professional to gang up with 4-5 guys against a single opposing player and throw some hard heavy late punches against a defenseless guy??? TB has been throwing at people for years (esp NY and Boston). Like someone already said, if they want respect they need to grow up and stop acting like babies. Maddon is a complete hypocrite and a whiney baby himself. I don't think he realizes that that Crisp slide happened last season WITH BARTLESS (who played for the Twins at the time) did the exact same thing by blocking the bag. Maddon told his player that the next time he does that to "SPIKE HIM, THEN HE WON'T DO IT ANYMORE". Now he's b****ing about Crisp making a hard slide with a little elbow.

This is exactly why Shields will always be a sub par starter...and why the Devil Rays will never win anything. Crisp's play in the previous game was clean. If you block the base, you should expect to be taken out. Furthermore, if you are going to intentionally hit someone, don't do it in the second inning when your team is down by 2.

Gomes and Crawford should be out for the season after the cheap crap that they pulled in that fracas. Seriously, do the Devil Rays really need to pile that many guys on top of little Coco Crisp. What a bunch of wussy amateurs.

i have a feeling josh beckett will be hitting crawford in the head

Alright, lets clear the air very quickly. There is no sides to this issue only the actions that were taken.

One, the Rays SS who blocked second base during Crisp's slide into second did a perfectly legitimate defensive tactic whether it was intentional or not. That is fielder's perogative and the responsibility of the runner to make adjustment to the situation.

Coco Crisp's slide into the wrong fielder and his foolish notion that he needed to retaliate for a play in which he foolishly hurt himself on shows that Crisp is not a professional baseball player.

James Shields did of course throw at him stiking him below the waist as response to Crisp's actions. Crisp than took his unprofessional attitude a step further and charged the mound. Now, at times this can be warranted but Crisp instigated the response and than made a fiasco of himself and his team. But the Red Sox typically get a free ride from its fans and the media given the typical East Coast bias of the media.

Not only did Crisp embarass himself and his team on the field, he did so again in the post-game interview laughing and thinking what he did was exactly what he should have done. He came across as arrogant, unforgiving, and quite honestly, like a thug.

Not only that but Crisp's actions led to show how Manny Ramirez cares nothing for baseball, his team, his teammates, or anything baseball has afforded him.

Baseball is a game and America's first and only true escape from the grind of daily life. It fails in that aspect when incidents like this happen because one choose to blame their mistakes on the other.