Red Sox's Crisp suspended seven games; seven others penalized
NEW YORK -- Boston outfielder Coco Crisp, Tampa Bay pitcher James Shields and six other players were suspended Friday, a day after their wild brawl at Fenway Park.
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| Coco Crisp gets in a couple of good punches on James Shields, but then gets a seven-game ban. (AP) |
Five Rays were penalized by Major League Baseball disciplinarian Bob Watson: Shields for six games, DH-outfielder Jonny Gomes and pitcher Edwin Jackson for five games each, outfielder Carl Crawford for four games and second baseman Akinori Iwamura for three games.
All eight players also were fined undisclosed amounts. The Red Sox and Rays have often clashed in the past, and a fight between Crisp and Shields in Boston's 7-1 win Thursday night triggered the latest outburst.
"I want to be very clear: I defend everything our guys did," Rays manager Joe Maddon said before Friday night's game at Texas. "I feel actually proud of the way we handled the situation that was presented."
The starting dates of the suspensions were staggered, so as to not leave either team short-handed.
Crisp, Shields and Gomes all appealed their penalties, which were set to start Friday night. They can continue to play until the appeal process is complete.
Lester, suspended for throwing a pitch at a Tampa Bay hitter after a warning had been issued, will not appeal and immediately began sitting out.
Crawford was set to start serving his suspension Wednesday, Jackson on June 13, Casey on June 14 and Iwamura on June 17.
"Obviously, we want to balance the days out. They've done that, but we want to see if we can set it up a little different," Maddon said.
"We'd like to see a few more of their guys suspended. They started it, but we had more guys thrown out," he said. "The perpetrator's crime is way too close to us."
The Red Sox were home against Seattle on Friday night. The Boston clubhouse had already closed when the suspensions were announced.
Major baseball brawls in recent years have resulted in multiple suspensions.
