Yankees takeaways: The sleeping giant is awake following brawl

By now you’ve probably watched the highlights of Wednesday night’s brawl between the Yankees and the Red Sox a few hundred times. Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m still fired up!

What a monumental mistake the Red Sox made during their 10-7 defeat to the Yankees on a bitterly cold evening at Fenway Park on Wednesday.

It’s almost as if the Sox wanted to shake the Yanks from their early-season doldrums. What began when shortstop Blake Holt and his feathered hair, made a mountain out of a molehill, eventually erupted into Mt. Vesuvius when Yankee first baseman, Tyler Austin, threw down the gauntlet.

As Holt insinuated towards the New York Times, the Sox got more than they could handle.

"“I thought it was over,” Holt said. “We’re not trying to fight those guys over there. They’re big. I wasn’t expecting anything to happen, something did happen, and it escalated quickly.”"

Not that I’m a clairvoyant by any means, but a few hours before first pitch, I took to Twitter to exclaim that the Yanks needed something, like a good ol’ melee to light a fire underneath them.

Earlier in the day, Nolan Arenado of the Rockies charged Padres pitcher Luis Perdomo like a bat out of hell after getting beaned square in the back.

Though from what I could tell, Arenado didn’t land any of his haymakers (due to Perdomo running for his life), Arenado can take solace in knowing fellow position player, Tyler Austin, lit up a number of Red Sox like the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

The beauty of what transpired on a night where starting pitcher, Masahiro Tanaka, was good but not great, was the fact that the Yankees came together as a team.

No longer does Aaron Boone’s bunch look like 25 individuals. Even the face of baseball, Aaron Judge, literally had Kelly in a headlock, pulling him away from his teammate, Tyler Austin.

CC Sabathia, or as I will forever refer to him as, “Pusha C,” barrelled through Chris Sale, as he sought out Red Sox tough guy, Mitch Moreland.

All 6-foot-6 of Giancarlo Stanton was right in the middle of frenzy, tossing tinier, weaker men wearing white uniforms aside like rag dolls.

That’s the thing, those misinformed fans in the Bronx that were booing Stanton just last week fail to understand. Giancarlo is our guy. Like it or not, he’s going to strikeout in boatloads. He’s also going to hit balls a country-mile. You have to take the good with the bad.

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After watching him fight side-by-side with his new ‘mates, there should be no more taunts, no more negativity.

We the fans want, nay, need Stanton to succeed. And perhaps watching these band of brothers come together because the Red Sox stupidly drove them there, will become the rallying cry for 2018.

At the very least, it showed there is a ton of heart left to go around that Yankee clubhouse.

Overall, I can’t remember the last time the 12th game of an MLB season got me this amped.

Here are my key takeaways — let’s see if you agree

Pedro Martinez is still the clown prince of major league baseball. One would think, a Hall of Famer and current analyst for the MLB Network would have learned the nuances of dignity, but no.

Martinez claims he would have plunked Austin one at-bat earlier, and that Joe Kelly did everything correctly. Pedro is so wrong on so many levels, especially after the culprit, Joe Kelly, came out and said the 98 mph fastball that hit Austin simply “got away.”

Here’s Kelly’s defense for a shortened suspension:

"“It was a pitch that got away on a cold night. … I walk a batter per inning. It’s not like I have Greg Maddux command.”"

Asinine comments like this, make me appreciate the fact that Cole Hamels flat-out told the world he was trying to hit Bryce Harper back in 2010.

As to further diminish Martinez’s comment, if you’re going to retaliate on behalf of Austin’s slide, do so on the first pitch. Don’t get cute and wait for the second.

You’re throwing a weapon at an opposing player, one that could end his career or worse, his life, should it hit him in the head. And you’ve not only got the gall to claim it was an accident. However, you bust out the electric slide as Austin charges the mound? Pathetic, Joe.

Red Sox manager, Alex Cora, deserves a lot of the blame for inciting the fisticuffs as well. Perhaps it’s because he’s a rookie manager, or that he played (sparingly) with a chip on his shoulder, Cora refused to settle his team after the initial “hard slide past the bag.”

Someone should show him the replay; it was a clean slide through the bag — big difference.

Cora shooed Nevin away as if he was better than him. Cora disrespected the Yankees’ coaching staff, which manager Aaron Boone rightfully took exception.

There’s a huge difference being a player’s manager (Boone) and being an antagonizer that gets his dirty work done through his players (Cora). Joey’s little brother showed his true colors. Pathetic, Alex.

It’s reason enough for me not to feel too bad that Tyler Austin connected with a UFC style right cross to the noggin of Red Sox coach, Carlos Febles. Tyler Austin: the real people’s champ.

How Nevin was tossed from the contest and not Cora, is beyond me. Tommy Kahnle was also sent packing for abusive language?! Following the game, Kahnle, a tough as nails dude from Philly, said the umps got handsy with him, yet he could do nothing to protect himself. What an absolute lackluster display of umpiring acumen.

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Yes, there will be suspensions. Yes, it’ll affect Boone’s lineup. But there’s no doubt; it was entirely worth it.