WHY A CERVELLI FIST PUMP MEANS PASSION

Michael Kay is a Yankee fan, there’s no denying it. I’m not sure why he claims to be neutral, I mean, I know why he does, but he shouldn’t . Yankee fans are Yankee fans and Kay is one. You can hear his excitement on a Yankee walk off home run, it’s much different than when the opposing side cranks one. So, his negative analysis of Francisco Cervelli clapping as he touched home plate against the Red Sox last week still drives me nuts, probably because passion on the field has been part of the mindset of ballplayers since kids have been playing in Little League. Why is Kay so misguided on this one? Kay on Lupica’s radio show from August 31st said this: “What really annoyed me the most, even the clapping of the hands at Saltalamacchia, after the game, he said 'this is what Cervelli does'... That's the height of arrogance to even say that!" (The full Lupica/Kay rant is HERE. Time is at 28:24)

I don’t buy it.

There is something to be said about bad sportsmanship. It stinks. Bad sportsmanship is for instance, in my opinion, when a batter hits a homer and the next time up, he’s plunked between the numbers. That’s just a pitcher being a dick. I also find it to be bad sportsmanship when you hit a home run and stand in the batter’s box and watch your homer sail over the fence. It’s arrogant. Bad sportsmanship is pointing at an opposing player’s head like you’re suggesting he’s going to get his. Pedro Martinez did that to Jorge Posada, and yes, Posada did it back. Wrong and stupid. Mother jokes. I mean, are they necessary on the field? bad sportsmanship. OK, now I’m just getting off track.

Now, there is a big difference between bad sportsmanship and pumping your fist and showing some passion on the field. For instance, striking out a batter to get out of an inning and screaming and fist pumping is not bad sportsmanship, you just got out of a big inning. It’s adrenaline and it’s passion. Cervelli some of that today after a big strikeout against the Orioles.

Another example... Cranking a homer and fist pumping because you just helped your team gain the lead. Well, that's excitement, so you fist pump. You’ve just accomplished something big and gave your team a shot at winning. Another example, the now famous, "Clapping at home plate" after a home run by Cervelli last week. It's not bad sportsmanship, it's adrenaline. Cervelli is a player that never gets playing time, he's fired up. Respect it. Look, I don’t think Cervelli did anything wrong against the Red Sox. I think it was within the “home run time frame” if you will, and the Yankees won that game because of what Cervelli offered.

Why Michael Kay and Mike Lupica can’t see this is clearly beyond bizarro world to me. These guys are sports guys. They’ve seen passion by the Yankees all day long, how can they not distinguish between the two? They suggested Cervelli get a talking to by Derek Jeter. “Act like you’ve been there before” they said. Man, I hated Lupica’s radio show that day.

Now, you can say to me “Casey, you wrote about AJ Burnett in WHY AJ NEEDS TO SEND A MESSAGE…HIGH & TIGHT and suggested he needed to go inside on Red Sox hitters." OK, again, there’s a difference. Red Sox pitching have hit the Yankees hitters literally all season. The Yankees have never retaliated once. While hitting batters is part of the game, there’s a difference between hitting a batter once in a while and hitting them constantly. Hitting them constantly is bad sportsmanship, the occasional plunking isn’t. My assignment to Burnett on a retaliation is not only heroic, it proves that the bad sportsmanship by the Sox needed to end. Hey, to Burnett’s credit, he took the high road, he didn’t hit any Sox batters the night he pitched.

Look, as far as I’m concerned, Francisco Cervelli’s happy to be on the field. If he needs to clap, or fist pump, I accept that if something big happens in the Yankees favor. I hate hearing the argument that Cervelli needed to “act like he’s been there before.” Cervelli may not be your typical Yankee following the “Yankee way”, but one thing he is not is annoying. If you’re going to give him that “annoying” label, you might as well include Nick Swisher too. You see my point? Fun and passion for the love of baseball is just baseball. As long as you perform on the field, let out your energy, as long as it’s not malicious. If you can do that, then passion rules.

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