Coco on the brawl

After tonight’s game, Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp spoke with reporters about the brawl with the Rays.

“I was up there to hit so, I wasn’t gonna be up there scared if I was gonna get hit [in] this at-bat, or next at-bat, or if I’m even going to get hit,” Crisp said. “So I was going up there to hopefully get a hit and they just decided it was right to hit me.”

Crisp was asked to explain what happened after being hit by pitch thrown by Rays starter James Shields in the second inning.

“I charged the mound. I feigned it like I was going to go to first base, just to get Navarro off me a little bit, and just charged the mound,” Crisp said. “He tried to hit me with a haymaker. He missed. I threw a punch. I pretty much missed. And the rest, went down to the ground… like the scratches on my face were people trying to scratch like we were playing football or something, like little girls, trying to scratch out my eyes. I move one hand down, scratch me right here [points to scratch to the right of his nose]. “

“After that, people were trying to pull my hair like little girls. Instead of throwing some real punches or something like that… I’m down on the ground, I mean the fight’s pretty much over baseball-term wise. You wanna come in late, and throw some extra blows and get your little blows in, that’s cool. I’ll cover up. It’s all good, trying to pull some hair. It’s all right. It was between me and Shields that time and everybody tried to get their little blows in I think even more… he was unsure if he really wanted to hit me or not it seemed like, but ‘cause he didn’t really hit me hard.

“Big dude, what’s his name Jonny Gomes, he tried to come in, a hefty dude, tried to throw some blows but I think Navarro, I credit him. And actually I credit Shields, too ‘cause, even though we went at it, he hit me in the leg. He didn’t try to hit me in the head so that’s good. He didn’t like try to kill me. Then I ran out there, then he tried to hit me in the head, so that’s the way to go [laughing]. It is what it is now. I say tit for tat, I think I got the worst of it because I’m running out there and they can get to me before our guys can get to me to help.

“But like I say said, he put the knee down [Barlett’s play at second base last night], I slid in hard. He hit me with the ball. I went out… to the guy who hit me with the ball. And now, I don’t know if it’s over or not. Like I said, tit for tat. Right now, it’s even to me, so, it is what it is.”

Crisp was asked if he thought that’s how things should be settled on the field.

“Well they shouldn’t be settled off the field,” replied Crisp. “I don’t think somebody should come slash my tires or something like that, I mean it’s baseball… There are some criminals, I guess, in sports, but for the most part that’s not who we are. So if stuff happens on the field, after you leave the field that’s where it stays. If I see Shields outside or anybody else outside the game, I’m not gonna go try to throw another punch at him or something like that but if something happens on the field again, then so be it.”