OK, first of all, when did the player formerly known as Jamie Shields become James? Nevermind. What is important, however, is that not only does Shields have a wicked breaking ball on the hill, but apparently it serves a dual (duel?) purpose. Check out the hook he unloaded on Coco Crisp in the 2nd inning of the Rays/Red Sox game Thursday:

If I were Shields, I’m not so sure I would’ve gone off speed on the haymaker. Probably would have been a good idea to stick with the straight, hard stuff. Also, you notice Jhonny Gomes and Carl Crawford getting in some punches on Coco? Gomes went flying in and used all his golden sombrero frustration to unload some good shots. Best part of the whole thing was Dioner Navarro’s take down of Crisp. Now that was just textbook form. I’m still trying to figure out who started the pile on the third base side of the field, the one where Shields was taken down. Which Red Sox player got him?

And if you’re not sure what gave impetus to the fracas, The Sporting Blog has your back.

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