Awww…Little Joe Girardi is angry. Poor baby.

This is coming from a guy who two years ago tried to beat the living crap out of one of his pitchers in a dugout and told his owner to STFU in public. Now Joey Pitbull is trying to come across like his team is the victim of a back-alley mugging and he's a little angel.

What I find so damn funny in all of this is that Joey Pitbull himself was … (drum roll, please) … a catcher. And you'd think he would appreciate a player like Johnson who is just trying to make a name for himself.

Granted, Johnson may not be on the 25 man opening day roster, but all he was doing was making the most of his time in the big-league camp and also trying to get noticed by scouts from other teams. It's called hustle.

What's the matter? Don't like seeing players trying to do their best?

Even Don Zimmer, who regards Girardi like a son, thinks he is way out of line on this. I never thought I'd ever agree with The Gerbil on anything, but on this, I do.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: The author of this piece grew up in Red Sox Nation.)

Funny thing. A similar play happened when the Rays faced the Astros last week and Carl Crawford ran over their catcher. Astros' manager Cecil Cooper wasn't angry. He knew it was part of the game.

And what about the guy who got bowled over, Francisco Cervelli? To his credit, even he said it was part of the game.

Careful, Francisco, your manager might not like you going against the Yankee script.

Of course, one Yankee had to put in his two cents worth, infielder Shelley Duncan.

This guy, who showed what a real class act he was last fall when he signed a autograph for a young fan in Boston with the message "Red Sox SUCK," inferred that it was the beginning of "intensity" between the two teams.

Duncan just can't let it go, can he? He must really be trying to be a suck-up.

I can't help but be reminded of the 1970 All Star game when Pete Rose bowled over Ray Fosse with the winning run. I also can't help but wonder if Joe Girardi ever saw that play. It's part of the game, Joe. Bet you didn't know that.

Kind of ironic that a macho guy like Girardi turns out to be a crybaby wuss, isn't it?