Cervelli claps, pumps stir emotions

BOSTON -- Since the Yankees and Red Sox were on ESPN last night, the subject of Francisco Cervelli's home-plate hand clap and the near-brawl that followed on Tuesday got a lot of airtime.

A lot.

It was a juicy storyline that fit perfectly into the overall Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. Munson. Fisk. Zimmer. Pedro. A-Rod. Varitek. Bucky Dent. Aaron Boone. The Bloody Sock.

For the national TV audience, it was an introduction to a new player in the rivalry, albeit a bit one. Cervelli has been around the Yankees for a few years, but he is now a small part of Yankees-Red Sox lore.

Cervelli's hand clap at home plate after he homered off John Lackey probably led to Lackey hitting him with a pitch two innings later. That led to the benches and bullpens slowly emptying and some shouting, but no punches or ejections.

It also led to a debate about how Cervelli plays with emotion and whether that is proper. It also led to a Red Sox player having to clarify remarks to make it clear he wasn't saying anything negative about Latino players.

In the aftermath of the Yankees' 5-2 victory over the Red Sox on Tuesday, Boston catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia was asked about the excitable Cervelli, who is from Venezuela.

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"The game is changing,'' Saltalamacchia said. "Younger guys are coming in, Elvis Andrus and Escobar, a lot of Latin players and that's the way they play the game. It's OK to an extent, but if you go further than that, then that's when you've got to kind of step back." A few minutes later, Saltalamacchia clarified his remarks.

"I wasn't trying to say 'Latin players' or any of that stuff," he said. "I meant he's an emotional guy. The younger guys who are coming up now are real emotional players. They're young players coming up, wanting to make a name, wanting to stick around and the game has changed a little bit from when the older guys were coming up . . . So, basically, I was just saying that he is a real emotional guy. I have no issues with him doing what he does because that's the player he is."

The funny thing is, Cervelli agrees. He is a real emotional guy. As he said after the game about himself, "That's Cervelli."

"I'm not trying to do anything to him," Cervelli said, meaning Lackey. "Every time I hit a base hit or double, I clap. That's me. That's my game. I don't try to do anything bad to another player. That's just me and if they think a different thing I'll say I'm sorry. But I'm not trying to show up anybody."

Cervelli is also known for his fist-pumping behind the plate after a key strikeout. "I've got so much adrenaline and maybe I've got to control it a little bit," said Cervelli, who was back in the lineup as Russell Martin rested a sore thumb. "It's just me. I feel happy when we get a strikeout."