Holy crap, I used the MMA reference one game too early. Just in case you were thinking, wow, the Sox really haven’t had a good old fashioned throw down the gloves brawl since July 24, 2004, you were in luck yesterday. Since you’ve probably seen the video of Coco sprinting out to the mound after being hit, and the ensuing brawl, I figure I’ll just give my winners and losers:

Winners:

1. The Red Sox. They essentially traded Coco for the Rays’ starting pitcher, Shields, and their DH, Gomes. Now Gomes isn’t exactly Mickey Mantle, but then again, neither is Coco.
2. Sean Casey. I’m still curious as to how he was the first guy out to tackle Shields when he can barely beat out a single to left. But “The Mayor” just keeps adding more reasons for his teammates to love him.
3. Johnny Gomes. How often do you get to hit a defenseless player while he’s under a pile? I didn’t say he was classy, just that he came out on top.
4. Coco. He got to take out Iwamaura on Wednesday, and then makes a spectaular move to avoid Shield’s right haymaker and whacks him on the follow through. Plus, when he finally came out of the pile, smiling, he called all the Devil Rays “little girls.”

Losers:

1. The Devil Rays. You’re fighting for first place so you decide to lose you starting pitcher and DH in the 2nd inning? Makes you really wonder if they want to win the division or just beat people up along the way.
2. James Shields. Swing and a miss. You had about three seconds to wind up for Coco and rather than take off your glove, you remove your hat. Plus, you still missed him. Oh, and I hope you enjoy the loss on your record: 1+ inning, 4 ER. Sucker.
3. Manny. Clearly Manny is a lover, not a fighter. The teams were almost playing again by the time Manny came out on the field.

Completely unrelated, but Ellsbury hurt his wrist and Manny and Youks got into a scuffle in the dugout. Tito’s reaction? “Everybody’s fighting, I was getting ready to kick Millsy’s ass.”

Tonight Coco will take on the Mariner’s roster in a kung-fu circle fight. Brass knuckles are OK, but switchblades won’t be tolerated by the umps.