The Fighting Lairds

Detroit Tigers catcher Gerald Laird and his younger brother, Yankees infield prospect Brandon Laird, were arrested following a brawl in the lounge area of Phoenix's NBA arena, according to police.

Phoenix police said Gerald Laird, 30, was cited for assault Wednesday night and 22-year-old Brandon Laird was cited for disorderly conduct. Police said the Lairds and a third man were arrested at U.S. Airways Arena after the fight during the Phoenix Suns-Boston Celtics game.

Police said arena security previously contacted the group of men about their loud behavior. Two of the men were allowed back into the lounge after a conversation with security, but a melee broke out shortly afterward and the Laird brothers allegedly assaulted the security guards.

Brandon Laird is considered one of the top infield prospects in the Yankees farm system and played for the Surprise Rafters in the Arizona Fall League this year. (story courtesy of the NY Post)



To hell with Dustin Pedroia; Brandon Laird DEFINES scrappiness!  Mixing it up with security guards at an NBA arena?  Hell yeah, kid.  You go get you some!

Just one more example of why the Yankees are the gold standard of sports organizations.  From the top of the organization to the bottom, they're fighting and scrapping and clawing and doing everything they possibly can to win.  Whether it's a spring training intrasquad game, Game 6 of the ALCS, or a dustup with U.S. Airways Arena security, the Yankees are in it to win it; no offseason here, folks.

It's probably this kind of dedication to offseason training that has gotten Laird to where he is as one of the team's top infield prospects.  While Jed Lowrie is at home nursing his injuries and plucking his eyebrows, Laird is thinking outside the box and getting some boxing in to boost his cardio and hand-eye coordination.  It's a story like this that really makes me feel confident that the Yankees will be able to fill the gap at SS left after Jeter retires.  So Boston can have their Dustin Pedroias and Marco Scutaros and call them "gritty" and "tough" just because they get their uniforms dirty diving for a hotshot through the hole for a basehit that they can't reach because they have crappy range.  I'll take Brandon Laird ringing in the New Year with a good old fashioned donnybrook 25 hours a day and 8 days a week.

20 bucks says the fight got started when Laird started booing the Celtics players and calling them a bunch of Boston pussies.  If that's the case then this kid deserves a spot on the 25-man roster now as far as I'm concerned.