I Stand With Dempster

Let me start by saying that as a long time youth and American Legion baseball coach, I do not condone throwing at players, but I understand that at the Major League level, it is be part of the game.  Even with that said, there is a particular Major League etiquette around the proper way to send a message and any deviation from that is downright chicken-shit.  In other words, no head hunting!  Let me also state that I believe that baseball is a game of tradition and I believe that players need to honor that tradition and likewise, need to respect the game, play it the right way.   And that goes for the youth levels of baseball right through to the Majors.  Respect the game and play it the right way, end of story!

I also believe that if I am going to comment on the Dempster-ARod incident I would be remiss if I didn’t state that, as a fan, I do not like ARod.  Let me further qualify that by saying that he is an incredibly talented player, a stud, perhaps one of the 5 most gifted players of my generation, but I don’t respect the way he’s played the game or the way he has branded himself to the fans through his actions, or lack there of.  Granted, the fan’s perception that ARod that he is a self-absorbed, selfish player to the point of being arrogant could be totally off, but he has done little in 20 years to dissuade that perception.

What could you possibly mean?

ARod is also a Yankee and it is in my BoSox genes to dislike any Yankee at first blush, but I digress.  Of course, 3 of my favorite all-time players are Derek Jeter, Mo Rivera and Andy Pettitte for the way they play the game and the way they conduct themselves on and off the field, especially during adversity. (See Andy Pettitte).  So throw that argument out the window!

For transparency sake I want to be totally honest in regards to my baseball values and my opinion of ARod as a player before I comment on the incident itself, because my opinion has little to nothing to do with my feelings of ARod as a player or a person.  I truly stepped back and looked at the incident as objectively as possible.  I considered that one team, the Red Sox, is clinging to first place and really could not afford to risk throwing a game away for any reason.  I took a hard look at the back-stories and the general landscape of the game of baseball itself and feel absolved that my feelings on the incident are pure and not biased the least bit by the Red Sox – Yankee rivalry.

Yes the Red Sox are embroiled in a dogfight for the American League East title and truthfully, for a wild-card birth for that matter and the plunking of Alex Rodriguez by Ryan Demspter may very well have cost the Sox a significant game in the standings.  Many in the Boston media (that I have heard and read) have opined that the plunking was ill advised, stupid or downright unnecessary, especially given the playoff implications.  I am not one of them!  Some labeled it a foolish, selfish act of machismo by Ryan Dempster. I am not one of them!  I know that it probably cost “my boys” a game in the standings, a game that could prove to be the difference between a favorable playoff seeding or even a playoff spot altogether, but there is a bigger picture to consider.

Yes, I will say it; “I stand, whole-heartedly behind the “gesture” by Ryan Dempster.”  Ryan Dempster stood up for every clean player in baseball, every player who honors and respects the game or has honored and respected it in the past!   And he took a stand for the fans that are fed up with the PED crap and long to return to the past.  A past where the game was played with passion and respect and where guys who did the little things in the game were as respected as the guys who could smack 30 or 40 homers. (Or in this era, *50, *60 or *70, emphasis on the *)   Surely many players, past & present, secretly applauded Dempster for his gesture; players who had finally had enough of the PED bullshit themselves & had had enough of the Biogenesis fiasco and enough of ARod’s inability to “take his medicine” like other players have.  Not to mention the rumor that had come out earlier that very day that ARod’s ‘people’ leaked the names of other players linked to Biogenesis, once it became clear that he (ARod) was the MLB’s main focal point of that investigation.  Ironic, that within weeks of notorious Boston Mobster, Whitey Bulger’s conviction where he was labeled a “Rat, ” the lowest classification that a man from Boston could ever be tagged with, so too was ARod being labeled a (n alleged) Rat.”   Isn’t it ironic, don’t ya think? (Cue the Alanis Morrissette music)

You know what’s ironic, nothing in this song.

I understand a player like David Ortiz stating that he felt it wasn’t right for Dempster to hit ARod because as a slugger, Ortiz is a primary target for retaliation or for teams to use to send a message to the Red Sox as a team.  No one likes to get hit, ever.  I know I don’t.  And part of me feels (a little) bad that ARod got hit, because, damn, it hurts!  So yes Papi, I understand that now you are target #1 should the Yankees choose to retaliate at some point down the road, but deep down, I wouldn’t doubt if in Papi’s head, he was crossing his fingers behind his back when he publically said he doesn’t agree with the plunking, (wink, nod), because players who respect the game, understand why Dempster did it

My only trepidation with the gesture would be if Dempster plunked ARod because of some bullshit code of ethics solely because he thought ARod ratted out his fellow players.   If Dempster truly hit ARod because he was making a travesty, a circus out of the Biogenesis scandal, then I stand behind him. If he did it because he feels that the game is cleaning itself up and ARod refuses to take his medicine like a man in order to play his part, then I stand behind him!  If he did it for his baseball brethren, past and present, who happen to play the game clean and who respect the great game of baseball, then I firmly stand behind him!  Not because it is ARod, but because ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!  ARod is a great player, but it is time for him to take ownership for his actions, much like Andy Pettitte did a few years back.  Pettitte did it with class & with remorse and in doing so, put the “game” ahead of himself, rather than the other way around.  (hint, hint ARod)

Not exactly a guy who gets it, Jimmy

So yes, I can live with the fact that the Red Sox could ultimately suffer in the end by missing the playoffs by that one game they may have thrown away, because I respect someone who stands up for others and stands up for the game.  And that’s what I think Ryan Dempster’s motivation was when he chose to take a stand and for that, I respect him.

Looking back, the only thing that would have been more impactful was if Dempster nailed ARod in the ass, then turned his backside towards ARod and simulated shooting himself in the ass with a steroid injection in mocking fashion, then rubbing it like it hurt!  OUCH Even Carlo & Steve might have respected that, or at least got a kick out of it!

(FROM STEVE AND CARLO:  Only if he did it and made it so obvious that the WWE would consider it in poor taste.)

You know, like this

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