Let’s face it, with one pitch, Ryan Dempster reopened the glorious sores that are the Red Sox Yankees rivalry.
It had been years since the last time things had spilled over like they did Sunday night and much like the Varatek brawl, the slap, and well everything else that happened in that fight filled 2004 season, Dempster's hitting of A-Rod will stand for years...good or bad.
But unfortunately for Ryan Dempster, that claim to fame will come with a cost. Even after intensely denying that he intended to hit the Yankee's 3rd basemen, the MLB didn't care or thought otherwise. Why? Because early this morning, Boston's right handed starter was suspended for 5 games.
Countless Yankees agreed with the suspension.
"Whether you like me or hate, that was wrong," Rodriguez told reporters Sunday night. "That was unprofessional and silly. It was kind of a silly way to get someone hurt on your team as well."
"You can't start throwing at people," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Sunday night, and reiterated Tuesday morning. "Lives, people have had concussions; lives are changed by getting hit by pitches. …
That baseball is a weapon. It's not a tennis ball. It's not an incredi-ball that's soft. It's a weapon, and it can do a lot of damage to someone's life, and that's why I was so upset about it. You can express your opinion and be upset with someone, but you just can't start throwing baseballs at people. It's scary. …Whether I agree with everything that's going on, you do not throw at people and you don't take the law into your own hands. You don't do that."
That baseball is a weapon. It's not a tennis ball. It's not an incredi-ball that's soft. It's a weapon, and it can do a lot of damage to someone's life, and that's why I was so upset about it. You can express your opinion and be upset with someone, but you just can't start throwing baseballs at people. It's scary. …Whether I agree with everything that's going on, you do not throw at people and you don't take the law into your own hands. You don't do that."
Dempster was not ejected from the game but was issued a warning. Following the conclusion of a 9-6 loss to the Yankees, he insisted that he "was just trying to pitch inside." Now it's pretty obvious that that statement is not true but nevertheless, many fans across the game of baseball, insist that the 5 game suspension is too harsh.
In fact ESPN's Sports Nation fan poll actually put a number on that assumption when after over 1,000 answers to a question: What do you think of Ryan Dempster's 5-game suspension for plunking A-Rod, 57% of voters thought it was too harsh.
If Dempster immediately accepts the suspension, he will be eligible to pitch again next Tuesday in game one of an Orioles series next week. This suspension will probably not effect much of Boston's pitching rotation.
Too see the results of the Sports Nation poll click here
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