Ryan Dempster Hits A-Rod: Justice League Or Bush League (Video, Reader Poll)

Aug 17, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Ryan Dempster (46) welcomes pitcher John Lackey (41) to the dugout after being relieved during the seventh inning against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Last night Ryan Dempster threw 3 pitches at A-rod and finally hitting him with a fourth in last nights Red Sox/Yankees game. After A-Rod was beaned, the home plate umpire immediately issued a warning to both benches.  That sent Yankees manager Joe Girardi into a frenzy eventually leading to his ejection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TxQSYWu61I

Joe Giradi was still upset after the game stating clearly he thought Dempster threw at A-Rod intentionally because of the recent PED controversy.

"“Ryan Dempster has hit six guys in the last 320 innings, he threw the first ball behind him; intentional. He threw the next one inside, he didn’t hit him, intentional. At some point Brian O’Nora has got to give him a warning. And he should’ve thrown him out of the game is the bottom line. Everyone knows it was intentional and I don’t understand why he’s left in the game and then to give us a warning? Brian and I have a long history together back in A ball, Double A, and I respect him. But that was wrong and the one thing you can’t do is you can’t start changing the system because maybe you don’t like it.”"

So is it Ryan Dempsters place to enforce players anger over Alex Rodriguez? Did Dempster choose the right place and method to show his displeasure?  Do baseballs “unwritten rules”  extend to those who cheat while using performance enhancing drugs?

If you were like me you felt justice had only begun to have been served to A-Rod.  But then I thought about who created this monster.  The same fans who were sitting at home cheering Dempsters efforts were also probably cheering for A-Rod to eventually break the home run record set by fellow cheater Barry Bonds. As fans we share in this responsibility.

If Alex Rodriguez had just taken his suspension and faded into obscurity, fans probably would have forgiven him. Heck they probably would have welcomed him back in 2015. But where A-Rod is crossing the line is his constant denials and willingness to selfishly drag the game he loves through the mud with him.  Feulling the already raging fire of anger by some fans and players are the accusations that Alex Rodriguez tried to take other players down with him, including teammate Francisco Cervelli.

The bottom line is that major league baseball has created this situation.  If the evidence against Alex Rodriguez was so overwhelming shouldn’t Bug Selig just have banned him from the game in the best interest of baseball?  Is this a plan by major league baseball to air all the dirty laundry and begin with a clean slate? The truth will slowly be revealed as A-Rod continues to play through his appeal. But is all of this worth the price? Will players continue to apply vigilante justice to “punish” A-Rod outside of the “system”? In my opinion Major League Baseball and the players union need to work together to find a way to get Alex Rodriguez off the field before this really gets out of hand.

So what do you think?