Alex Rodriguez wax drilled in the left arm with a 92 mph fastball last night.

By Amy McGinnis

At Fenway Park last night, the Red Sox hosted the Yankees, and things got interesting in the 2nd inning.

Of all the people wondering why Alex Rodriguez is playing despite his 211-game suspension, the Red Sox top the list. Last week, John Lackey was asked if he has a problem with Rodriguez continuing to play.”You bet I do. How is he still playing? He obviously did something and he’s playing. I’m not sure that’s right … It’s pretty evident he’s been doing stuff for a lot of years I’ve been facing him.” Last night, in the second inning, starting pitcher Ryan Dempster took action.  His first pitch, at 89 mph, flew behind Rodriguez, nearly hitting him in the left leg.  By the fourth pitch, with a 3-0 count, Dempster made contact with Rodriguez – he drilled him in the left arm with a 92 mph fastball. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said, “You’d have to be really unaware or not paying attention to not know he threw at him on purpose.”  There’s really no question that it was intentional, even though Dempster later stated, “I was just trying to pitch inside.” (If you plunk someone intentionally, at least own it.)  Boston fans cheered while home plate umpire Brian O’Nora ran to toward the mound and issued warnings (with finger pointing, for effect) to Dempster and to both benches.

Joe Girardi flew from the dugout, screaming at Dempster and O’Nora … the red-faced, hat off, vein-popping type of screaming.  O’Nora had warned the benches, but he hadn’t wagged his finger at the bullpens, so they promptly emptied.  When all was said and done, no punches were thrown, A-Rod took first base, Girardi was ejected, relief pitchers jogged back to the bullpens, and Dempster prepared for the next batter.  That’s not a typo, folks – Dempster stayed in the game.  Nearly four hours later, once the game had ended, Joe Girardi was still furious.  He made it very clear to the media that drilling a player isn’t acceptable, regardless of any scandal.  “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. We’re going to skip the judicial system? It’s ‘My Cousin Vinny.'” On ESPN, Curt Schilling stated what everyone was already thinking … “It was as intentional as it gets.”

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Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Amy McGinnis, AmyMac, Brian O'Nora, joe girardi, Red Sox, Ryan Dempster, Yankees