j-monster Wrote:Anyone see A-Fraud's latest bout of poor sportsmanship? Yelling at the third baseman to confuse him and cause him to move out of the way from catching an easy pop fly? Granted the kid should have ignored it and made the play but still.
I have absolutely no problem with that. It's just smart baseball. There's no rule against it.
Baseball has long been a game where players are constantly trying to deceive / rattle / confuse their opponents, and pushing the bounds of the rules in the name of competition. Stealing signs, hiding the ball, shouting "go" when a runner should tag, acting as if a trapped ball was caught, etc. -- all of these things have become part of the fabric of the game.
Even his glove-slap in the 2004 postseason was fine by me; at least he tried something to avoid a sure out. I want to see a player do all he can in the heat of the moment to help his team win, and if it violates a rule, there are 4 umps there to catch it.
For me, the things that cross the line are blatant pre-meditated attempts at outright cheating, like doctoring the baseball (Gaylord Perry), corking your bat (Sammy Sosa), and juicing-up (Baroid).
Personally, I don't understand why A-rod is so despised (aside from being a Yank-me, of course, but that's nothing personal -- it's something that goes with putting on pinstripes). He's a fantastic talent, he works hard, he's a team player, and seems to do whatever he can to help his team win. I don't ever seem to hear him trashing teammates or other players, he seems to own his mistakes, and his accomplishments appear to be free of artificial influence.
