Kuzul

If Major League Baseball is trying to send Ryan Dempster a message, it’s not doing a great job.

The Boston Red Sox pitcher hit New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez in the second inning of a game between the bitter rivals on Sunday, resulting in a five-game suspension for Dempster:

Ryan Dempster gets a 5-game suspension and undisclosed fine for intentionally hitting Alex Rodriguez on Sunday. #Yankees

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 20, 2013

In A-Rod’s first at-bat against Dempster this year, he took four inside pitches, with the last one finally hitting him.

The at-bat started off with a pitch behind A-Rod, which clearly sent a message and stirred a rousing ovation from the Boston faithful. Three pitches later, Dempster would plunk Rodriguez on a 3-0 count, resulting in the benches clearing and Yankees manager Joe Girardi being tossed.

Dempster maintained that he simply lost control of the ball in his postgame interview, as he attempted to deflect questions about the at-bat by talking about the game itself:

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, nobody on the Yankees was happy with how Dempster acted.

“Whether you like me or hate, that was wrong. That was unprofessional and silly,” Rodriguez sounded off to reporters. “It was kind of a silly way to get someone hurt on your team as well.”

Girardi also gave his thoughts on the matter, explaining why he was so upset, leading to his ejection.

You can’t start throwing at people. 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.

Dempster was not tossed from the game, but both sides were issued warnings. The Yankees would go on to win the game, 9-6, behind Rodriguez’s home run off Dempster in the sixth inning that sparked a rally.

Perhaps Bud Selig and Co. actually think this suspension is a punishment for Dempster and the Red Sox, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Dempster got off easily for intentionally hitting a batter, and MLB needs to rethink its strategy when trying to send messages to players.

The first notable blunder that comes with this suspension is that Dempster will still be paid for the games he misses, according to Darren Rovell:

Major League Baseball says that because Dempster’s transgression happened on the field his suspension is WITH PAY.

— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) August 20, 2013

Obviously, protocol dictates that since the incident occurred on the field, Dempster cannot lose his pay for the games he misses. However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that the only financial repercussion of his actions is a fine of an undisclosed amount.

Dempster’s exploits aren’t going to put a dent in his pocket, and they didn’t really hurt the team, either.

Usually, a five-game suspension results in a pitcher having to push back his start, which means the replacement in the rotation will likely be an inferior talent to the suspended player. However, this is not the case in this instance.

Because the Red Sox have days off on Thursday (Aug. 22) and Monday (Aug. 26), the team will be able to pitch a four-man rotation until Dempster’s return on Tuesday (Aug. 27).

The key here is that the team has Thursday off, meaning that everyone in the starting rotation has an extra day of rest. In turn, even with Jon Lester pitching on Monday and Jake Peavy going on Tuesday, the two will be able to come back and pitch over the weekend on normal rest.

Dempster was slated to face the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday (Aug. 24), but now the team can move Lester’s start up from Sunday to Saturday, while pitching Peavy on Sunday before Dempster comes back on Tuesday.

To recap, the Red Sox will replace the scheduled start of a guy with a 6-9 record and a 4.77 ERA with two much better pitchers without missing a beat.

Are you telling me that’s considered a punishment? I’d call that a reward.

Despite Dempster’s clear intent of nailing Rodriguez, MLB issued a short suspension and, in the process, did not come down hard enough on him.

Player safety is supposed to be one of the top concerns of all sports organizations, but apparently, intentionally hitting a player with a hard baseball going 92 mph only warrants a minimal suspension.

Dempster and the Red Sox got off easy, and if MLB really wanted to show that it isn’t messing around when it comes to safety, Dempster would be out for at least 10 games.

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Alex Rodriguez returned home for the New York Yankees on Friday night, making his first appearance in Yankee Stadium in 2013. 

Rodriguez hadn’t played a game at home since his disastrous postseason performance last season, and he had to have been hoping for better in his latest appearance in the Bronx.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. 

A-Rod was booed before every at-bat in Chicago, and that trend continued in New York: 

His first at-bat brought another round of the boo-birds, and they only increased in volume and intensity after he struck out with Ichiro Suzuki on second to end the first inning.

Rodriguez came up again in the third inning, this time with a runner on third and only one out. A sacrifice alone could have brought home Robinson Cano, but A-Rod squandered the RBI opportunity, striking out by whiffing on back-to-back breaking balls out of the zone. 

Rodriguez’s third at-bat was technically his best of the night—as he was finally able to make contact with the ball—but a lazy fly ball out with runners on second and third hardly classifies as a success. 

A-Rod’s last at-bat led off the eighth inning for New York, and he was caught looking for his third strikeout of the game.

It was a rough night for the third baseman, as his three-game hitting streak came to an end. :et’s take a closer look at his performance tonight.

Contact: D-

A-Rod had been making contact fairly consistently in the Yankees’ series against the Chicago White Sox, but he clearly struggled against a much better pitching team in the Tigers. 

Rodriguez’s only contact was on a fly-out to right field that wasn’t well-struck.

Power: F

One of the only things worse than A-Rod’s contact was his power. Rodriguez’s left the infield with his only batted ball, recording the dreaded hat trick at the plate. 

Situational Hitting: F

The worst part of A-Rod’s game has to be his inability to hit when the team needed him the most.

Rodriguez left four runners in scoring position on Friday night, including a runner on third with one out in the third inning.

It was like watching him in the 2012 ALCS all over again.

Overall: F

A-Rod was pulled after striking out in the eighth inning, and his night ended with him going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

This was the worst performance we’ve seen from him all year at any level, and it came at the worst possible time.

By playing well, Rodriguez could have won some of the Yankee faithful back over. Unfortunately, he reminded fans just how bad he can be, and it’s unlikely they have changed their minds about rooting against him.

Things couldn’t have been much worse for No. 13 on Friday night.

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Alex Rios is officially a Texas Ranger.

The Chicago White Sox sent their star outfielder to Texas via waivers along with $1 million for either a player to be named later or cash, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune.

Rios’ addition is big news for the Rangers, as Nelson Cruz was recently suspended 50 games for his involvement in the Biogenesis scandal.

According to Sullivan, Rios is excited to play for a contending team once again instead of the lowly White Sox. Said Rios:  

You know what, with the situation that we were in, it wasn’t too much of a surprise. They were trying to get rid of salary or whatever they wanted to do. I think many people expected this to happen. You know what, it’s all good.

The Rangers are likely thrilled that they were able to acquire the best player available via waivers after already landing the crown jewel of the MLB trade deadline, Matt Garza.

The Rangers were tied with the Oakland Athletics for the AL West lead entering Friday night’s action, and Cruz’s absence did not bode well for the Rangers going down the stretch. However, adding Rios to the lineup for the weekend will be a huge boost.

The real question facing Texas right now is whether or not Rios will completely make up for the loss of Cruz.

Rios certainly can hit for contact on par with Cruz, and his defense is considerably better as well. However, one look at the two players’ stats will tell you that Rios lacks in the power department.

Rangers fans will be sad to see Cruz’s power out of the lineup, as he led the team in home runs and RBI this season before getting suspended. He was also second in slugging behind Adrian Beltre.

The team will now rely heavily on Beltre to be the slugger who strikes fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers. He is now the only player on the team with at least 20 home runs, as he sits at 25, which is nine ahead of Mitch Moreland, who stands second on the team in the wake of Cruz’s absence.

The Rangers still have decent power throughout their lineup, however, as Beltre leads six players with double-digit home runs. Jeff Baker’s nine home runs in 44 games is also very impressive, although he hasn’t hit one since June 10.

Losing Cruz’s power certainly hurts, but the addition of Rios’ 12 dingers into the lineup is certainly an improvement over Cruz’s replacement, Craig Gentry. Gentry only has one home run this year in 64 games, so adding Rios into the mix is a huge boost.

Rios will also provide a contact-hitting outfielder who can put pressure on opposing pitchers. He won’t be the cleanup hitter for the team, but he can get things going following the heart of the order if he takes over for Cruz in the six-spot.

Here’s a look at how the team’s lineup could look with Rios in it:

This lineup would give the team a solid combination of contact hitting and speed at the top and a pretty powerful cleanup trio of Kinsler, Beltre and Pierzynski to start things off. Then comes Rios and his solid bat, and if he gets on the last third of the lineup isn’t too shabby, either.

Obviously Rios doesn’t have Cruz’s power and his contact hitting isn’t enough to make up for that. However, adding him to the mix is a good move by the Rangers, and it will solidify the lineup as the team attempts to make a push into the postseason.

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Alex Rodriguez will make his much-anticipated return to Yankee Stadium on Friday night against the Detroit Tigers, and New York Yankees fans will finally see their starting third baseman at home.

The Yankees have had arguably the worst third basemen all season—a position that had collectively hit a grand total of four home runs before A-Rod’s return earlier this week.

Rodriguez has been better than expected after returning from his second hip surgery at the age of 38, batting .273 and posting an on-base percentage of .429 in his first three games.

After officially appealing his 211-game suspension due to the Biogenesis scandal, Rodriguez will likely finish out the 2013 MLB season while Bud Selig and Co. review his suspension.

A-Rod will finally make his 2013 Bronx debut, and it will be interesting to see if Yankees fans continue the trend of booing him before each at-bat, or if they embrace their former MVP among his off-the-field issues.

Follow along with Bleacher Report as we bring you the latest news and analysis from around the Web, and be sure to keep coming back, as this page will update throughout the night.

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