Ryan Dempster wants to put Sunday’s A-Rod debacle behind him, serve his suspension and move on. It’s easier said than done.
Alex Rodriguez isn’t going anywhere for now, and until he’s forced to serve a suspension, neither is the circus that accompanies him. Rodriguez is going to be under a microscope for as long as he’s playing, which is something that those in the Red Sox’ clubhouse seem to recognize.
“That’s just what A-Rod is going to bring from now on,” Jonny Gomes told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford. “Say someone slides hard into third. Remember, he got hit and immediately the benches came out. When does that happen?
“If he slides hard into second, benches are going to clear. If someone slides hard into him, benches are going to clear. Everything this dude does is going to get exposed now. A-Rod gets hit, we have to suspend him. What will happen when someone steals third and spikes him? … Everything this guy does is going be totally exposed.”
Dempster was suspended five games and fined an undisclosed amount for intentionally throwing at Rodriguez — although Dempster denies doing so — during Sunday’s game. The suspension hardly impacts the Red Sox’ rotation, but perhaps it will discourage other players from taking matters into their own hands. Gomes clearly feels that the sideshow isn’t going anywhere, though, and Jon Lester tends to agree.
“Obviously, what’s going on with him right now, everything is going to be under the microscope,” Lester told Bradford. “I think anytime you have him, us, the Yankees, things are always going to get blown up. With him it’s going to be a circus all year surrounding whatever goes on. If he has a great game and you might be the next team saying he shouldn’t be playing. It’s going to be a story the rest of the time until he wins his appeal or loses the appeal and serves his suspension. I think we all have to kind of dig in for the long haul on it and ride out the appeals process and see where he’s at the end.”
Rodriguez, of course, is in the process of appealing a 211-game suspension handed to him for his connection to the Miami-based Biogenesis clinic. Until a decision is reached, plan on seeing A-Rod’s name in the news each and every day.
Have a question for Ricky Doyle? Send it to him via Twitter at @TheRickyDoyle or send it here.
