Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Dempster and an anonymous survey = self-righteous frauds
Managing Editor
1. Do you want to bean Alex Rodriguez?
Yes: 0 percent
No: 100 percent
(35 responses)
2. How long (in games) do you think A-Rod should be suspended for?
Top answers:
1. 100 games: 36 percent
2. 211 games: 20 percent
T3. 75 games/lifetime ban: 16 percent each
(25 responses)
3. Who would you rather have as a teammate, Ryan Braun or Alex Rodriguez?
Braun: 42 percent
Rodriguez: 29 percent
Neither: 29 percent
(31 responses)
4. If the 211-game ban were put to a vote with players, what percentage would side with A-Rod?
Average answer: 43.6 percent
(28 responses)
5. Should A-Rod be able to play during the appeal process?
Yes: 83.3 percent
No: 16.7 percent
(36 responses)
6. True or false: If a Yankees pitcher hit someone on my team, I'd retaliate by specifically targeting A-Rod.
True: 18.2 percent
False: 81.8 percent
(33 responses)
7. True or false: You'd be surprised how many players think A-Rod has been targeted unfairly by MLB.
True: 47.1 percent
False: 52.9 percent
(34 responses)
8. What percentage of players do you think is still violating MLB's drug policy?
Average answer: 7.1 percent
(25 responses)
9. If it meant an ejection, would it be worth it to the pitching staff to sacrifice one outing per series to send A-Rod a message?
Yes: 2.8 percent
No: 97.2 percent
(35 responses)
Ask a player/s about the Alex Rodriguez situation outright and they shrink like an introvert in a crowd.
Ask them the same questions - with the shroud of anonymity - and all of a sudden they can't shut up.
So it came as no surprise, when ESPN the Magazine did an anonymous survey regarding Ryan Dempster's plunking of A-Rod, that many MLB pitchers expressed their displeasure with Dempster's decision to take vigilante justice into his own hands.
Below are the results of that survey.
Below are the results of that survey.
1. Do you want to bean Alex Rodriguez?
Yes: 0 percent
No: 100 percent
(35 responses)
2. How long (in games) do you think A-Rod should be suspended for?
Top answers:
1. 100 games: 36 percent
2. 211 games: 20 percent
T3. 75 games/lifetime ban: 16 percent each
(25 responses)
3. Who would you rather have as a teammate, Ryan Braun or Alex Rodriguez?
Braun: 42 percent
Rodriguez: 29 percent
Neither: 29 percent
(31 responses)
4. If the 211-game ban were put to a vote with players, what percentage would side with A-Rod?
Average answer: 43.6 percent
(28 responses)
5. Should A-Rod be able to play during the appeal process?
Yes: 83.3 percent
No: 16.7 percent
(36 responses)
6. True or false: If a Yankees pitcher hit someone on my team, I'd retaliate by specifically targeting A-Rod.
True: 18.2 percent
False: 81.8 percent
(33 responses)
7. True or false: You'd be surprised how many players think A-Rod has been targeted unfairly by MLB.
True: 47.1 percent
False: 52.9 percent
(34 responses)
8. What percentage of players do you think is still violating MLB's drug policy?
Average answer: 7.1 percent
(25 responses)
9. If it meant an ejection, would it be worth it to the pitching staff to sacrifice one outing per series to send A-Rod a message?
Yes: 2.8 percent
No: 97.2 percent
(35 responses)
Other Quotes
NL starter: "You don't start throwing baseballs at guys because you disagree with what they did. He's entitled to his appeal and to have both sides make their case. I think it's ridiculous that Ryan Dempster took it into his own hands to basically convict him."
NL starter: "Bud is trying to do too much. He's going outside of what Major League Baseball has established as a drug policy and I think that all they have to do is stick to what the policy is and not try to target a certain person to make an example."
Perennial All-Star pitcher who sides with A-Rod: "I would hope a big percentage of players would side with A-Rod. We're family. We all fight together for one cause and, like it or not, with what he did, there's a basic agreement. You start giving into stuff like that and we become weaker."
Follow Scott Levesque on Twitter at @scottlevesque.
