I am no fan of Alex Rodriguez, the New York Yankees slugger facing a huge suspension for taking illegal drugs.

However, Major League Baseball at least acted symbolically by suspending Boston Red Sox pitcher Ryan Dempster for throwing at A-Rod during a recent game. Rodriguez is quite unpopular among his fellow athletes, given the evidence that suggests he took performance-enhancing drugs after saying he had quit taking them. He didn’t deserve to be thrown at by Dempster.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/08/20/ryan-dempster-suspended-five-games-joe-girardi-fined-following-the-a-rod-plunking/related/

A major rhubarb erupted when Dempster plunked A-Rod. The ump tossed Yankee manager Joe Girardi out of the game. He should have tossed Dempster too, but didn’t.

This A-Rod saga is starting to take some nasty turns. A-Rod’s lawyer is showing up on news talk shows to plead his client’s case. Word has leaked out that Rodriguez’s posse leaked information about other players cheating to MLB’s commissioner, which might be why Dempster threw at Rodriguez.

A-Rod has appealed the suspension and can play ball while the appeal runs its course. I’m only hoping now that this case can get resolved soon. No one — not even Rodriguez — deserves to put himself in harm’s way while he plays the Grand Old Game.