For Dempster, hindsight may prove to be 20/20

I will admit that in the heat of the moment, I cheered.

It was a snapshot reaction to what felt like a long overdue moment for the game of baseball. Ryan Dempster intentionally hit Alex Rodriguez in the second inning of last night's contest and Fenway Park ate it up. Dempster, a well-respected and liked player across the league, sent a message to the most narcissistic and tainted player in the game in Rodriguez.

Dempster essentially said to Rodriguez he wouldn't tolerate his actions any longer, let alone share the field with the embattled third basemen facing a 211-game suspension.

This situation was a ticking time bomb, a boiling point which finally exploded in the most heated rivalry in baseball. If there was a time and place for such theatrics, it is Red Sox/Yankees.

However, in hindsight, Dempster will most likely wish he hadn't picked the rubber game of a contentious three-game series as that exact time and place. Unfortunately, there are no mulligans in baseball.

The timing was surprising, even in the moment. Dempster took the mound after Boston's offense signed sealed and delivered a two-run lead to the innings-eater just a half inning before. He chose Rodriguez's first at-bat which coincided with the start of the inning. Dempster also needed four pitches to hit Rodriguez, after running a fastball behind A-Rod to start the at-bat and leaving the two next fastballs inside as well.

By the fourth pitch everyone, including Joe Girardi, knew the intent. Despite only a single player (Brett Gardner) coming off the bench and Girardi's promise of "someones gonna get hit (never happpened)," the Yankees manager's instant ejection served as the first public defense of Rodriguez by the New York Yankees, a telling moment throughout this entire debacle.

Dempster threw gasoline on a simmering fire last night. Ironically, it was one of the few Dempster throws which hit it's intended target, as he struggled immediately following the Rodriguez beaning. When you make such a bold statement like he did, you have to be able to back it up. Dempster certainly did not.

Not only did he relinquish the lead in that very same inning. Instead, Dempster relinquished seven runs on the night, departing in the sixth inning after loading the bases after already allowing a magnificently dramatic homer to Rodriguez himself in the very same inning.

Instead of hitting Rodriguez, Dempster would have been better served to continue pitching with the lead in hopes of recording an out in the 7th inning, something he's done only twice since June 14th. The man with a 6.25 ERA since the beginning of July needed a strong outing against the Yankees, needed to put his team in position to get back on track and take a pivotal series against a division rival.

The Red Sox, 3-7 in their last ten games, surely could've used a hard-fought win at Fenway before jettisoning off to the west coast to stat a difficult road trip. Instead, Dempster tried to play the role of baseball's moral police officer, in the process awaking a sleeping giant. Rodriguez's 3-for-4 performance including a WWE-style villain heel turn complete with a homer was nothing short of fantastic, the perfect response to what happened in the 2nd inning.

We despise Rodriguez because he cheated, lied and  put himself above the game and his teammates.

So why should we celebrate a pitcher for selfishly hitting him too?

Who will bring home the Wanamaker Trophy?

Editors Note: This is Mark Cunningham's second featured post on Mark's Thoughts. As our resident golf expert, Cunningham will offer his insights into the final major of the year. He is a PGA Professional of 12 years and has worked at a variety of clubs and corporations throughout the New England region. He graduated with a degree in Sport and Club management at Webber University where he also played collegiate golf. Mark is married with two children.

The final major championship is upon us at the famed Donald Ross course, Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY.   

A crescendo is building leading up to the final major and the FedEx Playoffs, built by no other than Tiger Woods and his seven shot victory a week ago at Firestone.  As dominating as it was the added pressure of a unique major such as the PGA Championship is no shoe-in for him. This is where the Club Professionals (PGA Professionals, not PGA Tour) have the opportunity to play alongside the world’s best.  It gives them a week off from the many responsibilities they shoulder- selling socks to Mrs. Havercamp,  listening to members recount their round of 93 shot by shot, or giving a lesson to take care of the repeatable hosel rockets- just to name a few.  The last victorious club professional to hold the Wanamaker Trophy was Bob Rosburg in 1959.

As I stated above, this major is like no other due to who comprises the field. But the one thing I’d like to touch on (before I do my predictions) is the golf course.  Donald Ross is by far my favorite designer and he should be yours too.  He lived in Little Compton, RI so that also helps.  Every golf course he has designed has been a work of art for the ages and should compare to Mozart and Di Vinci in their respective fields.  From Newport Country Club, to Seminole Golf Club, to East Lake, to The Country Club, and Pinehurst are only a few courses on his magnificent list of gems.  Ross was legend before his time using the natural terrain to take into account the design or move land using an ox (not sponsored by John Deere).  Remember, he started working in 1899 at Oakley Country Club in Watertown, Ma and ended his career in 1946 at the Golf Club of Hartford (CT).  

This week you’ll witness the false fronts, which are slightly raised greens that slope back to front (please keep it below the hole to survive), and the deep bunkers. But the one thing he doesn’t do is hide anything on the golfer.  Everything is out in front of you, what you see is what you get. However, Mr. Ross does make you think.  I would have to say the one amenity Oak Hill Country Club has over the other courses is its very own bowling alley in the basement (sorry The Country Club, you have curling), so if mother nature doesn’t cooperate Tiger Woods might be throwing some strikes.

Here are my four top choices to win the Wanamaker Trophy:


Tiger Woods:  He wins by seven shots at an equally hard golf course last week and seems to be in a happy place carrying his son off the green after the victory.  I’m sorry but he is overdue and it’s time he stops the critics.

Phil Mickelson:  Good Old Lefty feeling confident after his British Open triumph should have no problem handling the greens of Oak Hill.  He’s proven his success on Donald Ross courses already.

Dustin Johnson:  He’ll be able to subdue the 7100 yard course with his high flying 3-wood and can putt the eyes out of the ball.  He is so athletic too- he’s been known to throw down two handed dunks.  Plus, wouldn’t you like to see Paulina Gretzky run out on the green to hug her boyfriend?

Henrik Stenson:  This guy’s stats are just off the planet.  It just shows why he finished runner-up last week to Tiger and has put himself in contention numerous times this year including a second place finish at The Open.  The PGA Championship is not unchartered waters for Stenson where he finished 6^th in ’09 and 4^th in ‘08.  Will he be the first Swede to win a major championship?
Dark Horse:  Chris Kirk:  He’s been solid all year long but hasn’t sealed the deal.  He currently ranks 93^rd in the world and 27^th in the FedEx standings.  He’s a product the University of Georgia, so he has the pedigree (Dawg) to be a multiple winner on the PGA Tour.  Kirk is the Shawn Micheel of the 2013 PGA Championship.

I hope you enjoyed my blog as much as I did writing it and if you haven’t played a Donald Ross course, get off the chair and in the car to the nearest one.  Thanks for your interest in reading and see you soon.

Fairways and Greens,
Mark Cunningham, PGA