Alex Does Dallas Dirty

Yesterday Dallas Braden got a little peeved when A-Rod broke an unspoken baseball rule by running across the mound. Robinson Cano was at the plate and hit a foul ball and A-Rod went from 1^st to 3^rd. A-Rod returned to first base by running across the top of the mound, and Braden was furious about the action, and after Cano grounded out on the next play Braden had to be pulled/escorted off the field by A’s Manager Bob Geren as he tossed out some lyrical pitches in the form of f-bombs in A-Rod’s direction. Here’s the analysis from Harold Reynolds on MLBTV. After the game, Braden spoke of the unspoken rule that the pitcher owns the mound, and no player should be on the mound besides the pitcher out of respect. Here is some of the he said she said that went on…

A-Rod told reporters “He just told me to get off his mound. I was a little surprised. I’ve never quite heard that, especially from a guy that has a handful of wins in his career. I’ve never even heard of that in my career and I still don’t know. I thought it was pretty funny, actually.

Braden had a little more to say about getting so fired up, “The long and short of it is it’s pretty much baseball etiquette. He should probably take a note from his captain over there,” referring to Yankees leader Derek Jeter, “because you don’t run across the pitcher’s mound in between an inning or during the game. I was just dumbfounded that he would let that slip his mind. I was just trying to convey to him that I was still out there, that ball’s in my hand and that’s my pitcher’s mound. If he wants to run across the pitcher’s mound, tell him to go do laps in the bullpen. That’s my mound … He’s right. I don’t even have a handful of wins. I have three. Do the math A-Rod.”

I think Braden may have over reacted a little, but it’s not like A-Rod is a guy that’s known for his etiquette. Many recall the incident in Toronto when he yelled Ha rounding third base causing the 3rd baseman to drop the ball. The only problem I have with A-Rod is taking a shot at Braden’s win loss total. If he is that insignificant, you don’t need to say it, we all know how many wins he has. I said about a week ago that, Braden is a gamer, he’s the type of fiery competitor you love to have on your team. He was getting over a sickness so maybe that is what made him extra cranky.