C-Rod (Cheat Rod)

Okay, yes, cheating goes on in baseball all the time. Less now than formerly, when pitchers put substances on their gloves to affect the ball and didn't get caught (do they still try to do that?), batters thrown out at second or home who know they're out, but are called safe, say nothing. Outfielders sometimes pretend they've caught the ball when they've only trapped it. But that's them, effecting their own play. The hitter still has a chance to hit the messed-up ball, for example.

Then there's the dirty play of C-Rod.

Below is the excerpt from the recap of the Yankees vs Toronto Blue Jays game of May 30, 2007:

"Rodriguez hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth that made it 7-5. Jorge Posada followed with a high infield pop and Rodriguez ran hard, cutting between Clark and shortstop John McDonald.

Replays showed Rodriguez shouting something, and Clark backed off at the last second. McDonald was only a few steps behind Clark, but couldn't make the catch and ball dropped for an RBI single.

"I just said, 'Hah!' That's it," Rodriguez said. "Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."
McDonald started jawing with Rodriguez, and third base umpire Chad Fairchild got between them. Toronto manager John Gibbons came out to argue, and exchanged words with Rodriguez and third base coach Larry Bowa before leaving the field as plate umpire Eric Cooper intervened. Rodriguez stayed on the bag with a smirk.

When Jason Giambi stepped up to hit, he seemed to get into it with catcher Jason Phillips and Cooper settled them down.
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Giambi followed with a two-run single. When the game ended, many of the Blue Jays stayed on the bench, staring at Rodriguez and the Yankees.
"They have their opinions," he said, adding he pulled the trick to help the Yankees "win a game. We're desperate." "

My own thought is, by interfering with the play he should have been called out. It's easy for players to ignore shouts of "Drop it" from the dugout, but when it's said on the field it interferes with the play.

C-Rod is also the guy who, a couple of years ago, slapped the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's hand as he tried to get to first base. He was called out for interference, and serve him right. This should have gone the same way.