Regarding A-Rod saying
"The umpire said I could have run him over, but he was coming at me, and I know the line belongs to me. He was reaching toward my stomach, and I feel I can knock it out."
True, while the line might belong to him, the pitcher was not at all in his baserunning line and was not at all impeding his path to 1st base. He blatently swatted his left arm out, hitting the pitcher in the forearm and jarring the ball loose. Had there been more of a body to body type collision there and the ball came loose, then he's safe. But when the only contact made is A-Rods left hand coming down on the pitchers forearm, that's a different story.
The argument here is valid. It's ok to bowl over a catcher or a shortstop but you can't swat at a guys glove as he's making a tag?
If you're saying it should be OK to swat at a guys glove while trying to make a tag, why stop there. Why not also make it legal that, if on a popup where the fielder is standing near a basepath, the baserunner can stand there and at the last second make a swat at the fielders glove just a split second before he attempts to catch it. I mean, he is standing in the vicinity of the baserunners path, not unlike the situation lastnight, is he not? Or, why not just bowl over the fielder who is in your way but looking up at the ball trying to make a catch?
It was a desperate act at a desperate time no doubt, but it was also a genious move because had it worked, A-Rod is on second and Jeter is in the dugout high-fiving guys.
A genious move? I don't think so. Had he conceded the out, Jeter is standing on 2nd base and in scoring position. As a result of his desperate act, Jeter had to return to 1st and A-Rod could have very well cost his team a run if the next guy would have singled and instead of scoring Jeter, it would have left baserunners at the corners. But since no one else got a hit that inning, it's a moot point.
Actually, none of this will matter at all, if Boston doesn't win tonight.