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Ryan Dempster "almost certain" to be suspended for beaning A-Rod

MLB is set to decide if Dempster will be punished, but from the sounds of it, they've already made the call.

By Marc Normandin
Jared Wickerham

Ryan Dempster made some waves and some enemies on Sunday night for throwing at embattled Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez repeatedly before finally drilling him with a pitch. Major League Baseball is "almost certain" to suspend him for his actions, according to the New York Posts' Joel Sherman:

Let's be serious for a moment: Dempster deserves to be suspended for throwing at Rodriguez, especially considering all of the close calls before he finally delivered the finishing blow. The thing is, though, it won't impact the Red Sox much, if at all. With a day off on Thursday, the Red Sox can skip Dempster's spot in the rotation, as he wasn't scheduled to pitch until Saturday. Jon Lester, who started on Monday night against the Giants, would get a chance to pitch in Dempster's place on regular rest, with John Lackey starting on Friday as originally planned. This would also mean Felix Doubront, Wednesday's scheduled starter, wouldn't have six full days off in between starts, as Boston has another off-day on Monay.

This all assumes Dempster is actually suspended, of course. With his performance of late, the Red Sox could end up skipping his next start is regardless of his suspension status, though, and maybe even the following one, too, thanks to Monday's day off. Hopefully, some time away from the mound lets him sort out whatever it is that's made him struggle and go from average to likely odd man out when Clay Buchholz returns.

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