Did you know that A-Rod, not Hitler, was responsible for the Holocaust?

I get a kick out of the fact that writers for two popular Yankee blogs that I follow would even suggest that Alex Rodriguez should be blamed for the Yankees' lopsided loss tonight because of something that happened 75 days ago. Here's some background information:

• On May 30th, when the Yankees stood at a horrendous 21-29, they led the Blue Jays 6-5 in the top of the ninth inning with two outs. Jorge Posada hit a pop-up to the left side of the infield, and baserunner Alex Rodriguez shouted "Ha!" at third-baseman Howie Clark at the last second, apparently causing him to lose focus and botch the play.
• The Blue Jays descended into a state of fiery inexorable rage, refusing to move on even after more than two months had passed, throwing at A-Rod, bad-mouthing him in the press, and burning effigies of him whenever the opportunity arose.
• A week ago, A-Rod was plunked by Blue Jays pitcher Josh Towers. Later in the game, Roger Clemens decided to respond by throwing at Alex Rios. He was ejected, and because of retarded MLB anti-retaliation rules, he was suspended for five games.
• Tonight would have been Clemens's spot in the rotation, and he was replaced by Jeff Karstens, who got roughed up. The Yankees lost 12-0.

So somehow, by the logic of certain Yankee bloggers, fans should be upset with A-Rod for getting Clemens suspended. What?

There are several obvious things to point out in order to negate this batshit-insane needless A-Rod bashing, but let's start off with a more subtle point -- one that took some rigorous investigative journalism on my part. If you review frame-by-frame footage of the game from last week, you'll actually notice that it was Roger Clemens who threw at Rios, not Alex Rodriguez! I know, I know, I just run a small-time blog and you probably think I'm a "conspiracy theorist" and whatnot, but seriously, check it out for yourself!

Seriously, how can Alex Rodriguez be blamed for something that Roger Clemens chose to do? It's not as if it was purely up to him to retaliate, something that Krazy Kyle Farnsworth or the dispensable Jim Brower (who came in after Clemens) were assuredly perfectly capable of, and as a 24-year veteran, he understood the implications of intentionally throwing at an opposing batter after warnings were issued. Which brings me to my next point: Roger Clemens could have appealed the suspension in order to avoid missing a start. This happens all the time. When starting pitchers get suspended, they delay the process in order to miss as few turns in the rotation as possible. Why Clemens chose not to do so is bizarre at best, and infuriating at worst. Quite frankly, with regard to this "Ha!" butterfly-effect fiasco, any sort of fan frustration with a Yankee player should be directed towards the Rocket, not A-Rod.

In any case, the most ridiculous mainstream oversight, in my opinion, is that the "Ha!" helped the Yankees at a time when they needed it most. At 21-29, they were 14.5 games behind Boston. A-Rod's antics allowed the team to score four important insurance runs in the ninth inning, en route to a 10-5 victory. MLB.com reported that when asked what he was trying to accomplish with the play, he responded, "To win a game. We're desperate. We haven't won a game in a little bit now, so we won the game." A-Rod was simply trying to help the team any way he could (in case his trillion home runs weren't quite good enough) and fans should respect him for doing so.

Also, can somebody please explain why a baserunner yelling at a fielder is generally considered a gross breach of baseball "etiquette"? This isn't golf. Most professional athletes have to deal with loud crowd noises and other distractions all the time. Hell, in basketball, almost everyone yells at an opponent going in for a wide-open layup, which is certainly that sport's equivalent to fielding a routine pop-up. A-Rod didn't even go as far as to yell "I got it!", which would have been much more disruptive to Howie Clark considering the relative proximity of Toronto shortstop John McDonald.

On a side note, Joe Torre is an idiot for DH-ing anyone other than Giambi at this point. It's a crime that a guy with a .413 career OBP isn't an everyday player. He is a terrible manager and I curse the Lord for taking Phil Rirruto instead of him. Those are z's.