The Alex Rodriguez double standard

Alex Rodriguez is hated among players and fans alike. He always seems to find his way into controversial situations, whether he wants to be involved or not. While I agree that some of his actions have been reprehensible (the "glove slap" in 2004), I feel that most of the hate for Rodriguez is unwarranted.

Boston Red Sox fans were crying foul after "the slide" on May 22 (pictured, right), involving Dustin Pedroia. Rodriguez seemed to lead with his elbow while sliding past second base after Pedroia had thrown the ball. People found this play to be dirty, and added it to the list of things wrong with Rodriguez's play.

Another instance came Wednesday night, when he yelled "hah" as he was running to third base. This had everyone, including his own manager Joe Torre, condemning his actions. Rodriguez shot back, saying this happens many times by the dugout on foul pop ups.

Today, there was a play involving Robinson Cano and Mike Lowell (pictured, left). Cano fielded a ball in the base path and went to tag Lowell. Lowell then lowered his head and shoulder into Cano, causing him to fall over. While falling over, Cano was able to bounce a throw to Doug Mientkiewicz to complete the double play.

Now, if Rodriguez was Lowell in this situation, especially in Boston, he would have been crucified. Fans on WEEI would be calling for his head and calling him a dirty player. Lowell's actions in this play were legal. However, think about how Rodriguez would have been received if it was him lowering his head into Pedroia.

Fans cheered Lowell, and Tim McCarver was applauding his actions from the NESN, I mean FOX booth. I wonder if McCarver would have felt the same way if the Yankees third baseman was in the play.

This season, the "slide" and the "hah" were both legal plays. However, analysts and fans voiced their negative opinions regarding Rodriguez's actions. A similar legal play by Lowell was called as such by McCarver, even though there was much more contact involved than there was in the "slide."

There is an obvious Alex Rodriguez double standard in the game today. Today's play involving Lowell only furthers this idea.

Photos courtesy of Getty Images and Yahoo! Sports