Earl Weaver: A-Rod's My Kind of Guy

As part of something ESPN is calling "Cheatwave 07" -- which likely falls somewhere between "Who's Now" and Panda Watch! -- Jerry Crasnick penned this column about the way cheating, or gamesmanship, or whatever you'd like to call it, has mellowed over the years.

But the real gem comes in the form of Earl Weaver (doesn't it always?), when Weaver discusses just how dismayed he was that Alex Rodriguez has taken a skewering, and a shower of high-and-tight fastballs, for his call of "Ha!" against the Blue Jays this year:

Rodriguez might be heartened to know that one old-time ball guy is squarely in his corner. Hall of Famer Earl Weaver, who still follows the game closely from his home in Florida, read the newspaper accounts and was astonished at the bashing Rodriguez took for his actions.

When Weaver was managing in Baltimore, he routinely told his third-base coach to yell "Cut it off!" to confuse opposing fielders when an Orioles baserunner was trying to score. He viewed Rodriguez's ploy in the same light.

"When he hollered at the infielders and they got mad, I don't understand [the criticism]," said Weaver, 76. "I don't care what he yelled; he's helping his team win when he does those kinds of things. That's what I call a ballplayer."

Wooooo, hoo! That's a ballplayer, boy! This ethics lesson brought to you by the man responsible for most consecutive swears ever strung together. Awesome. (Loud swears. Beware.)