[nolemmings]

Former Mets pitcher and current analyst Ron Darling said "absolutely hitters are not supposed to run over the mound, you stay off it," and that the mound is "the pitcher's place."

But Darling seemed to indicate the fraternization of the game now made Braden's outburst somewhat inconsistent.

"The game's changed," Darling said. "These guys are hugging and kissing each other before the game, they share the same agents, everyone's so happy. It's the country club fraternity of baseball now. They've decided to make this a genteel game. For A-Rod not to know that that's inappropriate, though ... everyone knows that. It's just that all these lines have been blurred. It's a country club game."

Braden said it was part of how he was brought up in the game.

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, as old school as managers come, told AOLFanhouse that "a lot of guys" in the game don't know about the stay-off-the-mound code and was in Braden's corner.

"He's been taught right," La Russa said, according to Fanhouse.

Former catcher and FOX analyst Tim McCarver recalled Hall of Famer Bob Gibson, a legendary intimidator, and his viewpoint on hitters coming near the mound, which Gibson called his "office."

"You never come into my office unless you're invited," McCarver said. "And you'll never be invited."

Read more: http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/04/25...#ixzz0m5MZ9HwN

I suspect others will chime in as well.