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ASA views obstruction as a "keep whole" rule rather than as a "punish for the infraction" rule.
Therefore, it is DDB and no action is taken unless something happens that prevents the runner from achieving the base she would have achieved without the obstruction.
However, it is not true that "the obstructed runner must be put out before anything is called." That is a misreading of the rule. The difference with the runner being put out before she reaches the base she is protected to is that there is now a dead ball. Otherwise, you wait until the play is over and award bases if necessary.
The rule also allows the umpire to rule on other runners affected by the obstruction. The only one of your scenarios that might (it seems to me) fit that category would be #3. If you rule that Able returns to 3rd because of the obstruction (as opposed to a stupid runner decision), then you could also protect Baker who found himself sharing a base with Able because of the obstruction.
In the other situations, the runners, especially Baker, made stupid base running decisions and the prediciment they found themselves in was not due to the obs. Therefore, the baseball rule would seem to be "unfair" in the sense of punishing rather than keeping whole.
JMO, but I think the ASA rule could do with a bit more of a "punishment" component, but we'll see how the "about to receive" deletion effects things in a year or so, after most umpires have become accustomed to it.
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Tom
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