Gearing up for a big day at Legends Field
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Feb 20, 2007 
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I may be a bit grumpy today, so watch out. I’m working on little sleep.
Nothing Diet Coke can’t cure.
Today should be an interesting day. Derek Jeter (who can’t be too happy) will presumably address the Alex Rodriguez revelations. We also will get Joe Torre’s side of things. No question, the skipper will say, everybody needs to move on.
Today is also the day Torre addresses the troops before the go out to practice. The basic theme: Win the damn World Series. Please. I mean it this time. They might fire me. C’mon.
When did baseball become a reality show? Did I miss a memo?
Why are reporters and fans obsessed as to the personal off the field relationships between and among certain high profile players? What does that have to do with baseball?
Are there just not enough baseball stories?
I saw the deplorable Newsday back cover this morning stoking the flames of this saga. It could have been a sweeps month ad in TV Guide for one of those stupid TV shows where you have the opportunity to vote someone out of a house or off an island.
Jeter answered this question months ago. Jeter and ARod have a professional relationship. While Jeter did not mention there are no more sleep-overs, he seemed to be well able to handle the new sleeping arrangements without tears.
Amazing.
I’m with you Paul. It’s a no story. You guys need to leave it alone, walk away.
Take a look at the daily news back page. I don’t get why some reporters are acting like this is news. they didn’t know that alex and jeter were no longer as close? um open your eyes. if i as a fan could see it and know it, than they who are in the clubhouse everyday should see it and know it.
hopefully all this garbage is over by lunch time. get jeters non quote and end it!
Pete,
I enjoy ALL of your reporting — especially a look into what’s happening in the locker room, so to speak. Perhaps I trust your perspective because I seem to agree with your take on just about everything. I find you fair, but honest in your assessments.
RE Arod: I hope by getting his failed relationship with Jete “off his chest” our wunderboy can have a better season. One thing’s for certain: Jete is NOT going to be happy with all the follow-up Qs he’ll be bombarded with regarding Arod’s statement. (I have to wonder if Arod isn’t going to enjoy that just a little bit…)
OK, back to baseball: how’s Igawa looking? Is he going to hack it in the AL? And beyond Pavano’s wimp issues, how are his pitching shaping up? Do you get the feeling he’ll be sticking around this season, or is Cash busy trying to find him a new home? The reporting over the last few days seems to bode well for the Wimpster.
Thanks for the terrific blog.
I agree with the above posts. Now, after Jeter repeats what he’s already said many times, can it finally be time to move on!
We need some games.
I have really enjoyed all the updates, Peter. Thanks!
I feel for you Pete — couldn’t get to sleep until 4:00 am, had to get up at 6:30 am. Mmm, coffee.
And yeah, the A-Rod/Jeter thing is old & I never really gave a durn. I’m more interested in what’s up with Bernie, how’s Giambi’s hand, how does Igawa look — does Gator think he has the stuff to be in the rotation, what’s the reaction to Andy being back, oh and is Pavano actually going to earn his paycheck this year.
Former BFF who aren’t BFF anymore is kinda high schoolish.
I can see Jeter’s response now: “I haven’t read the interview, so I can’t comment on it.”
Torre: “There’s no problem, they both want to win.”
Unfortunately even after those predictable non-quotes, there is no end in sight for this story, the media is in love with it and are fine with twisting the facts in order to create the headlines and stories that they think will sell papers. Did anybody see the Daily News: “Ice Men”? I mean, come on, that headline has nothing whatsoever to do with what Alex actually said. I wish Alex would just never speak to the media again so as to stop giving them fuel to keep reprinting stupid stories about him (i.e. his relationship with Jeter, his supposed psychological weakness, his contractual rights, etc.). Nobody cares about this stuff anymore and we’re all sick of reading it. Please give us some substance or just don’t give us any story at all!
Who cares about Arod and Jeters relationship. In the great yankee dynasty of the 20,30s Ruth and Gehrig did not talk and they did pretty well.
To Frank: Your poist was deleted because of the language. This blog is part of The Journal News. Beyond that, kids and 89-year-old grandmothers read it. There is no reason to use obscene language.
To everybody else: Sorry, but when Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter discuss the cooling of their relationship, it’s news. I can’t write about prospects today when this is the story everybody is talking about it. I will write about prospects eventually but I cover the Yankees, not guys who maybe could one day be Yankees. Just the way it is.
Anthony: Don’t give you any story at all? Yeah, I’m sure my bosses would love that.
I think on this blog (and in the paper) there is a lot of non-tabloid coverage of the Yankees and more news about prospects than you see in a lot of places. But I can’t ignore these kind of stories.
I agree with Stef… I appreciate all the different aspects of this blog, from the strict on the field news of spring training to covering the personalities within the clubhouse.
like it or not, yankees fans are going to need to get used to hearing stories like these, because they play an integral part within the season. we would all like the players to step on the field, win games, and end there, but the fact is that a 162 game season is similar to a reality show… there will a lot of ups and downs, slumps and winning streaks, and behind the games themselves are insights of how the season is playing out through the relationships of the players and the ebb and flow of the clubhouse.
and due to the change in local, national, and global news and media coverage between the ’20s, the ’60s, and today, i dont think we can compare the Jeter/ARod situation to those relationships of the past…
Peter,
It’s news because you guys make it news. I think it is clear, the fans don’t care. Aren’t we (the fans) the ones that read the paper?
I love your Blog BTW.
Peter, I’ll reiterate what numerous others have said in that I care more about baseball issues – how Pettite’s elbow feels, how spry Posada looks, how the younger kids look, etc.
However, what I enjoy most about your blog is that we get a glimpse into the life of a member of the sports media that covers that Yankees. So, with that in mind, and in light of this (non) story, I’ve got a question.
Do the people who run these stories understand the impact that they have on the fan base and the players? Sure, we all know the cliche about it being tough to play in New York, but this sort of story is off the beaten path. I take pride in the fact that we have a reputation of expecting performance because it has translated into players who come here to win and a front office that is committed to running a sound organization. What I can’t comprehend is why the major media outlets for the Yankees seem obsessed with driving Alex Rodriguez away from his teammates and fans. Are these decisions made by the writers or the media management?
Specific to this situation, it conspicuous how so many stories can be written about Rodriguez that rarely, if ever, mention:
(1) That without his .321/.421/.610, 48 HR and 130 RBI in 2005, we would not have won the division.
(2) In his acknowledged worst year, his .290/.392/.523, 35 HR and 121 RBI were easily the best among AL third baseman (though Joe Crede won the Silver Slugger)
(3) That his lack of performance in the final 4 games of the 2004 ALCS, the 2005 ALDS and 2006 ALDS coincides with a near complete lack of offensive, and in most cases pitching, performance from the rest of the team.
(4) That the Yankees likely would not have advanced to the ALCS in 2004 without Alex’s .421/.476/.737 against Minnesota.
I’ve sent a lot of people to this blog because I think that your audio clip of the interview with Alex is very eye opening and tells a difference story than the folks at the Post, the Daily News, Newsday and ESPN would have us believe. However, the one question that I’ll always have is this: do the people who write these stories understand that it’s the perpetuation of this artificial drama that ‘makes it tough to play in New York?’
Peter, I did give a second option besides not giving a story at all, and that is to give a story with some substance. I didn’t realize those were so hard to find. Just because everyone is talking about something doesn’t make it newsworthy. And Peter, I love your blog and wasn’t talking about what you’ve written here because I think you’ve covered it well by giving us an unbiased account. I was really referring to the work of the Daily News and Newsday and the like in sensationalizing this in order to make more of a story than actually exists.
“In the great yankee dynasty of the 20,30s Ruth and Gehrig did not talk and they did pretty well.”
Gregg, this is not really accurate.
Ruth and Gehrig were close for a substantial part of the 20s. I can’t recall specific dates (though if you’re interested I can find them) but the highlights of their relationship go something like this:
(1) Ruth was, as everyone knows, a ‘night out on the town guy’, whereas Gehrig was rarely not in bed in his parents apartment, and later after his marriage, after 11 pm. Ruth frequented Gehrig’s house and grew fond of his mother and her homecooking. Ruth even gave Gehrig’s mother a dog, which she named after him (George in German, though I can’t recall the exact name.)
(2) Ruth and Gehrig were barnstorming partners across the midwest and in Japan for many years. They initially played on the same team and then eventually split up to make the games more competitive.
(3) Ruth and Gehrig’s relationship hit the rocks after an incident aboard a cruise ship (early 1930′s I believe) in which Gehrig’s wife had gone missing for a couple of hours and was found to be with Ruth, alone. The rumor was that Ruth had slept with Gehrig’s wife, and the two rarely spoke after that. A display of this soured relationship can be seen in some of the Lou Gehrig day photos. There is a picture taken where Ruth gives Gehrig a big hug, and he awkwardly resists Ruth’s embrace.
(4) “They did pretty well” – Yeah, that part is definitely accurate!
perpetuation of artifical drama? i think you can hardly say that the intensity of the coverage from a media nad fans perspective is hardly artificial. it is harder to play in NY than most any other cities in the country.
and isnt the definition of news directly related to the fact that people are talking about it, whatever ‘it’ is?
Show them the motto:
SHUT UP
PLAY
PRODUCE!
“perpetuation of artifical drama?”
Perpetuation – “to cause to continue indefinitely”
This story has been going on for years and has no end in sight. Alex said plainly that they have a good working relationship but are no longer like ‘blood brothers.’ It’s been said on here numerous times that the fact that A-Rod and Jeter don’t get along is well known and has been for a while.
Artificial – “Lacking spontaneity, forced, contrived.”
I’m not sure I understand your comment, “that the intensity of the coverage from a media and fans perspective is hardly artificial.” A-Rod mentions that the relationship has ‘cooled’; George King rephrases it and says that the relationship has ‘icicles growing on it’. They’re not best friends, but they get along in the clubhouse and play together just fine. Did you get that from reading the Post or Daily News this morning?
I apologize if I’m coming across as brash, but when I think about it being tough to play in NY, I like to think that it’s because we expect our players to go out there and perform to their peak ability, not because we expect our newly signed free agent to be best friends with Derek Jeter.
“that the intensity of the coverage from a media and fans perspective is hardly artificial.�
TurnTwo – Reading it again, maybe I do understand you, but I still submit that it is artificla. Peter’s previous post indicated that he had to run this story today. If the answer to why that is the case is that the fans want to know, then so be it. I suppose I’m digging a little deeper into it; I think that this story has been kept alive with the thought that it would sell more papers and I think that many Yankee fans would rather hear about other things that have been mentioned as potential alternative stories. Just my opinion.
I wish you could ignore this, Pete. Stuff like this is one reason why some have so little respect for the media.
Not to mention the constant Anna Nicole and Britney Spears junk which passes as “news”.
I, for one, would like some true journalism, and not gossip column fodder.
yeah, J, thats ok… i’m not out to squash anyone’s opinion here… I was actually reading your post, and thought of the stories not exclusive to ARod and Jeter, but to storylines coming out of the clubhouse in general.
so while disagreeing, we’re both coming from the same ballpark on the topic, so to speak.