Alex lays out his exit strategy?
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Mar 13, 2007 
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My main story tomorrow will be on Alex Rodriguez and what he had to say on WFAN. My analysis is that he was paving the road for his way out of town.
The most telling quote:
“At some point either New York is going to say, ‘I’ve had enough of this guy, get him the hell out of here.’ Then we have an option. Or New York is going to say, ‘Hey, we won a world championship, we had a big year, you’re a part of if; we want you back.’ I also want to make sure, from the fans (and) management, I’m wanted here.”
In other words, if he leaves it will be the fault of the fans.
Near the end of the interview, he said:
“The last thing I’m going to do is run away from New York and say New York is too tough and I’m going to go. I have an option at the end of the year and we’ll see what happens after that. If I go out and have four years in New York and go out and win two MVPs and one World Series, that’s a pretty good job.”
Of course, he has to have that season first. Otherwise the perception will be that he couldn’t handle the pressure and that won’t fly for A-Rod, Inc.
After he came out of the game, Alex tried to defuse his words by saying he was scrambling to answer the questions and how tough the interview was. Give a listen on WFAN’s site, it wasn’t “60 Minutes” by any means. Alex has been around too long not to know exactly what he is saying at all times.
Alex told us several times that he wants to stay in New York. But just a few hours earlier, he drew a line on a map and it led right to Anaheim or Chicago or wherever he wants to go.
It is always interesting on this beat. Always.
You may be right, Peter, about him wanting out. But don’t you think he has every right to feel that way?
If he does leave because a lot of Yankee fans showed they are morons by booing him every time he doesn’t get a hit, then I can’t really blame him. But, I will say that we will be completely screwed if he does leave, as the 3B free agents are horrible. I must say that the media looking at every sentence he says about his option and then writing what that means is going to get really annoying. The guy was being honest.
And, my guess is that most of the articles won’t talk about how he said that he wants to retire a Yankee and he wants to stay in NY…
I don’t think he was saying if he leaves it’s the fans’ fault. Yes, he left the door open that he might exercise his option, but who wouldn’t?
I disagree with your line that Alex knows exactly what he’s saying at all times. Have you ever done any public speaking Pete? When you’re scrambling to find an answer in front of an audience, it doesn’t always come out exactly the way you want it to. He’s being more open and honest, so you can’t criticize him for being phony and disingenuous anymore, but that means not everything is going to come out perfectly. And no, it wasn’t 60 Minutes, but it’s a tougher interview than most people ever face.
whether alex wants out or not, he should probably wait to win that world series before talking about how rewarding it is.
i don’t think anyone would blame him for bailing on new york. he takes an awful lot of abuse, and he’s clearly not thick-skinned enough to take it in stride.
If Rodriguez goes, I will miss him. He’s still the best all-around player in the game and has won more games for the Yankees than he has supposedly “lost” for his “non clutch” play. Despite everyone saying he can’t handle New York or he’s not the right fit, he still manages to put up huge numbers. He’s about the only guy in baseball who can hit 35 hrs and slug .500 and still have a “down” year. Don’t go, A-Rod.
“In other words, if he leaves it will be the fault of the fans.”
uhh, yeah, it would be. and the media.
a-rod would get more years guaranteed, but were he to leave he would definitely be taking a pay cut in his annual salary over the next 3 years. no one is paying him $27M/year.
so, why else would he be leaving?
All I hope, Peter, is that you also write in your article that after he said that if NY kicks him out, etc, he answered the following question: “Can you see yourself finishing your career here?” A-Rod answered, “100%, that’s exactly what I want to do.” And you could tell this was an honest interview. My guess is other papers won’t put that in their article, but I hope you will.
I think A-Rod is merely advancing Boras’s meme, which is to preserve all of his options.
I dunno, man, I heard him say loud and clear for the 500th time that he wants to stay a Yankee.
“My analysis is that he was paving the road for his way out of town.”
of course it is, b/c you don’t like the guy and you take a veiled swipe at him every chance you get.
I DO NOT BLAME THE FANS FOR BEING DISAPPOINTED IN HIS PERFORMANCE IN 2006, REGULAR SEASON AND PLAYOFFS.
Peter, you seem to flip flop on A Rod all the time.
“I DO NOT BLAME THE FANS FOR BEING DISAPPOINTED IN HIS PERFORMANCE IN 2006, REGULAR SEASON AND PLAYOFFS.”
Anyone else puts up these kinda numbers and they are the hero. This is out of control. Disappointed he didn’t do a bit better? CERTAINLY, but he did NOT deserve to get booed after EVERY at bat the way he did.
FANS, Treat this guy with some respect this year… Our lineup won’t scare ANYONE without him.
I think he wants to finish his career with the Yankees and believe him when he says that’s what he wants to do. The Yanks need his right handed power, too.
hatchet job I expect this stuff from the mustached Raissman’s of the world a slow news day so you have to over analyze and interpret a RADIO interview its one thing if it was your interview or this story hasn’t been written 1000 times already I thought you were above just jumping on the Arod pile up
bad job
“I DO NOT BLAME THE FANS FOR BEING DISAPPOINTED IN HIS PERFORMANCE IN 2006, REGULAR SEASON AND PLAYOFFS.”
THIS CRAP STARTED LONG BEFORE THE 2006 SEASON AND PLAYOFFS. HE HAS BEEN BOOED SINCE HE GOT HERE. SAYING IT JUST STARTED THIS SEASON IS REVISIONIST HISTORY.
NOW HIT THE BUTTON TO THE LEFT OF YOUR “A” KEY.
I knew it wouldn’t be too long until some writer decided to overanalyze what Arod had to say. Unfortunately I”m not surprised you wrote this Pete. Your opinion of Arod seems to change everyday. But thank goodness that the interview is available online and people can form their own opinions from his interview.
“Our lineup won’t scare ANYONE without him.”
i want a-rod to stay, but wow, tough crowd.
damon, jeter, abreu, giambi, posada, matsui, cano.
only 7 All-Stars instead of 8?
Master Wangkee, did you happen to attend any games at The Stadium this past summer? Many, many Yankee fans were more than merely disappointed with A-Rod’s performance. The guy was showered with venemous ill-will practically every time he made an out.
This is one of those perfect examples of “in the eye of the beholder.” I totally didn’t think what he said was so much paving his exit strategy but rather an honest assessment of what this year could bring. And as far as taking a not-so-veiled swipe at Alex vis a vis the (overall) sad treatment from the fans: Just take a nice long read of Tony Castro’s bio of Mickey Mantle, or Richard ben Cramer’s bio of Joe DiMaggio, and see how the Yankee “faithful” treated their future Momument Park inductees….
I’m not a huge fan of Alex’s as I am of Jetes and Mariano, but I think the guy is a huge reason why our lineup is the absolute best in MLB, postseason record be damned.
Peter, thank you for being objective about Arod’s recent comments on the fan. I agree wholeheartedly that he/Boras are staging an exit that will preserve his profile. Arod would rather see us fight it out amongst eachother than assume any shortcomings.
“Arod would rather see us fight it out amongst eachother than assume any shortcomings.”
this is one of the dumbest things i have ever read. congrats.
but good work on fixing your caps lock button.
“Peter, thank you for being objective about Arod’s recent comments on the fan.”
yes, nothing indicates an objective post like the words “My analysis is”.
kindof the opposite of “objective”.
but i know you think “objective” means “agrees with me”.
“this is one of the dumbest things i have ever read. congrats.
but good work on fixing your caps lock button.”
Haha. I was thinking the same thing. Yes, A-Rod really cares about that… Jesus Christ some people are stupid at times.
“i want a-rod to stay, but wow, tough crowd.
damon, jeter, abreu, giambi, posada, matsui, cano.
only 7 All-Stars instead of 8?”
All those guys, besides Cano, will be near or over 35 years old and are likely to decline. A-Rod is one of the best hitters in the game and who are we going to replace him with? Have you seen the list of 3B free agents? Mike Lowell is probably the best of the really bad list.
This was not a veiled swipe. Pete, you’re incredibly unprofessional when it comes to this guy. You hate him. We get it. Get off his case.
Discussing A-ROD as a Yankee fan is like discussing Religion and Politics in life, it never ends well!
I can’t tell if he’s saying that if he wins a world series he’ll choose to opt out (because he’ll have done a good job, shown he can handle NY, and honestly his value will be super high- in which case if he doesn’t win he’ll hang around), or that if he wins a world series he’ll want to stay because fans will love him and NY might actually be a match. What do you guys think?
To add to my previous statement cooler heads will never prevail because everybody has a strong opinion when it comes th the whole A-ROD saga.
I just listened to the interview again without the distractions of work.
To me, it sounded like A-Rod decided to live by the line that Tom Cruise’s character said in “Risky Business”: Sometimes you just gotta say what the ______ (I truncated the quote given the family nature of the blog).
A-Rod has finally realized that he has let too many things get to him. So he is now taking the approach of whatever happens happens.
That’s the case with the moronic fans who boo him, his relationship with Jeter, as well as his opt out close.
He’s just taking it as it comes.
Yeah, it seems pretty obvious that he’s not trying to get out of town, he’s just leaving all his options open for the end of the year. That’s the right thing to do, especially since he stands to make a lot more than $81 million if he opts out after this season. Personally, I just feel sorry for the guy. No matter what he says or does, people get irrationally pissed off.
hmmmm,
thank you for lashing out at me, thus confirming my hypothesis. Since Arod worries about his image so much, fans find the need to fight about him. You’re feeding into his ego. Congratulations.
If Arod waives his no-trade clause, he should be blamed for failing in NY, not us. See it’s quite simple, he controls his own destiny. If he rises to the task in big spots, he will receive cheers. If he melts again in crucial situations, he’ll get booed.
Nobody’s going to beg him to stay if he mimics his postseason performance over the last 12 playoff games.
He controls his own destiny, not us.
I agree with a lot of the comments already up. There is little doubt how much you dislike A-Rod. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I think you are completely skewing the Rodriguez’s words. Most intelligent Yankee fans believe A-Rod when he says he wants to finish his career in New York, and I still believed him this afternoon. I am a little disappointed that such twisting came from you Pete, since you usually do not resort to such methods.
I have no problem with Alex not insisting he is not going to use his option. He would be an absolute moron to rip up such an insurance plan. If he has an MVP-like season and they Yankees are able to bring home a championship, why wouldn’t a guy who has been so vilified by fans & media just say, “Ok, I’m coming back.” If that was me I wouldn’t hesitate to stick it to all the ignorant Yankee fans who booed me, exercised my option and make the Yankees pay top dollar to retain my services.
Hey Master,
tone down the snobbery a bit, huh?
Nice A-B-C analysis by the way.
It’s not like A-Rod is booed solely when he fails in the clutch. He is booed when he grounds out in the first inning. He is booed when he makes an error in a 12-1 game. He is booed for anything and everything. So let’s not pretend that he is being treated fairly. Sure, he has not done his job in pressurized situations and he deserves to be taken to task IN THOSE SPOTs.. however, booing a popup in the 3rd inning is not only irrational its counterproductive.. All you are doing is increasing the probability that he fails in New York which by extension makes you an opposing fan.
The Yankees are not without power in the face of his option.
Good for Alex. He’s been treated like crap by the fans here. He’s won an mvp as a Yankee and he’s treated like Alviro Espinoza. If he chooses to leaves, I hope those fans are happy. Because its on them.
1. Can you read my story in the paper first before ripping me? I certainly did mention that he also said he wanted to stay. But he also said that he would leave if things weren’t to his liking.
2. Every single story is analysis. Otherwise they would hire stenographers to do this job. I’m paid to pick out what is interesting, not transcribe quotes.
3. If it seems like I flip-flop on A-Rod, just think for a second why that is. Could it be because the guy flip-flops himself all the time?
4. I have spoken in public many times and done Q&As with plenty of groups over the years. Once you do a few, it becomes much easier. Alex has been getting interviewed since he was probably 16. He’s 31 now. He knows exactly what he was saying and what it will sound like. Exactly. Mike and Mad Dog interviewed a bunch of players today. Guess which one insisted on going up to the booth with them? Guess which player had one of his agent’s marketing reps in town today?
If Alex wants to leave, he has every right. It’s a clause in his contract. But he wanted to come to New York knowing full well what it would be like, especially after his slow dance with the Red Sox. Now the fans are tough? Did NY fans just get tough? Did the NY media just get tough?
He opened the door, not me. Love Alex all you want, don’t blame me for what he says.
I used to hate Arod, but now I respect him after this year. He isnt pussy footing around this spring training. He is telling the truth and standing by it. I hope this turns A-Rod around into the beast he should be during the post-seaon.
I would trade ARod for Johan Santana straight up, but otherwise there are very few people I’d rather have on my team than ARod. Yes, he has had some difficulty in recent playoff performances, but I’m not going to judge a guy on a stretch of a few games. Jeter has been great in the postseason, but even he had a bad time of it in 2001.
It’s no secret that Mike and the Mad Dog want ARod out of here. They’re imbeciles.
Peter-You are incredibly defensive about this. I think that’s because you know deep down that you and the rest of the media have not been fair to Alex. He’s held to a ridiculous standard. And you continue to twist his words around. Its poor journalism and you should be ashamed.
Peter,
I’m not blaming you for what ARod says, I’m blaming you for how you interpret what he says. I listened to the clip, and he did NOT he say that if he leaves it will be because of the fans. That was what you put in your blog post, and I, and others, are criticizing your blog post, not, obviously, the article we haven’t read yet.
Well said David and Clare
I agree 100% with your sentiments
Peter, I LOVE this blog, so I certainly am not ripping into you. What bothers me is you know DAMN well booing ANY player for early inning outs in June / July is wacky. You know damn well that A Rod is a pretty respectable guy who respects the game of baseball
When you respond to our comments in such a defensive way, it makes me wonder.
It bothers me that Barry Bonds cheated, essentially got caught, lied to the world, gets cheered EVERY time by his fans. Alex Rodriguez is our guy, and the booing sickens me.
A Lot of what has happened to Yankees fans is a post-2004 collapse mentality. After blowing that lead, EVERYONE associated with that team (minus the 90′s left overs) has become what’s “WRONG WITH THE YANKEES”. Yet I never read any articles in the newspapers making these ignorant fans realize that those 90′s teams had one thing these teams didn’t — PITCHING in the regular season, that showed up in the playoffs. We haven’t had anything past a reliable 2 in the playoffs since 03.
This A Rod thing sells papers, and you writers feed off of it. Hopefully your article gives a fair look at things.
What’s up with all the hysterical A-Fraud defenders on this blog? Of the 200 some odd hard core Yankee fans that I know personnally, not one has any of the love for this choking crybaby, and the soap opera he brings to our team, that the vast majority here are infected with. I’m convinced that you’re all A-Dog’s wife and one of Boras’ assistants typing away furiously under an assortment of screen names.
I think Cash f’ed up in a big way when he failed to move this overrated phony at the end of last season. And spare me the nonsense about his no-trade clause. Had they come to him with a deal to Anaheim that included an extension and a fleet of Brinks trucks, Boras would’ve whistled and he would’ve jumped.
Peter,
Not to pile on, but many expert public orators misspeak on occasion. Joe Biden referred to Barak Obama as “clean,” and John McCain had to apologize profusely for recently saying that it is a “waste” that so many soldiers are dying in Iraq. If presidential candidates can screw up a sound byte, surely a professional athlete can.
you know 200 people who are really stupid.
randyhater, 200 die hard fans dislike out best player?
I think I’m pretty die hard. I’ve been to near 200 games in my life(I’m only 19), Have season tickets, and miss at MOST 6 or 7 games a year.
Don’t question me man. You are probably some casual who is an ESPN fan.
(By “miss a game” I meant, dont watch or at least listen to)
Randyhater,
i think 90% of the people who visit this site are diehards.. I agree with Phil, you have 200 stupid friends who dont like our best player
What are the odds????
Here’s the differences between Alex and Derek.
Alex always talks about himself and Derek always talks about the team.
Alex is greedy – he took more money than anyone ever had and ended up leaving Seattle and playing in Texas. Derek took less and stayed with his first and only team, the Yankees.
Alex cares about his personal stats and awards, Derek cares about the team’s record.
Bruce above nailed it – “This was not a veiled swipe. Pete, you’re incredibly unprofessional when it comes to this guy. You hate him. We get it. Get off his case.”
Bingo. And that’s completely exposed here.
“3. If it seems like I flip-flop on A-Rod, just think for a second why that is. Could it be because the guy flip-flops himself all the time?”
All the time? Really? Except for “revealing” (like we didn’t know already) that he & Jeter weren’t best buds anymore, I’m not sure where he’s flip-flopped on anything. Unless not having the exact same mood all the time is considered “flip-flopping”.
NY BASEBALL Said: “It’s not like A-Rod is booed solely when he fails in the clutch. He is booed when he grounds out in the first inning. He is booed when he makes an error in a 12-1 game. He is booed for anything and everything. So let’s not pretend that he is being treated fairly. Sure, he has not done his job in pressurized situations and he deserves to be taken to task IN THOSE SPOTs.. however, booing a popup in the 3rd inning is not only irrational its counterproductive.. All you are doing is increasing the probability that he fails in New York”
I could not agree more. Perfect example. Last year, I’m at a meaningless Yankee game (sometime in August I think) against Tampa Bay. Alex takes a called SECOND strike sometime in his second at bat. The majority of his HOME crowd showers him with boos, many on their feet. It was a SECOND strike!!! The guy was still at bat and hadn’t even made an out yet! Ridiculous.
David Said: “Peter-You are incredibly defensive about this. I think that’s because you know deep down that you and the rest of the media have not been fair to Alex. He’s held to a ridiculous standard. And you continue to twist his words around. Its poor journalism and you should be ashamed.”
I also agree with this completely. Peter’s agenda regarding A-Rod is easy to see through, and it’s become very disheartening, making it difficult to read this blog. Get over your personal feelings already Peter, you may try to calim otherwise all you want, but your slanting of the stories makes your true feelings on him come through.
Annie Savoy Said “Here’s the differences between Alex and Derek…Alex is greedy – he took more money than anyone ever had and ended up leaving Seattle and playing in Texas. Derek took less and stayed with his first and only team, the Yankees….”
I don’t understand why some Yankee fans seems to think that to like A-Rod means that you are somehow being disloyal to Jeter. Is it because guys like Peter are always trying to convince us how much they hate one another? They are both great players…it’s ok to like them both. And I’m sorry Annie, but you are in complete denial if you think that Derek Jeter took less money to stay with the Yankees. Derek got a 10-year $189 million dollar contract, the 2nd highest contract of all time behind A-Rod’s. Do you really think other teams offered him more than that? Not a chance.
Unbelievable. The sheer gullibility of most of these bloggers is stunning.
Just when things are settling down a bit after Arod’s big “Jeter Doesn’t Love Me” confession, he seeks out the media once again to launch yet another heat-seeking missile. Alex repeatedly exhibits an obsessive compulsive need for attention — any kind will do because it really doesn’t matter to those with self-esteem issues. Did he really need to sit in the booth while the rest of the guys were ok with being interviewed in a different area? Why insist on being the standout in a group when all you supposedly want to do is just blend in??
No one even asked this man a question about leaving NY on the radio program. Instead, he voluteered the information. And for the person who wanted to give him an out based on his obvious lack of media experience (i.e., public speaking)…are you freakin’ kidding?
Why, oh why can he not just shut his lovely trap? That’s all most of us weary of all things Arod are asking for at this point. OK, so he’s not clutch, I’ve accepted that. I can still appreciate his regular season contributions. But do we have to continue to deal with his foot-in-mouth-disease?
I have never booed Alex’s efforts on the field. I think booing should be left to slackers with bad attitudes, not those who struggle with confidence issues. But you can’t escape the fact that Alex himself has often been the first one to stoke the anti-Arod fire by giving the critics plenty of ammunition to use against him.
Pete, I feel badly that so many can’t quite comprehend that your understanding of the problem that is Arod is much more informed than those who have never spent one, single, solitary moment in his presence. You’ve been extraordinarily fair to those players you’ve covered. I have no doubt this will continue. I, for one, appreciate your takes on all things Yankee, fully knowing you have a much better box seat than any of us who watch from afar.
Pete: Bu li naxie bendan de ren. (Rough translation: Ignore the ding dongs out there.)
Annie,
I’ll take on board what you say, but lets not make out that Derek is some kind of martyr and took less money – he signed a contract for 10 years at $189m which at the time was the second largest in sports history, he is getting well overpaid too.
As for A-Rod, it’s Spring Training, there’s not much to write about so the same stories are trotted out over and over – it gets boring for me in England where we have no coverage at all so I can imagine what a nightmare it is in New York.
That post disgusts me… not from the standpoint of “A-Rod is a jerk,” but from the one of “Pete Abraham, a normally competent and down to earth guy, just took everything A-Rod said and put his own spin on it to make A-Rod look bad.” I’m sad for you, Pete, I really am. You’re better than that, I thought.
PS- For the record, I want A-Rod to finish his career here, but the guy has every right to bolt and I would not blame him if he does. For the past year or so, fans (who make me embarrassed to say I am a Yankee fan) have made him feel completely unwanted, and then you get writers like Pete and that guy from the Post who make him look terrible and twist his words around. It’s a shame.
here’s what i want from a-rod this season. don’t guess so much at the plate, shorten your swing ever so slightly with two strikes, hit a little more situationally. from what i’ve seen on MLB.TV this spring, he does seem quicker to the ball than last summer. maybe it’s the weight loss.
he also looks better in the field because he’s lighter.
everything else we’ve discussed here matters not at all. as fans, we should only judge a player on his results. though no a-rod lover, i think he’s going to have a big regular season. if the yanks make the playoffs, then he has a giant monkey to get off his back again. let’s deal with that in october.
and if he does decide to leave new york, that’s his call.
finally, i think any working journalist would appreciate the fact that peter’s story today was right on target. he’s covering NEWS down there, people, and a-rod managed to make some NEWS again. funny how that happens with him every few weeks or so.
Oh my God…I can’t even believe I am reading this stuff AGAIN.
I cannot wait for the season to start, for A Rod to shut up all the haters and for the morons who booed him so mercilessly to be forced to sit on their hands because you better not DARE cheer for him you hypocritical pieces of $#@!
Kind of hard to trade ARod when he has a full no trade and said he didn’t want to be traded after last season. So, the “Cashman screwed up” argument isn’t valid. ARod wasn’t leaving after last season, no matter how much some Yankee fans wished he would. Wasn’t happening.
ARod didn’t “seek out” Mike and the Mad Dog. He did an interview with them, just as he does every year he they do a spring training show in Tampa, and just as 5-6 other guys did yesterday.
As far as “blazing a trail” out of NY, I guess you can read it that way if you choose to. I read it as him keeping his options open. Why shouldn’t he?
The guy has been treated like garbage by a large segment of Yankee fans during his time here. So, he should just stay 3 more years and take it? If I was him, there is no way I am a Yankee next year unless things change.
As far as him “blaming the fans” for all this, I didn’t get that impression. I think he said (rightly so) that some of the treatment was over the line. He’s right, it was.
As far as the “Jeter just talks about the team, ARod just talks about himself”, that’s a bunch of nonsense. ARod has said a thousand times over he wants to win here and win a World Series. Last I checked, that’s a team goal.
Folks who hate ARod are always going hate him no matter what he says or does. Sad, really, but that’s the way it is.
But, Yankee fans really need to stop playing the Jeter-ARod game. Its almost as if some Yankee fans feel the need to hate ARod to protect Jeter’s legacy or something. You don’t need to hate ARod to pump up or protect Jeter. You really don’t.
ARod is a great player. Fact is, he is the most talented player in the league and the Yankees need like hell for him to be great again. Especially this year, since he is the only right handed power bat in the lineup.
So, if you really want this team to win this year, it seems to me supporting ARod should be a recommended stategy. Booing the crap out of him this year, making this ANOTHER story of the season, serves no purpose.
ARod is going to opt out. He would be a fool not to. Don’t look at what he is going to earn next year. Take say, $20 million for 8 years and add that up. If you have a chance to make another $160 million, you are going to take it. Nothing wrong with that in the least.
If Jeter had an opt out clause in his deal, he would do the same thing. Its simple business.
All this “we have to make ARod out to be the bad guy” nonsense from some Yankee fans is an embarrassment. Just root for the guy, hope he helps the team win, and can all the other nonsense.
It makes Yankee fans around the country look dumb.
PEOPLE:
Most of you are missing the point. This blog is NOT a news article. Please read the NEWS article referenced by Peter. The Blog is Peter’s opinion, which he is kind enough to chare with us. He has met A-rod, we have not, He has spoken with Arod, we have not. He has derived a personal opinion about Arod based on first hand experience. We have not (for the most part) it is based on what we read and see on TV.
The Blog is Peter’s. Its okay to disagree with him, but lets not slam him for sharing his opinion.
Seriously. P.A. entitled to his opinion, and as for professionalism, well, this *is* a blog.
As for the rest… meh. I decline to care.
I flat out refuse to read anymore Arod articles… I can’t stomach the thought of another season of all Arod all the time… find a new freggin topic. It’s beyond the point of attracting readers due to the emotions it brings up. It’s become a journalist’s go to topic when they can’t find anything else to talk about. I’m not saying you’re wrong to talk about it pete, but give it a freggin rest… or at the very least, wait until it’s closer to the end of the year.
Seems to me that A-Rod is like a male version of the supermodel that all the guys want but nobody can stand once they get to know her, because she’s selfish and looks really ordinary without her makeup. He has said so many jerky things on the record, I can only imagine how many howlers he lets go in the clubhouse. To me, if he walks like a jerk and quacks like a jerk, he’s a jerk.
What really cracks me up is this: Why is everyone so sure that having Jeter “support” A-Rod would bring about the desired effect? Maybe the truth is that when you offer A-Rod some help in the locker room he turns that into you are trying to criticize him. Criticize him and he will say that you are jealous of his talent. Feed his neediness and he gets more needy or throws it back in your face. With a guy like that, the best thing to do is have only that contact with him that you need to have.
Pete gets the chance to experience the feel circulating inside the industry and experience the clubhouse vibe. Pete is trying to give you the “feel,” not the numbers. Take a hint – he can’t write everything he knows. You can always look up the bloody numbers and conclude whatever you want. BTW You should check out Baseball Prospectus 2007 for their take on WX and A-Rod’s lack of contribution in leveraged at bats. These numbers clearly back up his 2006 “unclutchiness.”
Maybe booing this guy is wrong. Maybe the “polite” thing to do is just ignore him and stay absolutely silent when he is introduced and when he stands at the plate.
for me, it’s as simple as this: if he plays well, he’s getting cheers, and if he doesn’t, he’ll get boo’d. no single person is above the game, and i will not blindly root for a player because he is on my team, or because he’s telling me how he feels he should be treated.
he if does what he was brought here to do, which would be provide power from the right side to balance the lineup, drive in runs, and play gold glove caliber defense, then he’s got nothing to worry about.
but if he doesnt, then he has to own up to it. to his credit, he has not hidden himself from the media and the press, but i wonder if comments like these only make things worse for him, turning off fans who were ready to give him a fresh start with the new season.
i dont know how you dont read this as if he opts out, it’ll be the fans who made him do it. it’s right there in the quote.
his whole thing this offseason, and really his career, is this new kick on honesty, and he’s going to be open and free, but IF, and i say IF, after all this ‘i want to finish my career in NY’ talk, he opts out, he’s saying that while he originally said what the fans do doesnt bother him, what they said will have bothered him enough that he read they dont want him here anymore. is all a contridiction.
and if, IF, he does opt out, screw him… more of the infamous ’24=1′ arod than team-oriented arod. i’m not going to be held hostage by a player. like i said, no one player is above a team, and i dont care what his career numbers are, and i dont care what his single season numbers could be, anyone is replaceable.
my advice to arod is just shut up and play baseball… let his play do the speaking for him.
Let’s remember another thing about Derek:
A-Rod’s contract made him another $50 or $60 million over the previous offer he received from the Yankees that George refused to sign off on because he didn’t want to set the market for MLB’s highest player and was waiting for Juan Gone to accept Detroit’s offer of $140 million, which he never did.
But some people like *Annie Savoy* of Major League fame would have us think that:
Derek = Good
Alex+ Bad
If Jeter was so selfless, why didn’t he tell George:
“I know A-Rod just got $250 million on the open market (we are all capitalists, aren’t we?), but I’ll still take the 7 year $118 million contract that you offered had previously me.
So the idea that Jeter took less is NONSENSICAL and NON-FACTUAL.
As for awards, I guess I missed the articles that reported that Jeter returned his Gold Gloves.
Why is this A-Rod v. Jeter.
They are both very good player. But some of you feel compelled to put down A-Rod, no matter what, even if it means departing from facts, truth, and reality to do it.
Peter WROTE: “At some point either New York is going to say, ‘I’ve had enough of this guy, get him the hell out of here.’ Then we have an option. Or New York is going to say, ‘Hey, we won a world championship, we had a big year, you’re a part of if; we want you back.’ I also want to make sure, from the fans (and) management, I’m wanted here.�
In other words, if he leaves it will be the fault of the fans.
Are you kidding me? How was that comment Alex made in any way saying that it will be the fault of the fans if he chooses to leave?? Oh that’s right he DIDN’T say that but it sells papers right?
WHO does want to work somewhere they aren’t wanted makes for a very miserbale place does it not, Alex lived through it once and I serioulsy doubt he wants to go through it again. If they really rather trade him then I think Alex would be willing to go even if its not what he really wants to do.
What happen to be objective in the media??
blah, blah blah……..
I can’t wait until they can just play and I really hope he has a great year and SOME of these questions and b.s. arguments go away.
I love this time of year and I love baseball, but such a Goddamn soap opera sometimes.
Prediction: After ’07 A-Rod opts out and goes to the SF Giants so he can pick up where Bonds leaves off – big numbers and big trouble. I wonder who is going to play Jeff Kent to A-Rod’s Barry Bonds?
This is absurd. We kill A-Rod for being a phony and not being real with the fans. Yet when he’s real and tells the truth about the situation we still kill him. You can’t have it both ways. If he said hey I want to remain a yankee for the rest of his career we the fans and the media say hey he’s a phony. Then when he tells the truth about his future with the yankees, we the fans and media say shut up or say he’s finding a way to get out of NY. Look I like A-rod, sometimes he needs to grow up and become tougher and needs to understand to shut up and stop being insecure, hell I thought trading A-rod would help him and the yankees and I still feel that that way. Nevertheless, this is the media just adding more gasoline to the fire. A-Rod is basically in a no win situation. Again, this ridiculous and absurd.
Fan27, relax. Peter wrote that in a blog, not in the paper. His coverage is pretty objective most of the time, not always with A-Rod, but again, this is a blog, not the paper, major difference.
Pretty sure none of us are paying to read anything here…
People!! Just yesterday we were all praising Pete for his comprehensive coverage of the Yanks on this blog and now everyone is attacking him! While I do not agree with what he wrote concerning ARod, this is his blog. It is more or less an outlet for his opinions that he cannot always express in his articles. It is also a trigger for group discussions like this one. So… while it is always okay and encouraged to present differing opinions, is it really fair to attack Pete, who expressed his opinion (like every one else has already done) as well as attack each other?
It would be a godsend to this team if Alex has his absolute best year yet this season as a Yankee. If he’s EVER had ANYTHING to prove, it’s 2007.
Opening day introductions are gonna be verrrrrrrrry interesting! See ya ’round box 279!
p.s. Peter, I meant no disrespect with my previous post. You’re an excellent journalist and your work is GREATLY appreciated here!!!
Rick, I agree… and A-Rod seems much more relaxed and seems to have a much more of an “f-you” type attitude instead of letting all the criticism/whining get to him and cry about who likes him and who doesn’t. IF that’s how he really feels, it will help him and the Yankees.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say again – A-Rod will have a monster year this year IN NY, including the playoffs, AND a WS MVP.
Pay no mind Peter. There’s a lot of us who appreciate your take on things hence why we visit your blog. Pay no mind to these people. They know not what they speak and by the sounds of it, would rather stay that way.
“Alex is greedy – he took more money than anyone ever had and ended up leaving Seattle and playing in Texas. Derek took less and stayed with his first and only team, the Yankees.”
congrats annie. i thought i had read the dumbest comment of all time earlier in the thread, but you managed to blow that one out of the water.
this is easily the stupidest thing i have ever read in my life.
yes, Jeter gave the yankees a HUGE hometown discount at 10 years $189M. what a guy. the second highest paid athlete of all time.
and why shouldn’t have alex gotten more money than Derek, he was CLEARLY THE SUPERIOR PLAYER. GASP!!! SHOCK!!! I MUST BE A SOX FAN!!!
guess what, if the mariners were the yankees and had offered Alex 10 years, $200M (just a hair over Jeter), he would have signed with Seattle. you can’t blame the guy for going to Texas if his team wasn’t even in the same ballpark.
last point: alex moved to 3B to be a Yankee even though he was clearly the better defensive SS at the time. Jeter said he was ok with the trade “as long as i get to be the SS”. let’s not pretend that everything Jeter does is for the good of the team and everything a-rod does is completely selfish.
just given feedback and telling it like I see (just like the media does with A-Rod), if Pete can’t handle the feedback that doesn’t agree with him then maybe he should move to a smaller market
If you are a real Yankee fan, you can only hope that Arod doesn’t opt of his contract. There is no way they’ll come close to replacing his talent.
If you listened to the interview, there really wasn’t anything controversial. Of course, all of the tabloids had the screaming headlines, but I guess you can’t really blame them. Print media is a drowning industry and pretty much anything that can sell papers has become the name of the game. Peter knows that if he stretches Arod’s words to wrap around a little controversy more people will read his article and comment on the blog. I’ve come to realize that it is downright foolishness to expect objectivity. Sports writing isn’t about objectivity. It is more akin to Page 6 than journalism…and there is nothing wrong with that. Information is so free flowing these days, that a little sports gossip is needed to differentiate between the myriad of columnists and beat writers who cover the team.
Personally, I think Arod is a refreshingly “real� human being. I also think he is an awesome baseball player. For those two reasons, I hope he decides to stay. If he does leave, however, I will root for him in every non AB he has that isn’t against the Yankees.
Finally, I am not really impressed with the “tough� label that NY media and fans likes to bestow on themselves. There is nothing “tough� about hiding behind a pen or seat in the stands. While many have suggested that Arod pull an Eddie Murray or Barry Bonds, I am glad that he hasn’t retreated into a bitter shell. Instead of allowing lesser people bring him down (i.e., ignorant fans and exploitative writers), Arod has tried to remain open. I commend him for being the better person. I only wish the sports world (athletes, media and fans) had more people like him.
Turn Two: Let me get this straight, it is the fans fault if he opts out AT THE END OF THE SEASON. Because he said unless the fans and management wants him here, he is automatically blaming the fans.
But he readily admits that it was NOT Torre’s fault that he was batted 8th. And owns up through out the interview for his varying clutch performances, poor playoff performances and lousy 2006 year.
I hope you see the lack of reasoning behind that logic that he is blaming the fans.
and lets not make arod to be a completely unselfish player, either.
he forced his way out of Texas because they werent going to win, and wanted to go to a perrenial contender. it didnt leave him with much options, because he still needed to find a team who could afford his contract.
arod didnt move to 3B to be the unselfish player, he moved to 3B because he wanted out of Texas, wanted a chance to win a WS, and wanted to get his money; DJ wasnt moving anywhere, and i wouldnt want him to move anywhere. ARod had no choice.
To everyone on this blog:
I just cleaned my Glock and will shoot this cute kitten right here the next time someone mentions A-Rod. Don’t make me do it, I am close to the edge.
Think of the kittens before you type.
he said “At some point either New York is going to say, ‘I’ve had enough of this guy, get him the hell out of here.’ Then we have an option.”
he is justifying his possible move by saying he will have read the fans as pushing him out of town. it says it right there.
i’m not adding anything here, its coming straight from his mouth… and i said i give him credit for owning up to his lack of consistent performance last season; i just wonder if that does him any good at this point, or if he should just shut up and let his play speak for him.
“he also said that he would leave if things weren’t to his liking.”
When? What part of the interview did he say this?
Come on now Peter. He said the fans would have to kick him out and the team has not want him anymore.
The backtracking – I’m not surprised or angry at him. You and your colleagues are twisting his words and everyone knows that fans like Annie Savoy take their cues from hacks like Lupica, Sherman, and Raissman.
I love the Yankees but I’ll tell you what, I hope the win it all this year and at the end A-Rod comes back and tells all the fans who are stupid enought to fall for all this feces and ride unnecessarily to F-off.
Sounds like ARod was simply talking about hypotheticals. IF New York doesn’t want him, he would leave. IF New York wants him, he’ll stay. IF he has a great 2007, he will be satisfied that his stint in NY was a success. In other words, we’ll see what happens down the road, but he has no present desire to leave.
I don’t agree with Peter’s interpretation that those comments are meant to pave the way for ARod to exercise his option. That would imply he’s already made up his mind and he’s being disingenuous in saying he’s merely keeping open his options. I don’t think it’s fair or reasonable simply to declare a belief that ARod is in effect lying. I also don’t think such an assertion, standing alone, constitutes “analysis.” In the absence of evidence suggesting ARod truly does wish to go elsewhere, one shouldn’t assume he isn’t telling the truth.
For 3 years all people have asked for his A Rod to be honest.
Now hes honest and he gets ripped for it.
Hes just got to say F You all. And just go out and play. If he leaves, he leaves. He wont be able to please a small segment of the jerk fanbase no matter what he does. I think hes starting to realize that now.
Hopefully it makes him a better player because if hes not good this yr the Yanks wont win anything.
Wow. It took from the time Peter posted this post, until March 14th, 2007 at 5.51am before someone said something stupid comparing Derek and Alex.
The sad thing is – thats impressive.
Why does this always have to turn into an Alex vs Derek thing. I have always thought the Yankee team was big enough for both of them to have their place on it.
Turn Two: Texas wanted and NEEDED to move AROD because of his contract.
He wanted Boston first, we all know how that turned out. He could have said no to the Yankees and he WAS very selfless moving to 3rd. Even believing that he could build a statue to his name by being successful there as he was a short stop. No one is altruistic 100% of the time.
And he does not need to justify anything. You would have to be incredibly daft not to factor everything into it. When a beloved player leaves, fans behavior or whatever are brought into it, what is he justifying? What about what he said about Management. Is he blaming them too? or justifying anything?
And Pete, I finally brought myself to read your article. The twisting is mind numbing, I will pick on one of many – your take on what Alex said about the 5 or 6 teams in the actual interview justifies what everyone who called you out said. He did not say or even imply that he pursued a trade. He said teams were interested, he was tempted for half a second and did not pursue, which is the exact same thing Cashman said, that SI article (that mentioned 8 teams) that you linked said. You are something else if you think it is blind AROD loyalty that makes people point out your inconsistencies.
Nemecizer: I hope you said a little prayer first.
One telling note..
A-Rods comments were unsolicitated…nobody asked about staying in NY or his option…he brought it up…as a matter of fact, numerous times.
Pete is right 100%
Let’s condense…Boo me and I’m gone.
I don’t blame him, screw this crap..
agreed jake, and thats what i was trying to say, too… even though he’s being ‘honest’ now, it seems like he’s still talking in circles or contradicting himself, and the press can have a field day with it, whether they are just reporting the story, like Pete does, or whether columnists add their opinions to the reports, like what Lupica and the like do.
he just needs to shut up, and play baseball… like no comment EVERYTHING, and let his play speak for him.
but while a big season from ARod would almost guarantee a great regular season from this team, i dont think the lack of a big season would doom this team. this team will ride its pitching to its success or the lack thereof.
The kittens are now all dead (unfortunately this topic is not).
Nice going folks. Sleep well tonight.
_________________________
NEWS OF THE FUTURE
June 4, 2007
_________________________
Alex Rodriguez, on the disabled list for the first extended time in his career, refuses to wear his uniform unless Joe Torre lets him sit on his lap and call him, “Mommy.� Torre says he is fine with that if it helps Alex get better but he draws the line when Alex tries to nurse.
Trainer Gene Monahan reports that Alex’s troubles do not appear to be physical in any way, but that the 54 errors committed by June 3 are due to some severe mental stress. Mike Mussina’s last 5 starts experienced 31 of those errors when Alex appeared to stop throwing the ball to first base but at the head of Derek Jeter, who fortunately has cat-like reflexes.
Apparently a disgruntled Doug Mientkiewicz, placed on waivers last Tuesday providing his unconditional release, revealed that the team has had secret sleepovers both on every road trip and each home stand but they kept the gatherings secret from Alex. That new knowledge apparently sent Alex over the edge as he was stopping players from other teams as they rounded 3B to question them if they knew of the sleepovers, causing many interference calls.
Alex’s time on the disabled list has not been determined, but GM Brian Cashman reiterated that the Yankees would do anything they can to assure a complete recovery.
_________________________
sure, Texas wanted to move him and his money, but they didnt need to. Tom Hicks has more than enough money to have kept him if they wanted to. ARod wanted out, and they accomodated him, and benefited from it, but have not taken advantage of the extra financial resources to move on, which is another story unto itself.
main point being, arod needed the yankees more than they needed him… they couldve and were ready to move on without him if he didnt make the switch.
i’m not sayin there isnt some part of him that conceded for the best of the team here, cause to some extent he did. but the reality here is that he moved for the sake of him being able to play somewhere else other than Texas, while making his money and having a chance to win.
Nemecizer said: “To everyone on this blog:
I just cleaned my Glock and will shoot this cute kitten right here the next time someone mentions A-Rod. Don’t make me do it, I am close to the edge.
Think of the kittens before you type.”
LOL, that’s even better than making the baby Jesus cry. Now that’s funny. Thanks for making me literally laugh out loud.
Its a good thing I dont like cats though. I fear a great many will have used their 9 lives before this day is up.
Honestly, I could care less who said what. I know that part of this is Arod sticking his foot in his mouth, and the other part is newspapers trying to sell papers and increase the number of visits to their websites.
What matters to fans is what he does on the field. If he performs all the way to a World Series title, all this goes away. Everyone is going to over analyze what Arod says – especially after last year. I don’t care what WFAN said, I don’t care how Arod responded, I care that the team wins. That’s what the fans care about. Dragging Arod around the mud is going to do nothing to help this team win. If I had my way, I’d give both Arod and newspapers a gag order and make the newspapers just report the games and Arod shut up and play.
William and others have nailed it: Yankee fans should pray for ARod not to opt out, because he cannot be replaced.
In a down year, ARod is still the best-hitting 3B in baseball. In a good year, he’s an MVP candidate.
In addition, while many people make a fuss about ARod’s salary, the Yankees pay only $16 million of it each year. This is one of the best deals in the game, and it got even better after the Soriano and Lee contracts, which showered money on far less impressive players.
There is no one in baseball who can replace ARod’s offense at third, would come to the Yankees at a discount, and who would be available in 2008.
If ARod leaves, the Yankees will be a far worse team for it. Peter once said that ARod is a bad fit on the Yankees. In terms of media attention, he probably is, because he can never seem to say or do the right thing. But his hitting is a good fit anywhere. If Yankee fans don’t see that, another team will.
As an aside, how’s this for a conspiracy theory: the Rangers are secretly circulating nasty rumors about ARod in New York so that he opts out and Texas is off the hook for the rest of the money it owes him.
“but they didnt need to. Tom Hicks has more than enough money to have kept him if they wanted to.”
True, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s willing to spend MORE of it either, especially after shelling out that enormous amount. If he was, he could have just kept him Arod and kept on spending and spending, but he didn’t. Just because you have more money than God doesn’t mean you’re going to part with it that easily all the time. Just ask Carl Pohlad. You don’t get to be on the list of the 400 richest Americans by doing that, lol.
“1. Can you read my story in the paper first before ripping me? I certainly did mention that he also said he wanted to stay. But he also said that he would leave if things weren’t to his liking.”
I read the article.
“2. Every single story is analysis. Otherwise they would hire stenographers to do this job. I’m paid to pick out what is interesting, not transcribe quotes.”
The fact that A-Rod might opt out of his contract is not interesting at all. We know he has the option. We know there’s a chance he might opt out. We know the Yankees might sign him to an extension so that he won’t opt out.
“3. If it seems like I flip-flop on A-Rod, just think for a second why that is. Could it be because the guy flip-flops himself all the time?”
So because A-Rod flip-flops, that gives you and the rest of the media the right to change your opinion on the guy every other second and rip him whenever you feel like it? And, for the record, he didn’t flip flop with what he said last year. He said he wants to stay in NY. He also said that if he feels like he’s not wanted here, then he may leave – but, fact is, he does want to stay “100%.” That fact seems to have been forgotten by many of the NY Yankee beat writers.
“4. I have spoken in public many times and done Q&As with plenty of groups over the years. Once you do a few, it becomes much easier. Alex has been getting interviewed since he was probably 16. He’s 31 now. He knows exactly what he was saying and what it will sound like. Exactly. Mike and Mad Dog interviewed a bunch of players today. Guess which one insisted on going up to the booth with them? Guess which player had one of his agent’s marketing reps in town today?”
Whatever A-Rod says is going to be spun by the media. Any smart Yankee fan has seen that. If he had said something else, the media would have called him a liar. Fact is, he was truthful yesterday, but he still gets killed.
And, are you kidding me insinuating that A-Rod is such a bad guy by saying, “Guess which one insisted on going up to the booth with them?”? Didn’t you just say, a few hours ago, “UPDATE: A-Rod did do a face-to-face interview at his insistence. They asked him to go the camera route and he insisted on going up the press box. Good for him.”? Thanks for providing a perfect example of how the media will kill him either way. A few hours ago, he was great to do the face to face interview, then he is a bad guy for it. Which is it?
“If Alex wants to leave, he has every right. It’s a clause in his contract. But he wanted to come to New York knowing full well what it would be like, especially after his slow dance with the Red Sox. Now the fans are tough? Did NY fans just get tough? Did the NY media just get tough?”
No, my guess is A-Rod did not expect Yankee fans to literally show that we are retards by booing someone every time he doesn’t get a hit. It was embarrassing being a Yankee fan last year and having my fellow fans not understand that someone won’t hit 1.000.
“He opened the door, not me. Love Alex all you want, don’t blame me for what he says.”
Whatever he says, the media will spin it to trash the guy. We’ve seen that for years now. And, if he just stops speaking to the media, you’ll trash him for that too.
I feel bad for the guy, he is in a no win situation right now. Everything he does he gets ripped for. Baseball is a game where the greatest players fail 7 out of every 10 times at the plate. Give the guy a break. We have the honor of watching one of the most talented players to ever play the game and all the we do is dog the guy. I hope he has a monster year opts out, goes to the angels and crushes us every year from here on out. Then maybe people will realize that you never know what you have until its gone…
Turn Two: Seriously, try to remember the trade clearly. it is not germane to this conversation so rehashing it now is beyond pointless.
Oh and the new thing out there that he answered the opt-out question without being asked is utter rubbish. That is playing semantics with the interview. Questions and phrases like bad marriage and the like…ridiculous.
I perused all the periodical with articles on the latest Arod controversy and out of ALL of them, only Pete Caldera’s article/blurb spun the interview as “Arod wants to stay”. Every single other periodical saw it as a Arod wants to leave. Spin spin everywhere spin.
http://www.northjersey.com/pag.....FlZUVFeXk2
I am not sure why Arod’s position is so hard to understand. Let’s assume that we all like our job. Would it be fair to say that we’d like to remain at our company 100%? Would it also be fair to qualify that statement by saying, “however, if my boss is unhappy with me and the customers insist that I be fired, well then I’d probably move on.”
What is it that writers/fans want…for Arod to say, “I will absolutely stay regardless, even if you shoot my dog, key my car and publish photos of me in the shower”?
Sunny615, exactly!!
and yes, ARod can be replaced. I have no doubt about that. this is of the mentality that drove the payroll so high by trying to buy the best free agent at an empty position and plug in and perform. you dont need the best player at every position to win, you need a great pitching staff, with solid offensive production plugged in with role players.
and Taylor, not that Peter needs help defending himself but
to say this story is not interesting if being completely naive and oblivious. the best player possibly in the league opting out for FA and becoming available in the open market is a huge story, and impacts the future of the Yankees organization and could have rammifications across the board if he gets the contract we all think he could get.
and its hard for an individual, in this case a writer, to maintain a concrete position or opinion about someone or soemthing when the perspective changes as much as it does. your personal opinion on him will change as the perception he projects about himself to the media and the fans change.
essex, i was rehashing it for the purposes of responding to what you said, which was that Texas NEEDED to move him and his cotnract. well, no, they actually didnt HAVE to, but they figured out that they were in a better position financially, and maybe in the clubhouse, if they moved him, so they accomodated him.
and i dont think anyone is sayin he’s answered the opt out question, but merely threw out possibilities that could happen. thats the problem here, and why we’re here on pete’s blog discussing this.
if he said “i’m not opting out, i’m staying here in NY for the remainder of this contract” there would be nothing to discuss. that’s answering the question… what he gave was an either/or.
It is unfair to incriminate Alex for bringing up the opt-out clause himself. The fact is, that question was most certainly going to be asked, he simply pre-empted the interviewers.
I had hoped that ARod was done with interviews after the one where he addressed Jeter. On XM this morning, Orestes D’Estrada conjectured that perhaps ARod is just trying to get everything out there on the table, addressed, answered, before the season starts, and then not visit the same issues again. I hope this is so. I am slightly encouraged in this direction by the fact that ARod declined twice to answer questions regarding Jeter, despite Chris Russo kissing up to a disgusting degree in hopes of getting an answer from him.
I won’t boo a player who works hard. I will be disappointed if he doesn’t come through, I will not cheer if he’s not having a good game. But I agree with the poster above who said that many non-New Yorkers think we’re out of our minds the way we treat our own player.
I just hope that this can be the end of this particular conversation, and I can’t wait for the season to begin so there’s more reason to leave this junk behind. I also hope that ARod will get the message that most people don’t want to hear him talk, they just want to see him play (well).
Phrases like “better position…in the clubhouse” and “accommodate him” are just wrong.
Lets see, Boone got injured, the Boss called or told Cash, call Texas, who just named Alex their captain if they are still interested/still NEED to move him, then get him here…and the team said yes. Oh please, save us from this contract we need to improve this team and keeping the best player will not allow us to retool and afford the pitchers we need. And yes, Alex fully agreed.
It is beginning to feel like I am trying to persuade, and I am not. I just do not get the inaccuracies always assigned to AROD.
And if you are referring to my opt-out comment, do read Pete’s article again and what I said. As Sunny said, it was spin, spin, spin. And that is what I was referring to.
“Love Alex all you want, don’t blame me for what he says.”
Not a problem. If they can’t blame you, they’ve still got Jeter, Torre, the media, global warming, high cholesterol, PMS, aluminum cookware, the relative humidity, the weather in general, rising gas prices, and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, to name just a fraction, on which to place blame for Alex Rodriguez’ inability to keep Alex Rodriguez’ mouth from spewing stupid.
You’re just not getting it, guy. Again, these are NOT really Yankee fans or baseball fans. You’re dealing with A-Rod groupies, dude. You’re trying to reason with people whose interest in ‘baseball’ stops at posting “he’s hawt” on A-Rod fansites posing as baseball message boards. You’re trying to explain yourself to pathetic individuals who just KNOW that you’re all out to get poor, poor Alex, because no matter how snugly those tinfoil hats are pulled down upon their pointy heads, that’s what their kitchen appliances keep telling them.
Please stop. Your repeated attempts at rational discourse with these people is starting to make me feel bad for you. Unless you’re willing to toe the party line and state on a daily basis, in language as flowery as possible mind you: that Alex Rodriguez is the onliest reason that anyone has ever even heard of that team he plays on, that the media is responsible for every E-5, ill-advised statement, and self-serving pronouncement that comes from his mouth, except for those caused by the fans, you’re a big ol’ HATER, man!
I think it’s time for the Yankee organization to once and for all get behind the Baseball Martyr and just cancel their season so as to be able to devote more time to better meeting PWA’s needs. That little bit of actual baseball talk coming out of ST must be distracting for PWA in his never-ending exploration of self. Of course, the fans will still be expected to show up nightly to reaffirm their love and admiration. Big signs with hearts and rainbows would be nice.
TurnTwo,
“and yes, ARod can be replaced. I have no doubt about that. this is of the mentality that drove the payroll so high by trying to buy the best free agent at an empty position and plug in and perform. you dont need the best player at every position to win, you need a great pitching staff, with solid offensive production plugged in with role players.”
Yes, we’re in agreement that to win, you need to score more runs than your opponent. (I’m not in agreement about the need for “role players” though. “Role player” tends to be a euphemism for “crappy player.”) And sure, ARod can be “replaced” in that we could find *someone* to play third after ARod’s ignominious departure. The problem is, there’s no way we could find anyone who gives us more than a shadow of ARod’s production at third. No such person exists.
You’re right that you don’t need the best player at every position to win. It’s just that, when you have the best player at a position, it’s not a good thing to replace that player with someone much worse. Leads to fewer runs.
Rasputin,
I think most of the “groupies” you speak of are just Yankee fans who are confused and a bit upset over the demonization of a guy who plays baseball really well for their favorite team.
He will get ripped if he tries to act perfect aka phony.
He will get ripped if he is honest.
Then it is simple.
Hey ARod, next time some stupid media reporter approaches you, make a big smile and stick your middle finger up at the shit’s nostrils and yell F U into his ears.
Then you will forever be liked by the Yankee fans…the media won’t like you, but who cares about them?
They are good for nothing but writing the box scores of the previous game in the newspaper, which nowadays isn’t needed with the invention of internet.
And in the meantime, the Yankee fans get to enjoy the greatest 3B HOF-to-be former Yankee farmhand Mike Lowell from 2008.
“and Taylor, not that Peter needs help defending himself but
to say this story is not interesting if being completely naive and oblivious. the best player possibly in the league opting out for FA and becoming available in the open market is a huge story, and impacts the future of the Yankees organization and could have rammifications across the board if he gets the contract we all think he could get.”
That story, in itself, will be interesting closer to the end of the season. Right now though, the story is not interesting at all. A-Rod didn’t say anything controversial. What he said was that he 100% wanted to be a Yankee next year and you could see he was being honest about that. He also said that there’s a chance that he would leave, and he does have that option, if the fans make it clear that we don’t want him anymore. What is the big story about that? That’s not interesting. That’s not news. That’s common knowledge. The most interesting part of the story is that a seemingly honest A-Rod said that he definitely wants to retire a Yankee. If it doesn’t work out, then he has the option to go, but he wants it to work out.
The problem I have is the media then spins that to mean that A-Rod is meticulously and carefully constructing an exit strategy, which, in my opinion, is absolutely absurd.
“You’re just not getting it, guy. Again, these are NOT really Yankee fans or baseball fans. You’re dealing with A-Rod groupies, dude. You’re trying to reason with people whose interest in ‘baseball’ stops at posting “he’s hawtâ€? on A-Rod fansites posing as baseball message boards. You’re trying to explain yourself to pathetic individuals who just KNOW that you’re all out to get poor, poor Alex, because no matter how snugly those tinfoil hats are pulled down upon their pointy heads, that’s what their kitchen appliances keep telling them.”
You’re an idiot, dude. Most the people defending A-Rod are people that are not mentally retarded and see he gets an unfair rap. I, personally, was all for trading him last offseason if we could get a young pitcher and young hitter back in the trade.
You’re obviously the type that makes all Yankee fans look bad by booing the guy every time he doesn’t make an out. You’re a great fan, dude. But please, have your children root for the Red Sox – we prefer Yankee fans have an IQ over, say, 40.
“You’re obviously the type that makes all Yankee fans look bad by booing the guy every time he doesn’t make an out.”
Uh, you might wanna rethink your lofty ’40′ goal given that gem.
Rasputin-I’ve been a Yankees fan since I was born as have most of A-Rod’s defenders here. You can’t defend your hatred of A-Rod rationally, so you insult the intelligent baseball fans who realize that A-Rod is still one of the best players in the game.
amen Taylor.
all you have to know about the A-Rod situation is this:
A-Rod was BOOED IN SPRING TRAINING when he struck out last week. the game was on YES. i heard it.
in spring training.
seriously.
the problem is that there are vast number of yankee fans who BECAME yankee fans some time between 1996-2000 and know nothing except winning the WS every year. they are spoiled and ignorant. and it just doesn’t work that way.
Interestingly, ESPN posted (yet another) “Arod: It’s up to the NY fans” article, but was actually less Arod will opt out than most NY papers. But again, it’s all in how you spin it and what phrases you want to read the most into. The ESPN article could be taken either way, but I read it as an Arod wants to stay, but will go if NY fans boo him out by ending the article with this:
“”You never want to feel that you’re holding a team hostage,” Rodriguez said. “I want to be in New York. This is the place I want to finish my career. That’s it.
“We had options and we all know that, but I want to be in New York. That’s it.” “
Since you were born, David? That IS impressive. Did you walk at three days and master the art of making toast by five, you savant, you?
You know, I think Taylor makes a good point, though regarding that whole Red Sox switch. I’m thinking the only way to truly appreciate everything that PWA has done for the Yankees is to be a Sox fan.
I was waiting for Rasputin to show up. This topic is his specialty.
Rasputing-I was raised a Yankees fan and my folks took me to games from the time I was born. So yes, born a Yankees fan. You are proving yourself to be more of an idiot with every post you make.
anyway, here is the thing that drives me nuts: WTF do Yankee fans have to defend themselves for rooting for the Yankees best player? a-rod supporters are irrational “groupies”? so dumb.
people blame A-Rod for the 2004 ALCS. he stopped hitting in the clutch or whatever.
guess who else stopped hitting? Jason Giambi. because he wasn’t playing. b/c he got a tumor from shooting himself up with steroids for years.
but Giambi is back in the loving glow of “true yankee fans”, while the guy who has done nothing but work his @ss off is booed and ripped apart for everything he does.
seems a little hypocritical.
and i like Giambi.
some strange part of me likes the idea of mike lowell playing third base for the yanks next year. brosius revisited.
Maybe I am an idiot, a hater, closeted Sox fan, and enabler of the world-wide media conspiracy against The Baseball Martyr.
None of that changes the fact that, come October, your idol will most likely, as is his custom, choke like a pornstar, hire a few more ‘life coaches’, and wrap himself snugly in the blanket of his, and your, perception of his victimhood. Probably on Scott Boras’ couch. With a stuffed teddy. And some cocoa.
a strange part of me wants you to get that Kerouac. Nothing slaps someone back down to reality like the stark truth.
Mike Lowell = Scott Brosius?
Have I entered a parallel universe?
“guess who else stopped hitting? Jason Giambi. because he wasn’t playing. b/c he got a tumor from shooting himself up with steroids for years.”
Um he was left off the playoff roster. Unless you are talking of how he couldn’t play most of the 2nd half of the season from being sick.
Hmmmm I misread what you wrote. Stupid cold medicine.
I still think if the Yankees had a healthy Jason Giambi the 2004 ALCS would have ended differently. I personally blame him more than anyone for what happened and he’s my favorite player.
exactly Stacey.
the Yankees lost 3 close games that series. Reuben Sierra and Tony Clark were 0 for 7 in game 6. but everyone remembers the “slap”.
replace one of those scrubs with Giambi, and things may have been different.
but no, we’ll blame Alex. i’d rather play like sh*t cleanly, then win the game by cheating.
Wow, Peter. You generated so many responses to your A-Rod interpretation that one might suspect you were doing it to increase posts to your blog. It worked.
Hey Stacey…
Your just not Stacey…Your StaceyRosie aren’t you?
Long time no read!
Where do you post now?
the ole HoraceClarke
Abraham: Stop being such an obnoxious dum-dum.