Today in The Journal News
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Mar 14, 2007 
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Some guy said something and it started some trouble. Just another day covering the greatest show on earth.
Mike Mussina didn’t look good. The Yankees also made some cuts.
Another night game tonight from Legends Field and it’s on YES. Back later with the lineups.
I have no doubt in my mind that Alex is gonna get just a huge pile of crap from all the blogs for being honest and stating the facts. The most revered Mariano did it, why not an MVP calibre player?
I’m glad Alex is speaking his mind, he’s fed up with trying to please everybody and may be mad enuff to focus on his game and not worry about the booing. BUT, on the other hand, why should he play his best or even at all if all he gets is boos from the fans and/or the writers. I know I’d move on if I was treated poorly and still puting up good numbers.
Toeing the company line disappeared with free agency.
Peter, can you do me a favor and streak Legends field so there’s a new story and everyone can get off the A-Rod train? But please, don’t get caught on tape (no offense…).
You are officially the Bad Guy in this one, exactly what might end up driving A-Rod out of New York (in addition to the fans). Blech.
BillyJoBob, I agree with you for the most part, but-
“Mariano did it, why not an MVP calibre player” – Mariano IS an MVP calibre player…..
More importantly, “on the other hand, why should he play his best or even at all if all he gets is boos from the fans and/or the writers”
Because he’s a professional athlete, which means he should play his best and work his a$$ off for 2 reasons:
1 – He’s paid millions to do so
2 – He’s an athlete and should do so every opportunity he gets because that’s what people with pride and competitiveness do, definition of an athlete.
This is going to start yet another firestorm of blame on the fans, the writers on Alex but I would like to point out a couple of things:
The writers did not make up the quotes. Alex himself said exactly what was reported. You can listen to the interview on the FAN website. The way I took what he said was yes he was horrible last year and would like to stay a Yankee moving forward. HOWEVER he absolutely paved the way for one of two things to happen. He leaves or he asks for a renegotiation. He is the kind of guy who wants to be wanted who wants to feel the love and if he isnt feeling it he will leave plain and simple.
Billyjobob you ask why should he play his best or even at all if all he gets is boos from the fans and/or the writers. Maybe because it is his JOB to play his best. maybe because he gets paid a lot of money to play his best, maybe because he expects it of himself. PS I have never heard a writer boo him
Pete,
I’m a big fan of your blog, had to comment on this one.
I certainly see nothing wrong with what A-Rod had to say for himself – wouldn’t ANYONE want to leave a job where they were constantly being deemed unsuccessful, blindly criticized, etc. despite being one of the best employees?
You can’t have it both ways – if fans want to constantly point out how he failed to a get a hit in a given series, etc., they’re going to have to deal with him being reluctant to come back. That’s reality – no one is going to submit themselves to that sort of unhealthy environment for that long.
ARod has certainly lived up to any realistic expectations that Yankee fans may have had before he arrived: he’s been healthy, he’s been consistently very good with moments of excellence, and he seems interested in winning FOR THE TEAM. It’s true that he did not carry the team in the playoffs, but who did? Is he the only capable player on the Yankees? The roster is full of all-stars!
You are overreacting to this!! This is not a “story”. All he is saying is that he wants to be wanted here by both the fans and the management. That is normal human nature. We all want that. I am sure he did not enjoy the booing last year. The booing was an indication to him that maybe not everyone wants him in NY. The booing was an emotional distraction to him, it didn’t surprise me that he had problems in the playoffs. If he is supported and appreciated this year I guarantee he will kick ass this October. He has the talent he just needs alittle love.
You are overreacting to this!! This is not a “story”. All he is saying is that he wants to be wanted here by both the fans and the management. That is normal human nature. We all want that. I am sure he did not enjoy the booing last year. The booing was an indication to him that maybe not everyone wants him in NY. The booing was an emotional distraction to him, it didn’t surprise me that he had problems in the playoffs. If he is supported and appreciated this year I guarantee he will kick ass this October. He has the talent he just needs alittle love.
“The writers did not make up the quotes. Alex himself said exactly what was reported.”
yeah, but he actually said a lot more than the quotes that were cherry picked on this blog.
he said he absolutely wants to stay.
but if he has a bad year, it might be best to move on.
please explain the controversy here.
I give, poor thought process about ‘playing his best’, shouldn’t have included it, I agree with the critiques of it. Should have read ‘want to play in NY at all if all he gets is chit’. Noone would want to work under those conditions. So yes, the fans have some control here.
A-Rod just needs a little love?
It ain’t about the love, folks. Rod signed for $252 million and is represented by the most aggressive, money conscious agent out there – - is that a coincidence? When it comes to his salary he says: “Oh, that’s up to the market. I only took what was offered. Don’t blame me.” But when he gets booed because he cannot get along with other professional ball playing adults and hit in the clutch, suddenly it’s not the impartial fan marketplace making decisions, it’s mean old Jeter and Joe Torre and the media. What a jerk. Shut up and hit the ball, Rod.
Dan,
Great post. The media can’t have it both ways. You can’t rip the guy for being “too rehearsed” if he just gives you cliche quotes, then rip him for giving honest answers to honest questions.
This is similar to Joel Sherman “demanding” ARod renounce his opt out clause in his first interview of the spring. This is an example of the media looking to create a story with ARod.
Who the hell is the media to demand anything of any of these players? Just report and leave the “demands” to others who are in the position to make “demands” of players.
ARod has said, time and time again, he wants to finish his career as a Yankee if things work out. Why is that a problem?
Let’s face it, if the guy is going to get booed for grounding out in the second inning of a May game against Tampa, and its the lead story in the tabs and on Sportscenter, with a dozen media folks offering “expert” psychological analysis, why should he stay in NY after this season. To be the official Yankee Pinata? Not gonna happen.
He doesn’t owe anybody a damn thing. The guy plays hard every day. He may not always be successful in the clutch, but effort is NEVER an issue with ARod. He also isn’t nearly as awful as his haters want to believe.
As fans, all we can ask for is effort. We don’t have any control over results. Its not like ARod is intentionally failing to “mess with the heads” of Yankee fans.
This entire “saga” has taken on idiotic proportions. It really has. From amateur psycho therapists, to people who outright hate the guy (for no reason), to media members making “demands” of him, its gotten to the point where its more like a bad SNL skit than an actual story.
gayle, have you ever “heard” a writer do anything? Have you ever “heard” of Lupica?
I don’t recall A-Rod blaming any poor play on anyone but himself, especially not blaming Jeter or Torre….. but I agree that he should shut up and play. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have that luxury when everyone wants him for interviews and looks for quotes every second they can.
the way i see it, the controversy lies in his reluctance to just say ‘i will be in NY next season, period.’
the problem with his most recent statements was that he dragged teh fans into it this time. i understand he wants to keep his options open, because any of us would do the same. but when he drags on the conversation and starts saying things like, but not quoted as, if the fans and ny want me out, then i’ll go, he’s starting to lay responsibility on the people he wants to root for him.
its not what he says, but almost the way he presents it… when i heard the interview the first time yesterday, it almost sounded like he was delivering an ultimatum, or holding the fans hostage. i got the feeling like he was saying, ‘if i get treated and respected like the player i am, then i’ll stay, but if i’m boo’d like i was last year, my hand will be forced because its obvious NY doesnt want me here.”
well said SJ44.
I mentioned this yesterday and I will mention it again, AROD is a hot button issue. Everybody has a something to say about the subject matter. Discussing AROD as a Yankee fan is like discussing Religion and Politics its not worth discussing because it never ends well.
all ARod has to do is say, “no comment.” thats it.
or like derek said, when Arod addressed their relationship in the media, “i’ll address this question once, but lets make this clear, this is the last time i’m going to discuss it.” did anyone ever hear another quote from DJ about the issue again? i havent.
“But when he gets booed because he cannot get along with other professional ball playing adults and hit in the clutch, suddenly it’s not the impartial fan marketplace making decisions, it’s mean old Jeter and Joe Torre and the media. What a jerk. Shut up and hit the ball, Rod.”
hey, point me to the quote where he said any of this stuff and you win.
“Rodriguez was eager to send the message, volunteering to trek up to the press box at Legends Field to sit with hosts Mike Francesa and Chris Russo for the interview rather than have it conducted remotely, as other players did.”
Pete it is your blog and you can say whatever you want. And honestly I’m going to take in whatever you write because frankly I love reading your blog. But the quote from your article was a bit puzzling to me. In your blog the other day you commended arod for going up for a face to face meeting. But here it seems(in my opinion) that your kind of using it against him, sort of like Arod was trying to get attention. Maybe he was trying to get attention, its true he is the one that brought up the contract situation.
Maybe he brought it up to beat Mike and Dog to the punch, since you know they were going to ask anyways, idk. The only person who should worry about whether or not alex goes is Cashman. Because if he’s definitely leaving, then he’s got to think of trading him for some good replacement pieces. As a fan I’m not going to get to involved in what he does, because I have no bearing on that(well except if I boo, which I don’t, lol).
In the offseason I was one of the people in favor of trading him, but not because he’s “unclutch”. I believe strongly you win with pitching, if your pitching is great, you can win with just about anyone in the field. And the only player on this team who has value to bring in young pitching is arod. So if he stays great, if he goes I’ll be disappointed. I just think in the mean time the media and fans need to let this story die down, even if arod does bring it up first.
TurnTwo – “just say ‘i will be in NY next season, period.’”
- It’s still a business and that would be the worst possible thing for him to say.
I really didn’t take anything he said yesterday as an ultimatum as much as him just saying if no-one (including mgt) wants him here, he’ll move on….
This whole thing is being blown way out of proportion by everyone, as usual…, IMO.
Gee, Alex talks to the media and gives honest answers (not canned) admits he had a “bad” year (.290 BA, .915 OPS, exact same BB/K ratio as his last MVP season, 35 HR, 121 RBI) when he slumped for a couple of months, admits the boos did get to him (how refreshing, don’t most ballplayers lie and say they don’t hear them), wants to finish his career with the Yankees & win some WS titles, and yet one small part of his interview gets deconstructed & blown out of proportion.
1) I don’t care if Derek & Alex like/hate/don’t care about each other. Shut up and play ball.
2) Alex is the best option out there for thirdbase, probably even if you go into the wayback machine and bring back a young Mike Schmidt.
I don’t mind a story on A-Rod’s interview, but do a story on the whole thing, not a very small part of it.
He isn’t going to say, “I will be in New York next year”, and the media KNOWS that.
How in the world can he make that statement right now, not knowing what the future holds, and hurt his bargaining position?
That would be dumb and he isn’t dumb.
There is no way, none, that ARod stays here if this crap keeps up. For those Yankee fans (mostly the post-96) crowd, who think he is easily replacable, guess again.
You don’t replace the best all around player in the game, a guy they would lose for nothing (if he opts out), with just a warm body.
Look around at the available third basemen on the market. Not exactly, ARod quality.
Hate him all you want but, don’t delude yourselves into thinking the guy can be replaced very easily.
If he leaves, they have no righthanded power and the middle of the order is a mess. Not exactly a thrilling prospect.
But, I guess booing the crap out of him and trashing him at every turn is the recommended “strategy” for some Yankee fans re: ARod this year.
If that’s going to be the course of action, he is 100% gone after this season and I wouldn’t blame him one bit.
it was news in new england three weeks ago when curt schilling pouted for a day or two over boston’s refusal to give him a contract extension until the end of the season.
it was even news in new york when mo rivera addressed the same subject. didn’t last long because mo is mo.
it’s news anywhere. a-rod just happens to be the game’s most visible face and its highest-paid player. all the extra hype goes with the territory. he has to live with it and so do yankee fans. he’s too sensitive a person to say no to somebody so occasionally the subject comes up. we deal with it, all of us, in our own way.
oh yeah, chris, i agree. i think anyone of us would do the same thing… i just think arod runs into trouble because he always seems to say just like one sentence too much, and when he overcomplicated things by adding in what is supposed to be meaninless fill-in conversation, thats where the questions and debate come from.
SJ- noone is saying that replacing ARod would be easy or that there would be no consequence, but anyone is replaceable. that’s life.
Peter, after hearing the audio I think you took what he said out of context. I am more inclined to agree with the guys at pride of the yankees blog.
“The media can choose to dissect every comment out of A-Rod’s mouth. But he was just being open and honest, which is admirable. And he did so while still saying the right things. Nothing he said yesterday was that outrageous, and when you inspect his comments up and down, nothing that A-Rod said is really stuff we didn’t already know. In fact, he almost sounded — dare we offer such Yankee blasphemy– likeable and respectable.”
And you also stated that “Cashman said he did not consider trading Rodriguez this winter. But Rodriguez contradicted that.”
I seem to remember hearing about Cashman talking with A-Rod and Giambi about waiving their no trade clause, so I am not sure where that came from.
Other than that, keep up the great work, best Yankee blog out there!
This is New York, not Kansas City or Seattle. Arod knew what he was getting into when he came here. Likewise the Yankees knew what they were getting into. Should be an interesting year, and even more interesting if the Yanks are 6 games back at the all star break.
think about it this way: how much is that opt out option worth? let’s say the angels would give him 7 years, $150M.
the opt out option is worth about $70M.
people actually expect a-rod to PUBLICALLY announce he will not exercise that option, just to satisfy a bunch of screaming ninnies?
would you do that if it were you? of course not. no one here would.
it’s ridiculous and hypocritical to expect that.
i dont think anyone is saying he should say that or expect him to say that, but anything less than that will just let the story go on, as it is doing…
Ken: Alex said, and this is a direct quote, “I had a lot of options to go to several teams this year, probably five or six, and I chose not to. I chose to be in New York.”
He said he considered a trade for “half a second.”
Cashman emphatically said that he never took a trade to Alex or even entered into discussions with other clubs.
Later on, when I asked him directly whether he had been offered a trade, Alex refused to answer.
He directly contradicted what the GM has been saying since last August. If you don’t think that’s newsworthy, that’s your right. I do.
You guys have to remember, he started this yesterday, not the media. We all had other stories we were working on until he got to that booth.
“Cashman emphatically said that he never took a trade to Alex or even entered into discussions with other clubs.”
not true.
Cashman said EIGHT teams called him about A-Rod.
it was also reported that Cashman approached BOTH A-Rod and Giambi early in this off-season about waiving their NTC’s and they both refused.
Peter,
I don’t disagree with the comments re: trade talk. Yes, that’s newsworthy and you were correct in pointing it out.
What was also newsworthy, which was never mentioned in any story today, was when he said that he and Torre had a talk behind closed doors re: Torre’s comments in the SI article. Torre said that never happened to start the spring. ARod said it did and you can tell by the tone of his voice, he wasn’t happy with what Torre said in that story, or batting him 8th (which was a dumb move) in the ALDS.
That, to me, was the most “newsworthy” stuff in the interview. Not the opt out clause nonsense because there isn’t anybody remotely connected with baseball who doesn’t believe he won’t opt out at the end of the year. That’s Business 101.
But, the Torre stuff. That was telling. At least to me.
Schteeve–
I was reposnding to BillyjoBObs post that “all he gets is boos from the fans and/or the writers”
Writers and I am talking about writers that cover the team NOT columnists like Lupica with whom I am very familair with are not allowed to cheer or boo in the press box thus my comment about never hearing of a writer booing
maybe Cashman never got an actual trade on the table and then went to A-Rod to waive his NTC, but the implication is that there were 8 interested teams. b/c of his NTC, A-Rod could control where he goes.
it is not at all a stretch for alex to say he “could have gone to 5-6 teams”. it’s pretty much true.
Pete: I don’t interpret “I had a lot of options to go to several teams this year, probably five or six,” as referring to actual trade proposals. I fully can easily imagine Boras (not Cashman) telling ARod that if he wanted to get out of NY, there would be at least 5-6 teams with whom the Yankees could work out a deal. There’s obviously nothing contradictory in Cashman’s claim that he never discussed such a trade with any other team since, as Alex said, he didn’t want to pursue it.
The fact that the NY Times had a headline that read
“Rodriguez Tells Fans to Embrace Him, or Else ”
just shows that the media is on the A-Rod hunt again. He said nothing but “He’s keeping his options open”. No threats… no ultimatums… just the truth. Blamed nobody but himself for last year (a year that most ballplayers would kill for, BTW)If I were Alex Rodriquez, the greatest ballplayer of our generation, I’d tell ya all to stuff it… no more interviews.
All of you writers are making such a big deal out of nothing. No matter what the man does, he is scrutinized. Give it up guys and focus on soemthing else.
The guy won an MVP award and was criticized.
If he wins the World Series MVP Im sure we’ll see people go “so and so should have won it”
TurnTwo,
“SJ- noone is saying that replacing ARod would be easy or that there would be no consequence, but anyone is replaceable. that’s life.”
Sorry to harp on your comments in two threads, but this statement bothers me. You seem to be equating “replacing” ARod with just finding another third baseman. Sure, if ARod opted out, was traded, or died in a tragic blimp accident, the Yankees would indeed have someone else play third base in his stead. The question no one seems to answer is: who?
We know who the decent 2008 free agents will be (Mike Lowell and ???) and we know who the Yankees’ talented third base prospects are (no one). We are pretty much screwed if we go down those avenues. That leaves us with either (a) replacing ARod with some serviceable (read, crappy) player or (b) trading for Eric Chavez or someone comparable, who would not come cheap.
So while the Yankees would technically “replace” ARod if he opted out, they would most likely go from having the best-hitting third baseman to having a below-average one, or giving up other good players to get an above-average one.
And yet if ARod doesn’t opt out, we have the best third baseman at a steal of a price.
Why even think about giving that up when the Yankees stand to get so little in return?
A-Rod is still not replaceable up to this point.
Terrible job Pete. You’re dead wrong on the Arod situation. I thought you were different from the Lupica types, I guess not.
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