Steinbrenner Kids: add tacky to dumb and lazy: trying to void A-Rod's bonus. Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Absent was any positive reaction from Tiger players at the time but it's unreasonable to expect opposing players to applaud as they did a few years ago when Derek Jeter also homered at the Stadium for career hit number 3,000 off 2012 Cy Young winner David Price, then with Tampa, now with Detroit and present last night. Rodriguez was among Jeter's Yankee teammates who embraced him. I'm guessing that the opponent's reaction to Jeter was unusual, if not unique. After last night's game Tiger Miguel Cabrera made a point of going out on the field and wading into the Yankees celebrating their win and embraced Rodriguez.
Rodriguez had only that one hit and is now tied at number 29 in hits with the late Roberto Clemente. That's a far cry from Rodriguez being number 4 in RBI:
| Rank | Player (yrs, age) | Runs Batted In | Bats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Hank Aaron+ (23) | 2297 | R |
| 2. | Babe Ruth+ (22) | 2214 | L |
| 3. | Cap Anson+ (27) | 2075 | R |
| 4. | Alex Rodriguez (21, 39) | 2004 | R |
| 5. | Barry Bonds (22) | 1996 | L |
| 6. | Lou Gehrig+ (17) | 1995 | L |
| 7. | Stan Musial+ (22) | 1951 | L |
| 8. | Ty Cobb+ (24) | 1933 | L |
| 9. | Jimmie Foxx+ (20) | 1922 | R |
| 10. | Eddie Murray+ (21) | 1917 | B |
After the Yankee win Rodriguez was interviewed on the field by YES Network employee Meredith Marakovits. Rodriguez gushed about how blessed he feels and thanked everybody, specifically naming MLB and the "Steinbrenner family" for letting him play.
As the interview concluded and the camera panned back it seemed like a scene from one of those movies with a plot that's way too complicated and convoluted. I saw writer/announcer Tom Verducci approach Rodriguez all smiles, apparently really happy for Rodriguez, who reacted in kind and the two embraced.
Verducci is a guy I've been killing because he's been killing Rodriguez. A few years ago Verducci helped former Yankee manager Joe Torre write a book, which mentioned that Yankee teammates referred to A-Rod as A-Fraud. I switched to MLB Network to catch the interview but it was still covering Toronto trying to blow its game with Baltimore. A while later I heard the replay of the Verducci interview with Rodriguez.
Rodriguez thanked everybody, including the "Steinbrenner family" ... Wait a minute. Rodriguez said the same thing to Verducci that he had said to Marakovits. I mean the same thing. It was too similar to sound authentic. This morning with some time to think about it, I'm even more disturbed. What the heck's been going on? Is this all a movie?
Tom Verducci, have you no sense of decency, sir? Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Tom Verducci on MLB Network assassinated the character of Alex Rodriguez yet again yesterday immediately following the first plate appearance by Rodriguez since September 2013...
Verducci indignantly asked rhetorically if anyone had done more to harm baseball than Rodriguez.
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Alex Rodriguez: "Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." I suppose we all thought that one way or another. Friday, February 20, 2015
Oh, wait. That was J. Robert Oppenheimer ...
Most of the hysteria concerning the impending return of Alex Rodriguez from his unprecedented 162 game full season suspension seems to be from media people, not fans, except for those fans who try to suck up when they call talk radio.
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A-Rod apologized. Why? Wednesday, February 18, 2015
It was signed Alex. That was a nice touch. As was the fact that it was actually hand written, which does not mean that Alex Rodriguez was the sole author. Still, that provided a hint of authenticity, sincerity.
Many were skeptical. Some outraged. Some are always outraged. Some wanted a press conference. Some a public execution.
Rodriguez should not have apologized. Why should he? The one small part of his statement that seemed to represent the hurt that he must feel was Rodriguez correctly pointing out that he had served a longer suspension than any baseball player for using performance drugs (PED)...
Having served his entire sentence without ever any hint of commutation, Rodriguez owes nothing. If anything Rodriguez is owed...
The media people are desperate for Rodriguez to fail if he plays. They want it to be justification for their turning all this into a morality play. Rodriguez will be punished for violating their sense of baseball justice.
I'm rooting for Rodriguez to play well. I'm a Yankee fan and I want both Rodriguez and the Yankees to succeed. I'm also rooting for Rodriguez to make the Yankee haters among the media people to be exposed for the hypocrites they are.
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So where does all this leave us? I wish I knew. I'm convinced that Alex Rodriguez believes what he says when he says it. I don't know what the heck is going on with Tom Verducci. Part of what makes Rodriguez such a good baseball player is his ability to work hard and concentrate. All of us can pretty much talk ourselves into or out of anything. That trait can be very useful when dealing with stressful situations. Rodriguez apparently can do this in the extreme. On this scandal thing Rodriguez has gone from hating everyone to loving everyone and being sincere all along. Maybe that's what caused Derek Jeter to change their relationship 15 years ago from best buddies to ... whatever. Jeter was absent last night but should be at the Stadium today for Old Timers Day, Jeter's first since he retired. It will be interesting to see how the former Yankees treat Rodriguez.
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