A-Rod Flu

I posted the following commentary over at Bronx Banter just after the loss to Seattle. Read it, and then check out my post-bitterness feelings on said monologue:

"This will be my first real criticism of A-Rod this season. I've been disappointed in his performance on a number of occasions, but not more so than any other member of the club. What's going on right now bugs me.

I have no evidence whatsoever to indict Rodriguez on sandbagging games, but this season has certainly seen more than its fair share of little bitchy excuses for not playing or not performing. I have no beef with A-Rod's performance, you see. He isn't having his best season, but he's still a potent offensive weapon in the middle of our lineup. His defense has been shit.

I have beef with his multitude of excuses and wishy-washy attitude about everything. I wish A-Rod would grow some balls and just tell everyone to shut their f-ing mouths. Also, I wish he'd stop hiding behind viral infections and tummy aches and mysterious unnamed injuries for his failures. Everyone fails in baseball. Even the best players in history sometimes fail more than other times.

The thing is, if you are struggling against your own past and the expectations of fans, you should eventually put your foot down and tell people to kiss your ass. Get a little Sheffield in you. Wishing everyone liked you makes you shy away from tough public relations. Needing appreciation makes you sit out the Seattle series to get away from the booing and the fake money showering down from the stands. Again, I have no proof that that's what's happening, but you can't tell me that you aren't thinking it too.

Coming in to pinch hit in the 9th was an iffy decision by Torre. The guy is sick or he's not. He's in a bad state of mind or he's not. I know he's an All-World player, but what good is he at that moment. We know the answer now.

I like A-Rod VERY MUCH. I think he's a great player, a Hall of Famer, a good Yankee, and all that crap. I cheer for him every at bat. It's on the sidelines that I think he's a bitch."

There you have it. I spilled my guts about Alex Rodriguez. I don't feel all that different about it now, but I really should count my lucky stars that he's going to be a Yankee for better or for worse. It's tiring to hear all the excuses for his relatively mediocre play, the crap about his lukewarm relationship with Jeter, and all the rest. I'm not sure he'll ever win over the fans in New York, and that's a bitter pill to swallow for me. He's too great a player to be so maligned. It goes back to my earlier point. If he was just a little more of a hard ass, he'd probably win some of those cranky fans over and he also might just get his edge back. Only time will tell, but I seem to recall that Tino and Knoblauch were villified for their lack of "clutch" play, but the big World Series game 1 in 1998 that they had swung the pendulum back in their favor. I hope we win it all, and Alex is the WS MVP. That would help a lot.

See you tomorrow. Go Yanks. (New posting @ Matsuzaka Watch)