Pointing Fingers - A-Rod and Me
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by user 207.237.9.143
There’s been a lot of deep thought to go into this, a lot of games watched and a lot of terrible sports beat reporters to read. In the end, I’ve decided.
I'm a Boston Red Sox fan, I think his contract sucks and I don't think he’s the most selfless player in Major League Baseball, however here it is:
It’s not A-Rod’s fault.
The New York fans are directly responsible for his dry streak and errors; sure, he’s the highest paid player in professional sporting history and therefore should be held to a higher standard than similarly performing David Wright. I completely agree. However, not even A-Rod or their precious Jeter can stand up to these sort of expectations.
New York Yankees fans: this is baseball, a game where succeeding one in three times and failing seven out of 10 gets you into the Hall of Fame. And you know what? A-Rod exceeds even those figures.
I've played sports, you've played sports, even the best players can only take the booing for so long before lashing out, having a bad game. Baseball is 90% mental, remember? Cheering his 450th home run and booing him ten minutes later doesn’t help.
A-Rod isn’t “clutch”, he's just not; Big Papi is clutch, A-Rod is not. Derek Jeter is clutch, Bill Buckner is not.
But he's not a bad teammate.
He's never spoken out against a teammate (Mussina).
He's one of the best players in the one hundred and twenty plus years of professional baseball, ever; at TWO positions.
The New York fans are ruining him.
Even some of the fans interviewed by the media before home games have been heard to say, "This is our fault, we have to stop this".
Don't give me the "he's not a New York or Boston type player".
He started a fight with Varitek (yes, he did slap the ball like a girl), he’s been around for 3 years and won the American League MVP last year.
But these fans are ridiculous.
Yankees fans are upset because they’re spending and not winning (or are they…?).
A-Rod is the scapegoat.
It’s like Cubs fans blaming Steve Bartman instead of their shortstop.
When the Yankees spend and win, it’s fine.
Yankees fans are very, very proud of their "What have you done for me lately?", fair weather player appreciation scale.
Where was Jeter the past few years? He's been sub-par to awful, except this year. Not awful, you say? Sure, he’s got a great batting average and a wonderful on-base percentage, sure he’s run into the stands a few times, he has some classic clutch hits, oh and of course he's the captain and fantastic leader, but I’m sure Billy Beane and Jeremy Giambi will tell you the same thing I do now: on-base percentage does not win championships. Jeter’s won some championships, you say? When was the last…?
Jeter’s the second highest paid athlete in professional sporting history.
I won’t even get into it.
Mike Mussina was out of line calling A-Rod on his errant throw home:
I’m sure he was frustrated, as I’m sure A-Rod’s been frustrated with him before when A-Rod goes 3-4 with 2 home runs and Mussina gives up three of his own to the black seats in center field. I'm just kidding, I’m sure it’s never happened…
Mussina can say: "We need the real A-Rod back; we're behind him through his struggles."
Mussina should not say: "We need the real A-Rod back, I don't know what's wrong with him, a good throw would’ve had the runner by 20 feet."
Hey Mike, three more good throws would’ve stopped those other runs from coming in after A-Rod’s error.
Sure, pitchers are easily shaken up, thrown off game, might give up a few hits. But can’t third basemen be?
Did A-Rod give up those hits? Uh, no.
Oh, and Mike (and the rest of the world)? Even if A-Rod's throw makes it right on target and the runner's out, that's only two. You need three for the inning to be over.
Is A-Rod overpaid? Yes. Grotesquely.
Did A-Rod try to give up a large chunk of his salary to come to the Yankees? Yes.
Did the players union shoot it down? Yes.
Are all professional athletes overpaid? Yes.
Instead of booing A-Rod fans should bring signs to the game that say:
"Where's Pavano?”
“Where's Dotel?”
"Where's Matsui?"
"Where's Sheffield?" (Applying "the cream" to his wounds)
“How much did we pay Kevin Brown again?” ($16 million a year; that’s $156,000 for every one of the 205 total innings pitched, with a 22.00 ERA in the post-season. Oops.)
But no, no, I'm sure A-Rod's the reason you're not at 100 wins already.
I hope A-Rod goes somewhere else and finally wins one.
I hope the Yankees fans realize what they’ve ruined.
Youngest player ever to 450 home runs, one of the youngest ever to 2000 hits. Ever.
But I’m sure the boos are worth it.
~Quinn
Date
Fri 07/21/06, 8:05 pm EST
