Yes, it’s true.
In this week’s Sports Illustrated, my favorite baseball writer (Tom Verducci – not to be confused with favorite columnist, which is Peter Gammons) penned an article on “The Lonely Yankee” — otherwise known as Alex Rodriguez. Fantastic article, but I did want to illustrate one section of it:
There was one game against Boston in Yankee Stadium in June when Rodriguez looked so anguished by the rough treatment from New York fans that Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, while watching him from the on-deck circle, grew concerned. Ortiz caught Rodriguez’s attention and gave him an exaggerated exhale, the way you might when a physician asks you to take a deep breath. Rodriguez would later thank Ortiz. “It was painful to see his face,” Ortiz said. “I had to tell him to just breathe and relax.”
In June? In Yankee Stadium? The Red Sox trying to put the Yankees away? The face of the Red Sox helping the face of the Yankees team? This makes me all the more convinced that Ortiz’s comments about Jeter winning the MVP were taken out of context.
This A-Rod and New York thing is getting FAR, FAR out of hand.
A-Rod needs to either win two postseason games on his own (with the Yankees dropping the other three to the Twins). Scott Brosius was 11-1 as a Yankee, A-Rod is 2-7. If he doesn’t win two games on his own, he needs to leave New York. Perhaps Ervin Santana, Chone Figgins, and an elite prospect for A-Rod to the Angels … but what A-Rod is going through is borderline ridiculous — no, it’s been past the line for a while now.