Alex Rodriguez's first appearance at camp today seemed more like an appearance on the Dr. Phil show as he spoke about his relationship with Derek Jeter and about being the highest paid player in the game.
Yep, business as usual for the 2007 Yankees, but I have a question for A-Rod:
How does a guy who has been in the big leagues over ten years and has been a superstar for almost all of them and has been in New York for the past three years NOT know how to deal with the media?
Here's A-Rod's take on his relationship with Jeter:
"The reality is there's been a change in the relationship over 14 years and, hopefully, we can just put it behind us. You go from sleeping over at somebody's house five days a week, and now you don't sleep over. It's just not that big of a deal."
Then why bring it up? How will comments like this help you with the fans and more importantly with your teammates? Also, don't you think sleepovers are a bit odd once guys reach their thirties? You're a married man with a child -- stay home!
Now, Jeter does have a bit of Joe DiMaggio in him -- that "once you cross me, you're dead to me" attitude that fans, media and probably teammates have picked up on (just ask Chad Curtis) but he has never spoken about a problem in the relationship. I'm sure he just loved A-Rod's comments today.
Does A-Rod believe that this sort of "honesty" will bring some fans over to his side? If that's his plan he's dead wrong. A-Rod will probably eclipse Jeter in every statistical category when he finally hangs them up, but he'll never supplant him as "The Man" in New York, it's just not going to happen. If he really wanted to "be honest" he could have apologized for his comments in that stupid Esquire article (which is from six years ago) and be done with it.
Here's A-Rod's take on making the most dough:
"Whatever you say is important. People listen to you. That's pretty cool. Nobody used to listen to me before."
Yes, A-Rod, people are listening. So please stop talking.
[Full Story] [Comments (12)]
