I have to admit that I did a double-take this morning when I logged on to EWC and saw a link to a story entitled “Alex Rodriguez is a Lying Bitch.” I’ll be the first to say I’ve been one of A-Rod’s detractors over the years. At this point taking shots at him is like shooting at the Red Cross, as the Italians say. All the pieces are in place for the purple-lipped prima donna you love to hate. A playoff choke artist that Yanks fans in the bleachers referred to openly as “Gay Rod” during his first season in pinstripes, the ego, strip clubs, we all know the story.
But A Rod certainly isn’t the only one, not even the only one with an outrageously high salary to not get it done under the pressure of expectations. He’s obviously an egomaniac out of control, but uh, pro sports. There’s a lot of them out there. A Rod’s ego is most likely part of what enables him to put up epic numbers during the regular season. Well, maybe that and the VIP room at scores. But whatever. Haters scoff at his clubhouse cancer demeanor, his outrageous salary demands, knocking the ball out of the glove like a chump, but when it comes down to it, has A Rod really done anything to garner headlines such as the one above?
There’s something about him that brings out the dander in people. I’m kind of at a loss at this point of why people aren’t as enraged at Kevin Brown, Johnny Damon, or Alex Sanchez, or any of the myriad of MLB officials, player reps, etc. that have all given the finger to baseball fans over the past 15-20 years. Why is there more venom towards A-Rod than Clemens? I guess I’m asking readers who fit the A-Rod hater category to weigh in on what it is about him that they feel is so deplorable.
I mean, dude did save a kid from dying from getting hit by a motor vehicle once.
8 responses so far ↓
1 A.S. // Dec 19, 2007 at 9:51 am
I think a lot of it started in Seattle where people expected he and Griffey (another guy people used to love to hate) to deliver. Then he was shuffled to Texas, which raised some eyebrows. “Why would they get rid of that guy? He must be a jerk.” Then he wanted to leave Texas simply to go to a bigger market. Then on top of that he signed the richest contract ever with a team that was already very good. Then, that first year in NY he didn’t have a great (by his standards) year, which got him off on the wrong foot with NY. It’s like a snowball. Annoucing his new deal during the WS, it just continues.
I don’t hate him. When players are as great as he is (like Pujols or Bonds in the past) I feel I have to admire them on some level, just because they’re so good. That said, I love to see him (and the Yankees) fail.
2 Aaron Cheats // Dec 19, 2007 at 10:21 am
Wait, A-Rod didn’t sign a new contract to go to NY. He was traded. He signed the big contract when he went to Texas. But yeah, I don’t hate A-Rod, either. I’m kind of indifferent. Clemens is a guy I’ve never been able to like, though.
3 A.S. // Dec 19, 2007 at 10:53 am
You’re right. He signed with Texas, signed the richest deal in history, then was traded to NY.
4 David Chalk // Dec 19, 2007 at 10:58 am
As the author of the Lying Bitch article, I thought I should chime in.
I don’t hate A-Rod either, or even dislike him really. I do love to see the Yankees lose and I think the joy of watching A-Rod fail is similar to watching the Yankees lose. He makes the most money and yet wilts year after year; to me that’s fun.
I could care less about his personality or any of that other stuff, but anything that makes him look bad is fun. But I’m also not sure his reputation as the best player is deserved — playing on that Yankees team, he sees a lot more pitches to hit than most batters. And I’m also not sure he’s clean drug-wise; Canseco has been right about a lot of other things. If A-Rod was still playing in Seattle or Texas, I think people would be much more suspicious of his accomplishments. But it’s nothing personal — the title was only meant to get attention, not to hate.
5 John M // Dec 19, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Mr. Chalk, refresh my memory. Did A-Rod also see a lot more pitches to hit when he played for Texas and Seattle? Because he beat the tar out of the ball before he came to the Yankees, and as I recall, he was the probably the best shortstop in the league, to boot.
I’ve never been a big fan of the guy, but I have to admit he’s a hell of a player. And ‘Canseco has been right about a lot of other things’ is what logicians call a logical fallacy. Canseco hasn’t been right about a lot of things, too, and he has a distinct knack for self-aggrandizement. There’s also that pesky ‘proof’ thing, which might play a larger role than normal here, since A-Rod doesn’t sport the physically freakish qualities that make Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, etc., more obvious as PED users.
I assume you also enjoy watching Boston, LA, Baltimore (at times), the Cubs, the Mets, the ‘08 Tigers and all the other teams with wildly inflated payrolls lose, too. Even the D’backs bought the championship in 2001. It’s much more fun watching hapless teams try to beat ridiculous odds while their owners pocket the revenue sharing money they could be spending on improving their clubs. And let’s not forget the brilliant Mr. Beane and his skinflint, boring, by the numbers, non-championship approach to the game.
Yeah, but those Yankees are pretty horrible. All they do is try to win all the time, give their fans a good ride every year, and increase the profits of the other owners in the league, through increased attendance, luxury taxes, and the aforementioned, often pocketed, revenue sharing. Damn bastards. They’ve been ruining the game for 85 years now, and it’s time they knocked it off already. They should strive for mediocrity and field lousier, cheaper teams so some other owners don’t look so bad. Then they’ll be worth rooting for, or at least not worth rooting against.
Bastards.
6 David Chalk // Dec 19, 2007 at 4:11 pm
The flip side is that A-Rod got more pitches to hit with Texas also because Texas was terrible and non-competitive.
A-Rod’s numbers alone are freakish. That alone should make us suspicious. Not everyone who has been caught/implicated/suspected of PEDs looked the part.
I also root against the Yankees because they tell grown men how to groom themselves. That and they benefit the most from MLB’s ridiculous lack of substantive revenue sharing and a salary cap, means I don’t care if Boston is nearly as bad. Boston lets Manny have dreads, and wouldn’t need to spend all the money if the Yankees didn’t take advantage of the system the way they do. There’s also the absurd hubris of the Steinbrenners….
So, yes, baseball would be far better if the Yankees were contracted, but barring that at least they’re cursed.
7 IronChef // Dec 20, 2007 at 11:40 pm
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again:
He’s the best damn player in the league. He’s a star, he’s rich, he’s good looking, his wife is hot, he has EVERYTHING going for him. He’s the head honcho.
Sure, we hate players that pull stupid stunts, but A-Rod is different. He doens’t need to be pulling the stupid stunts to be good, yet he continues to do things like slap the ball, yell “mine”, elbow Pedroia, bone a manly-looking Toronto exotic dancer, and can’t decide whether he’s Dominican or American.
My dad always says this: 他這麼大牌，他需è¦é€™æ¨£å—Ž?
He’s SO FUCKING GOOD, and to this day 99% of people think he’s clean of steroids. But why do we hate him?
He’s the man, but he still acts like a bitch.
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