More A-Rod Bullshit

Fuck America. Fuck money. Let's all just go Rick Reilly on people and complain about A-Rod's "image" when we really mean "I hate the fact that he plays by a system in which he can negotiate and explore different ways to make a great deal of money".

Gene Wdskjsdkgowski weighs in on the A-Rod saga

NEW YORK -- The "Wizard of Oz" was on TV a couple of nights ago. Dorothy tosses a bucket of water on the Wicked Witch of the West and the green-faced hag melts like a scoop of sherbet dropped in a fry vat.

Weird, since that's exactly what's happening to the public image of Alex Rodriguez and to the mystique of his commission-conscious Doberman, Scott Boras. They got doused with a bucket of baseball reality and now they're melting. Melting!

Well, at least this time a writer referenced a movie that people have actually seen. That's good. Unfortunately, the reference sucks. This is because A-Rod's image was already so damaged from asshole writers who expect him to be a paragon of altruism, so it wouldn't matter how bad he got fried. Why the hell does a Wizard of Oz reference belong in this article?

Oh, what a world … what a world!

Gene, you sound like a hysterical teenage girl.

If ever two people deserved very large servings of humility it is Rodriguez and agent Boras. They spectacularly underestimated the blowback caused by their latest series of business miscalculations. The bumbling has further damaged A-Rod's credibility and left welt marks on Boras' carefully crafted persona of invincibility.

If ever a group of people deserved very large servings of humility it is the collective association of sportswriters who assault Alex Rodriguez. It's just fucking sour grapes: everyone hates him because he makes too much money. Whatever "credibility" or "persona" they claim is being damaged - that's a crock. They're just pissed because his paycheck is a lot bigger than anyone else's and he has the GALL to find ways to make it even bigger, which they would do if they dominated their field like he does. Or perhaps they're mad because their chosen field is less rewarded by society.

::shrug::

A-Rod can describe the situation any way he wants on his Web site (and by the way, thanks for finally updating the journal from 2006), but the simple truth is that he capitulated. Or in baseball terms, he's Yankee whipped.

Capitulated to what? He went out to test the market and he tested it. He discovered that the Yankees were still the best offerers. Since A-Rod values money (like 99% of Americans), he is more "money-whipped" than "Yankee-whipped".

What do they say in Texas about people who talk a big game, but can't deliver? "Big hat, no cattle.'' That's A-Rod and Boras. They thought the world would be lining up to sign the free-agent third baseman and it didn't happen.

Here's what they say in Texas:
"I sure wish we still had the best baseball player ever, except we signed him to a contract we couldn't afford and then traded him".

Rodriguez and Boras botched this thing from the very beginning. They alienated Yankees fans with their greed and indifference.

If Yankee fans were actually alienated by greed, the organization would've lost its fans years ago.

They angered the Steinbrenners with their arrogance (and that takes some doing, considering how the Steinbrenners handled the Joe Torre situation). And they created a scenario where absolutely no one would want to root for A-Rod's success. If anything, you rooted for the Yankees, which is like rooting for Lord Voldemort.

If anything, Gene, you are a fucking lame"Rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for US Steel". That's a repeat of the old adage, except you cleverly modernized it with a cool reference to HARRY POTTER.

Honestly.

But sometimes enough is enough. The Yankees drew their line in the wet cement, and A-Rod and Boras left their footprints as they walked out of the Bronx. But before the cement has even hardened, A-Rod is back professing his supposed love for the pinstripes.

Note that Gene doesn't offer A-Rod's actual quote here - because I bet he didn't say it. In pnoles's writeup (below), A-Rod said a bunch of wishy-washy stuff about "dialogue" and crap. He isn't professing anything to the millions of jerks who crucify him for their own organization's inability to build a pitching staff.

Gene goes on to bitch about A-Rod's postseason, and his past history in Seattle and Texas. Blah blah blah. Standard fare.

Then he throws in this:

In short, the Yankees haven't reached a World Series during his watch. It isn't all A-Rod's fault, but bang for the buck? Not when it comes to ring ceremonies.

This is such a fucking gutless thing to say. It isn't A-Rod's fault, but it is A-Rod's fault. This is the same line every sportswriter in this country uses.

Yankees fans haven't forgotten those postseason stats and they won't forget the way he ditched and dissed their team.

Yeah - he should've had some kind of "loyalty" to the team that he "carried" to the playoffs by having a "fucking amazing year". Yankee fans don't give a shit about that.

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If the academy of baseball writers would like to take up arms against capitalist culture and excoriate players in general for seeking their market value, let them do so and do so openly and honestly.

If they academy of baseball writers wants to take cowardly potshots at the best player in baseball for doing so, let them expect to get excoriated on this blog.