But, for now, Spring Training! Wee! Yes, I am a baseball fan. And yes, even worse (according to some) I am a Yankees fan. And damn proud of it!
Despite dating a man who is a passionate Red-Sox fan, I love New York and everything in it. Except for A-Rod... (and Giambi and Damon, but after I explain my burning hatred for Alex Rodruigez, perhaps you'll understand why).
In this latest (well, the first on here, but not the first for those who know me, personally) criticism of the tight-bunned, dreamy eyed, overpaid superstar, I am referring to his recent admission of taking banned substances to enhance his playing abilities (see this here to learn more). Although I would love to see the Yankees use their bulging wallet to field the best team possible, I really disagree with a lot of their choices in players. I think there are certain things that money can't buy, and one of those things is sportsmanship. Another is respect.
A-Rod is a great player, but he is a real jerk. It's one thing to be talented and know it, it's quite another to act like an overpaid prima-donna. I don't care if he'll go down as one of baseball's greats. I really don't care if he is the youngest player to have hit 500 home runs... the man is a CHEATER for using those substances. Giambi, too. Players who care more about breaking records than helping their teams get to the playoffs are just... well, I can't think of anything intelligent to call them. They're just douche bags.
Yeah, yeah, I know. Baseball is a business, like any others. Team managers might be more concerned with bringing fans into the stadium than bringing home the World Series', but the Yankees should be different. The thing that used to bring fans into the stadium was the fact that we won so many World Series. (You know, I really don't like other "fans" who like the Yanks simply because they win, but that's the truth...) Now, it seems like we're assembling a "dream team" of clowns and cheaters. Sure, A-Rod has a bunch of home runs... but how many of those runs have helped the Yankees when it COUNTED? As I recall, he doesn't seem to come up big (most of the time) in the post-season.
I'd rather see the Yanks bring on some young, new talent who they want to develop, like they did with Jeter. Not just BUY a team of jerks. Hell, I'm surprised they didn't whore themselves out and offer a contract to Manny (if there's any player I dislike more than A-Rod, it's Manny freaking Ramirez...)
I respected the Yankees when I first became a fan because the team had so much heart. They, to me, represented excellence and discipline and all that was good about the game. My heart was with them. Now... not so much. They are losing their edge, as far as I am concerned, because they are taking on players like A-Rod: "high performing" players, who bring in fans, but aren't bringing home the bacon as far as titles go.
It broke my heart to hear that Andy Petite used steroids (seems like a lot of players on the Texas Rangers used this stuff... that's supposedly when Giambi and A-Rod were using... when they were with Texas). But I would say the same of him, as well, even though he is a player that I greatly admired and loved. He, arguably, used them to recover from an injury (which, I guess, is a borderline case). But players like Giambi and A-Rod... there's no excuse as far as I am concerned. EVERY professional athlete is under pressure to excel. Hell, high school athletes are, too. That doesn't mean you cheat!!!!
As Cashman stated (and Stark keenly picked up on), A-Rod is an asset. He didn't even seem to have confidence (Cashman) in A-Rod as a player, or a person. He is an asset... and quite frankly, right now, he seems more like a liability. Between scandals involving his personal life (you think most baseball players are faithful husbands and not partying it up? Please, be realistic... but how come A-Rod is the one flaunting it?!), prior substance abuse, and dramatic relationships with other players (remember that whole Jeteer-A-rod catfight a few years back?), what good does A-Rod do for the Yankees? What good at all?
I think if the Yankees put their money into developing a new A-Rod, they would be better off than just trying to buy themselves a World Series. And this is speaking as a sincere Yankees fan.
But here is why I still love the Yankees...
I loved Jeter's reaction to this. He could have been negative and attacked A-Rod (like the rest of us...), but no. He was a true captain, and came to his team mate's (and the sport's) defense:
One thing that is irritating and it really upsets me a lot is when you hear everybody say, 'It was the steroid era. Everybody was doing it.' You know, that's not true. Everybody was not doing it," he [Jeter] said.I think it sends the wrong message to fans, to baseball fans; I think it sends the wrong message to kids, saying that everybody was doing it, because that's just not the truth. I understand there's a lot of people who are big-name players that have come out and allegedly done this and done that, but everybody wasn't doing it.
"We're here to support him through it," Jeter said. "I don't condone what he did. We don't condone what he did. And Alex doesn't condone what he did. And I think at this point now it's our jobs to try to help him be as comfortable as he can on the field and try to move past this.
I do not fall into the category of forgiving fans... but that also may come from my previous dislike of A-Rod. But Jeter and Cashman, in the end, are right. They bought A-Rod, now they're stuck with him. They have to support him and stand by him and they are. Here's hoping that all this will be resolved soon and that we can all get back to the game.
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