Non-Shocker! Mike Lupica tells A-Rod to "show up," makes him Designated Yankee Scapegoat

After Alex Rodriguez's great October last year, most of the media have been mostly muted on his so-far-disappointing ALCS this year. That's a story in itself, as evidenced by what Mike Vaccaro and even notorious A-Rod basher Wally Matthews wrote on the subject today. Vaccaro said that "it isn't a matter of "if A-Rod will hit in the postseason, "it is a matter of when." But the Daily News' Mike Lupica is still writing like it's 2006, with his back-page column criticizing the third baseman.

I've never written a blog entry criticizing Lupica before, mostly because I try to avoid reading his mailed-in, cliche-ridden columns as much as possible. It's like Lupey constructed each piece in MadLibs or something -- blah blah blah, Yankee payroll, blah blah blah, the Wilpons are great, blah blah blah, let's make a lame joke at A-Rod's expense, blah blah blah, I have the greatest family in the world. Bor-ing. Shooting from the Lip? More like Snoozing from the Lip!

But I had to say something about Lupica's big screed on A-Rod, where he says that it's time for Rodriguez to show up in the postseason. Because even for Lupey, this column is ridiculously unfair. Some snippets:

The Yankees showed up on Wednesday in Game 5, they did, hundred percent. Now they have to do it again in Texas, or they become another big, bad Yankee team of this decade that got hit somewhere before the World Series and never recovered.

You know who is supposed to show up Friday night for Game 6? Alex Rodriguez. So far he has three hits in the series and only one of them - two-RBI single that Michael Young should have made a play on, eighth inning of Game 1 - has mattered. There have been times when he seemed perfectly happy to take a walk, leave it to Cano when Cano was still hitting behind him.

A few points:

* Lupica writes that "there have been times when he seemed perfectly happy to take a walk, leave it to Cano when Cano was still hitting behind him." Aside from Lupica not seeming to understand that getting on base by any means necessary is considered a good thing these days, how does he know that A-Rod "seemed perfectly happy to take a walk"? Is The King a mindreader now?

Incidentally, do you know how many times A-Rod has been walked in the eight games of the postseason?  Four -- three in the ALCS, and one in the ALDS. Do you know how many times he was walked with Marcus Thames, not Cano, batting behind him? Two. So we're talking about ONE TIME in the ALCS where A-Rod walked in front of Cano! So much for Lupica's point. At any rate, there were times in this series where I would have preferred that A-Rod take a walk, and not strike out or hit a weak dribbler or hit into a double play!

* Sure, A-Rod has had a bad postseason, but so has every other Yankee hitter not named Robinson Cano or Curtis Granderson. Not to bash Mark Teixeira, but he didn't merit a back page column when he had a .000 BA in the ALCS before getting hurt, the second year in a row he had a terrible postseason. What, is it because Tex is a "True Yankee," and A-Rod isn't? Puh-lease.

* At any rate, Lupica's article is very curiously timed, especially since Rodriguez had a good Game 5, and looked the best at the plate that he's been for the whole ALCS. A-Rod was on base three times Wednesday, twice via walks, and once via a sharply hit double to left field. (He didn't get an RBI -- Nick Swisher surely would have scored on it -- because it was a ground-rule double that bounced into the left-field seats.)

A-Rod scored the first run thanks to the first walk (so much for walks being bad!) He also hit the ball very hard a second time, but Michael Young made a great play to cost him a hit. And he looked good in the field that game, something he has not been during the series. A more fair-minded person would have seen this as a good game for Rodriguez. But that's not Lupica.  According to him, nothing Rodriguez did in this game "has mattered."  Good grief.

* Lupica does briefly mention that other players haven't stepped it up, but doesn't give them the full-throttle criticism he does A-Rod:

He's not the only one in the order who hasn't shown enough stick. Derek Jeter has hits, but has struck out six times Mark Teixeira was 0-for-14 before he got hurt. Nick Swisher is .105. Maybe the home run that Swisher hit in Game 5 is the start of something for him.

Why is it that Swisher getting only his second hit of the entire ALCS is "the start of something for him," but A-Rod having a very good Game 5 doesn't matter?

* Lupica isn't even willing to give Rodriguez credit for his huge hit with the bases loaded in Game 1,saying it was a "two-RBI single that Michael Young should have made a play on." Maybe in Lupica's world, Michael Young should have fielded that hit in Game 1, but most people think that would have been a tough play for Young to have made. I watched the video again, and broadcaster Ron Darling said that the batted ball was going "a hundred miles an hour;" thus, Young was unable to make the play. And Young did not get an error on it. So much for Lupey's great analysis.
* Finally, it takes more than one star to win a series. We saw A-Rod "show up," as Lupica would say, in September and win AL Player of the Month for his great hitting, going .295/.375./600 for the rest of  the season, with nine homers and 28 RBI . What was the Yanks' record during that time? 9-17.

What do you think? Tell us about it!

A-Rod, Andy, and a Squawker Beach Day

Squawker Jon and I took advantage of Monday's beautiful weather to head down to Asbury Park for the day. So I missed watching the Yankee game, of course, although we heard the highlights later. (About fifty times, really, given that it took us three and a half hours to get back to Staten Island - everybody in my borough seemed to be coming back from the beach at the very same time!)

Anyhow, bad things happen to other teams when they walk Mark Teixeira to face A-Rod. He's hit three grand slams that way, most recently that monster shot he hit yesterday. Fellow blogger Greg Cohen of Sliding Into Home compiled a list of all the times this has happened, and the results. And guess what? It never really works out well for the opposition - Alex is "5-for-6 with 3 HR and 18 RBI," Cohen notes, in those situations. The blog did a good job noting all the numbers, like the one time when A-Rod should have ended the game by making an out ended up with the infamous Castillo dropped popup play!

Speaking of A-Rod, we heard Lori Rubenson interview Ken Davidoff on WFAN on that long, long drive home. She started by praising Andy Pettitte for being so great this year, then mentioned Alex's grand slam, and criticized A-Rod on the steroid issue. Of course, she never mentioned that Pettitte admitted to using HGH.

This is a real disconnect that I hear a lot, now that A-Rod is heading towards 600 homers, and Pettitte is about to surpass Whitey Ford for most Yankee wins. While I think a lot of the criticism A-Rod gets is silly, I can understand why people might question the validity of his home runs because of steroids. But geez, at least be consistent. As much as I admire Andy Pettitte - he was my favorite player of the late 90s dynasty years - he is just as guilty of PED usage as Rodriguez is. If you're going to knock A-Rod for it, then you have to give Andy the same sort of treatment. Fair is fair.

But too many people don't think that way. It's easier to just pretend that the only juicers in the game were villains like A-Rod, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Manny Ramirez, instead of noting that somebody like Pettitte - one of the classiest, nicest players to ever put on the uniform - also used PEDs. To me, an upstanding citizen like Pettitte being involved makes me think that this problem was even more widespread than has been acknowledged.

Look, I'm not saying Andy should have have to wear scarlet HGH letters on his uniform or anything like that. Just that if you're having a conversation about the Yankees, and you decry No. 13's steroid use, you ought to remember what No. 46 did, too.


What do you think? Tell us about it!

Not a good day in Yankeeland

Sorry I haven't written much as of late, but I haven't gotten to see more than bits and pieces of the last few Yankee games. No truth to the rumor that I was trying to snag that pork chop on a stick!

Of course, it figures that today's debacle is one I did get to see.

First up, seeing A-Rod hit that line drive that hit David Huff in the head was brutal to watch. Yikes! Poor guy. Fortunately, Huff is already out of the hospital, and appears to be A-OK.

I was pretty peeved to see Joba Chamberlain have yet another bad outing, and for the Yankees to lose this game. Geez, you have a six-run lead, you should win the game.

Squawker Jon was so pleased about what happened, he watched the seventh inning on the replay just to see it all!

And Wally Matthews, of all people, made an interesting observation, noting how Joe Girardi referred to Chamberlain:

Afterward, Girardi could barely conceal his disgust.

"We had the game where we wanted," the manager said, his face tight and the veins in his neck throbbing. "We had our eighth-inning guy in, we needed four outs from him ... and he left pitches in the middle of the plate. He just didn't make the pitches when he had to."

Not once did he refer to his pitcher by name. Chamberlain, the darling of the final days of the old Yankee Stadium, had become "he" and "the eighth-inning guy." No longer to be trusted, neither was he fit to be named.

"Players aren't going to be bulletproof," Girardi conceded. "But he's had some bad outings. He's our eighth-inning guy and he's got to get it done for us."

Yes, that's how strange a day it was - Wally Matthews made some good points!

Enough already with the "What Will Jeter Do?" contract stories

The Yanks haven't even made it to spring training yet, but already I'm sick of all the rampant speculation about what's going to happen when Derek Jeter's contract is up at the end of the year.

I mean, really. Does anybody really think that Jeter is going to go elsewhere after this season? Come on now. He's the face of the Yankee franchise, and he will finish his career as a Yankee for two reasons: the team ownership will want to keep him because of the significant value he still has in so many ways
, and Jeter's star will be significantly dimmed if he goes elsewhere.

Brian Cashman has said he won't negotiate with Jeter, Mariano Rivera, and Joe Girardi until the 2010 season is over, which makes perfect economic sense. But it also means we're going to have a year of speculative articles like the one Tyler Kepner recently wrote for the New York Times about Jeter's contract.

Kepner's angle is that "the value of the [next Jeter] deal will also reveal something about Jeter and his true feelings about [Alex] Rodriguez." Huh?

Then Kepner wonders, "Will Jeter demand a contract that also takes him through age 42? Will he seek to make more than Rodriguez?"

Um, on what planet is Jeter going to get a contract guaranteeing him more than the $27+ million a year A-Rod makes? Heck, Rodriguez himself wouldn't get that money now, thanks to the bad state of the economy. Besides, Derek couldn't get a deal making as much as Rodriguez when he was 26 years old, but he's going to get it at age 36? And get such money up until age 42? Gimme a break.

Anyway, as Jeter said when signing his previous deal in 2001, "being the highest paid is not something I covet." But he's going to all of a sudden play hardball and demand to be paid more than A-Rod? Come on now.

Jeter's not going to ask to make more than Rodriguez - the captain is not stupid - and it's silly for Kepner to even speculate on it. But, since the writer is invested in making the Jeter contract negotiations "a new act in the always captivating Jeter/Rodriguez psychodrama," we are treated to all sorts of psychobabble, like Kepner noting that "in general terms, Rodriguez makes things complicated and Jeter keeps things simple." Gee, you think so, Tyler? Who knew!

But for all the cliched comparisons that the Times writer makes between the two players, he misses a very significant point - thanks to A-Rod, Jeter ended up with an extra $70+ million the last time around.

Here's what happened. Just before the 2000 season, the Yanks were supposed to sign Jeter for a $118.5 million, seven-year deal, but George Steinbrenner dragged his feet on doing so (he wanted to wait until Juan Gonzalez signed an even bigger deal with the Detroit Tigers first.) But the Juan Gone deal never happened, and then the A-Rod/Rangers deal went down the following winter. This meant that the Yankees ended up giving Jeter three more years - and $70 million more dollars - just to keep him on the team, and to keep them from potentially paying him even more in free agency the following winter. Remember, the Yankees-Jeter deal was the second-biggest contract in history at the time (it's now the third-biggest contract in history - A-Rod's 2007 deal with the Yankees is now No. 1.)

So what about Jeter's future? I am very confident he will stay a Yankee for life, and remain where he belongs. If he goes elsewhere in free agency, he will make a mockery of his reputation. It's just not going to happen. He's not Brett Favre, after all.

What do you think? Leave us a comment!

Kate Hudson goes on Letterman and giggles - again - about A-Rod

So, Kate Hudson went on Late Show With David Letterman this week to promote her nenw movie, "Nine." Shockingly (not really), Letterman kept on badgering her about her boyfriend, Alex Rodriguez. Anyhow, here is the clip.

A-Rod is No. 1 at something...

Alex Rodriguez may not have gotten MVP honors this postseason. And he didn't get Sportsman of the Year. But he did beat all his baseball cohorts at one big thing. According to Ask.com, A-Rod is the "most-asked about baseball athlete" on their site this year. Here's the complete list:

1. Alex Rodriguez

2. Tim Lincecum

3. Manny Ramirez

4. Derek Jeter

5. Chase Utley

6. Roy Halladay

7. Cliff Lee

8. Albert Pujols

9. Jacoby Ellsbury

10. Hideki Matsui

Source: Ask.com

I'm not the least bit surprised A-Rod is No. 1. What does surprise me is that Jacoby Ellsbury is on the list, and not, say David Ortiz. And that Joe Mauer didn't make the top 10 searched-for.

One columnist (not me!) thinks A-Rod, not Jeter, should be Sportsman of the Year

As had been rumored, Sports Illustrated named Derek Jeter today as their Sportsman of the Year. I think it was a great choice. Funny thing is, though - New York Post columnist Joel Sherman doesn't. He thinks the award should have gone to Alex Rodriguez.

Sherman wrote this in his blog entry about the Jeter rumors:

Alex Rodriguez should be the Sportsman of the Year. Before you hit me with how that title should go to someone who embodies the best in sports let’s remember that both Pete Rose and Mark McGwire have won the award, and before long we might remember that Tiger Woods has won twice.

Jeter has a brilliant year in which he became the all-time Yankees’ hit leader while remaining a high-level star who wears his pinstripes well on and off the field.

But sports are publicly messier these days, and we should not run away from that.
Heck, the initial broken story on Rodriguez’s steroid use was published by Sports Illustrated. He also touches on the advancement of sports medicine as he came back successfully from significant hip surgery months after undergoing the operation. And he was again a great player, this time finally in the postseason, as well.

In the end, A-Rod offers a story of second chances and redemption. He was a better teammate and was rewarded with the most positive feedback yet as a person while scoring that elusive championship.

Go here to read more of his reasoning, and how he wonders why Jeter is any more of a Sportsman of the Year than Mariano Rivera is.

I didn't even think there was any chance SI would pick A-Rod - the player they outed as a steroids user - as Sportsman of the Year. It seemed incongruous to me with what SI says the award is supposed to be about. So I think the Jeter selection is fine. As SI explains it:

It was that combination of on- and off-field achievement that helped make Jeter this year's Sportsman. Said Sports Illustrated Group Editor Terry McDonell, "Derek Jeter has always presented himself with class; he does numerous good works for the community with his Turn 2 Foundation, which is one of the most efficient, effective foundations of its kind; and he's extremely generous with not just his money but with his time, which in many cases is more valuable. He also had another signature year on the field."

That being said, I see Sherman's point about how "sports in 2009 are no longer just about the games, and Rodriguez touches on so many of those other important elements while remaining a unique athlete." There is something to be said for the flawed hero being a role model in his own way.

A-Rod has gotten more grief than any other active baseball player I can think of. Yes, more than Barry Bonds when he was playing - at least Giants fans didn't boo their own player. Yet Rodriguez, after hitting rock bottom, thoroughly redeemed himself, and had one of the greatest postseasons ever. One of the more moving things in the World Series film is when, after the Yankees won the series, A-Rod hugs Joe Girardi and literally weeps in his arms. Rodriguez may not be Sportsman of the Year material, but his story is inspirational in its own way.

It's why I'm so happy to see Vince Young getting his chance to shine this year with the Titans. He, too, hit rock bottom - getting benched in favor of Kerry Collins must have been hard to swallow, especially when the Collins-led Titans went 0-6 this year. Yet VY, after Tennessee owner Bud Adams finally demanded he get to play, has made the most of his opportunity, going 5-0, capped with a thrilling last-second victory against Rose Bowl nemesis Matt Leinart and the Cardinals yesterday. VY hasn't done everything right over the years, but the fact that he's flawed makes him more accessible. 

In today's sports world, there's room for both the Jeters and the A-Rods, the Bradys and the Youngs.  And that's a good thing.


What do you think? Tell us about it!

Kate Hudson giggles to Oprah about A-Rod

I wrote a mini-recap the other day on Facebook about Kate Hudson's appearance on Oprah last week, where O asked her about her relationship with Alex Rodriguez. Basically, Kate said pretty much nothing about A-Rod, but she did smile and giggle a lot!

I had to sit through, like 50 minutes about the new movie "Nine" before Oprah finally got to Kate, the person I wanted to see. After a few minutes of chit-chat about the movie, O finally broached the subject I tuned in to hear about.

"New Yorkers are thanking you," Oprah asked Kate, as she shows her that picture from the ticker tape parade, where a fan holds a sign thanking Kate Hudson for A-Rod. Kate's response? Lots of blushing, giggling, and sputtering!

Kate did a good job dodging Oprah's questions - she wouldn't even answer how she and A-Rod met, other than to say that they first met a few years ago. She gave no other details, although she did cop to being "happy" and "joyful" these days. Hudson seems like such a light-hearted, fun person. Big change from the ex-wife, she of the "wearing t-shirts with obscenities on them in front of children" fame.

Anyhow, here's a clip of Hudson from the show:

Phil Hughes and Alex Rodriguez sparkle on Memorial Day

One of the good signs for the Yankees' current hot streak is that they're playing tough against good teams. As my Rangers' fan nephew has been telling me all season, the Rangers actually have a pretty decent team this year. Which made yesterday's 11-1 victory even more impressive.

Since it was Memorial Day, the Yanks and Rangers were both wearing those red hats to honor the troops. I appreciate the sentiment - especially since my brother just went back to Iraq for his third tour over there - but it still kind of confused me a little to see the Yankees wearing red, especially when red is a primary color in the Rangers' uniform!

Phil Hughes seems to have stepped up his game since it looked like he was about to have his last start in the rotation. Giving up zero runs and only three hits over eight innings in that bandbox of a ballpark is phenomenal, especially when Alex Rodriguez single-handedly had five hits of his own for the Yanks. And Hughes wanted to complete the game, so he didn't want to shake Joe Girardi's hand after the eighth inning.

Anyhow, it was good to see a blowout, after two nailbiter games in a row. Hopefully, the Yanks will beat up on the Rangers again today.

One other note - I was glad to hear that University of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy threw a decent first pitch before the game. If he hadn't, Squawker Jon would mock me forever about my alma mater's QB not being able to throw!

* * *

In other news, I read that Jonathan Papelbon threw a hissy fit - and a towel - Saturday when a photographer took a photo of him in the dugout after the reliever gave up that homer to Omir Santos. (Click here to see him throwing the towel.) What a baby.

If Papelbon wants to be left alone, maybe he could change places with former Red Sox closer Keith Foulke, who is trying to make a comeback with the Newark Bears. Foulke griped a lot, too, about being in the media fishbowl. But he's now so eager to come back to the majors that he says he'd "even play for the Yankees"!

Hmmm, now that Brian Bruney is on the DL for the second time, could I see Brian Cashman taking a flyer on Foulke? Absolutely. I hope he doesn't, though - the last thing the Yanks need is a pitcher who hates baseball!

What do you think? Leave us a comment!

PR guru Ronn Torossian's thoughts on A-Rod, Manny, Clemens, and the Yankee front office

Can the Yankees get their new stadium filled? Did Alex Rodriguez kill his image for good by kissing himself in the mirror, dating Madonna, and using steroids? And what about how the steroid scandal has affected the reputations of Manny Ramirez and Roger Clemens? I asked a public relations expert about these issues and more.

Ronn Torossian is President & CEO of 5W Public Relations. His client list, which includes Coca-Cola, McDonald's, P.Diddy's Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group, the Christian Trinity Broadcasting Network to the President of Serbia, is as diverse as his native Bronx, he quips.

Torossian, 34, grew up five minutes from Yankee Stadium and said he used to cut school to go watch Don Mattingly and Dave Winfield play. He calls the Yankees the "icon of American sports," but says that "the entire world has taken a fall," and the team isn't immune.

"The world has changed drastically financially," Torossian notes, "and the Yankees need to change with it." He says the Yankees front office has to "be receptive to what the fans have to say" regarding their criticisms of the new Stadium.

As for the team's dealings in the press, Torossian said "I didn't love" Randy Levine's response to Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber, where the Yankee president told Garber to "worry about Beckham, not the Yankees."

How can the Yankees stand out in this challenging economic climate? By being a positive story. "Many out there would like to see sports become fun again, Torossian says, "especially in these times."

The use of performance-enhancing drugs, of course, is one of the more negative issues facing Major League Baseball. I asked Torossian his thoughts on the players caught up in the scandal - Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, and Roger Clemens.

Alex Rodriguez is "not likeable.", the PR maven says, noting "his brand has really evolved in a bad way," Besides the steroids, there was the reported relationship with Madonna and that "absurd photo" of A-Rod kissing himself in the mirror. Rodriguez "doesn't do things to help himself," Torossian says.

So what can Alex do to fix his image? Torossian has a simple solution - "shut up and play ball."

These days, Torossian says that people think ballplayers make a lot of money from endorsements, but "the reality is very few athletes make money off the field."

Manny Ramirez, the PR expert notes, is one of the players whose star power has never translated to big commercials. As for Manny's marketability, "my perception is he really doesn't care that much" about that, Torossian says.

The 5WPR CEO says "the fall of Roger Clemens" coincides with "the rise of steroids" as a hot issue.

But the biggest issue facing baseball these days is the recession. So will the Yanks weather the current stormy economic climate? Torossian says yes. While the team is affected by what's going on in the world, the Yankees "won't fail," Torossian says. "They can't fail."


What do you think? Leave us a comment!

David Wells lowers the boom on Roger Clemens and Alex Rodriguez

Yesterday was the 11th anniversary of David Wells' perfect game, and the hefty lefty was in the Stadium to do the Yankee-Twins broadcast with Ron Darling for TBS. And Wells didn't just cover the news - he made the news by unleashing on steroids.

Wells suggested that steroid users be banned for life on the first offense:

"Just ban them right out of the get-go; I think that would be great," Wells said. "No 50-game suspension. Ban them right away, that would stop it in a heartbeat -- especially with the money they are giving out today. It would be incredible if they did that. You wouldn't have to worry about steroids or HGH."

Yeah, other than that there is no test for HGH! Everybody focuses on increasing the punishment for steroids as being a deterrent, but the reality is that almost nobody fails the PED test.

Only two MLB players failed it for the 2008 season, and three in 2009. And of those three, none of the players suspended so far this year - Manny Ramirez, J.C. Romero, and Sergio Mitre - were caught with actual anabolic steroids themselves in their system. Ramirez was nailed for his high testosterone level and the prescription for the female fertility drug, while Romero and Mitre were busted for banned supplements.

So MLB could raise the penalty to not just a ban from the game, but a sentence of being forced to listen to Celine Dion 24/7, and it wouldn't matter. Most players using PEDs would still figure out a way to do their thing without getting caught.

Wells did crack me up with his comments on Alex Rodriguez and Roger Clemens. Regarding the homers A-Rod hit off him as a Ranger, Boomer opined:

"He claimed he was on the juice so, no, they shouldn't count," Wells said.

What a solipsist. Wells doesn't want all the 156 homers A-Rod hit in those years removed from the record books, just the ones against him! Funny.

Wells also got his revenge against Roger Clemens for the Rocket calling him "Eli" all those years - a contraction for "He lies":

Wells said he last saw Clemens at a Toby Keith charity golf event in Oklahoma, greeting him with the old Yankees clubhouse nickname of "Eli." He grinned when asked about the reversal in their stances -- during their playing days, Clemens was lauded for his intense workouts while Wells rarely performed more physical conditioning than running and what he called "12-ounce curls."

"For years, he called me 'Eli,'" Wells said. "You know, whatever comes out of Boomer's mouth, 'He lies.' Well, I got payback. Actually, it was great. ... And Roger didn't like it very much, but he came over and said hello."

Heh! You know Wells was bitter about that whole Eli thing - I remember reading how Clemens bragged to reporters about that clever nickname he came up with for Boomer. So I did find it funny that he got to throw it back in his face.

What do you think of David Wells? Leave us a comment!

Why I'm rooting once more for Alex Rodriguez

Do you savor and rewatch good Yankee games? I do. I was still basking in the afterglow of Friday's Yankee walkoff win when it was time to watch Saturday's game. And whaddaya know - Alex Rodriguez's tremendous walkoff homer was even more epic than the end of Friday's game.

How has this weekend been so far for the Yanks? Incredible. Nick Swisher describes the games this way in his Twitter account:

"A Rods back...back again. Hell of a win"

"Most amazing night. Couldn't have been scripted any other way. Make sure you drink your milk tomorrow. The milk man is coming"

Which reminds me, I kind of wish the Stadium had played that Eminem song "Without Me" Friday night before A-Rod's first at-bat. That's the song that goes, "Guess who's back, back again/Shady's back, tell a friend."

As it is, I can't even remember what song they played for A-Rod. But I do remember that the Stadium showed clips from "Rocky Balboa" in the ninth inning of Friday's game. Squawker Jon thought that the movie was a perfect metaphor for the Yankees - an athlete past his prime trying to recapture his glory days!

Anyhow, Alex Rodriguez, of course, hit that tremendous walkoff homer yesterday. But there has been a bit of a debate on whether to support somebody who used steroids. Here's where I stand on it:

The way A-Rod was treated over the steroids issue has changed a lot of fans' opinions about the PED issue, including mine.

As I've said more than once, it's hard not to be cynical over the issue when there are 103 other players who failed the same test as Alex, but we still don't know any of their names, more than three months after A-Rod was revealed to be a juicer. Or when there has yet to be a full-scale media investigation of Angel Presinal's other clients, including David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez, or Vladimir Guerrero. (Especially Ortiz, given what a bad season he's had, capped by his 0 for 7 performance in Thursday's game.) Or when media names like Peter Gammons make excuses for Manny Ramirez. And don't get me started on the whole Mike Piazza thing.

A-Rod's legacy is tainted, and fans and the media have a right to wonder if he's still using PEDs when he hits a homer like he did yesterday. And I have no problem whatsoever if opposing fans chant "steroids" at him or hold up foam syringes, as they did in Baltimore.

But for A-Rod to have to be the sole guy in baseball to endure the slings and arrows of the media over steroid use is ridiculous. Remember, we know about Alex using steroids in the first place because one reporter decided to investigate him personally. Do you think Selena Roberts or any other baseball reporter is going to look into any other player in the same way? Doubtful.

And from the "better late than never" department, it looks like A-Rod has been cleared of pitch-tipping charges. Selena Roberts' former employer, The New York Times, finally did some number crunching - to determine what fans like me did over two weeks ago - that A-Rod actually hit worse, not better, in Rangers blowouts. So the Times "Keeping Score" column concludes today that Alex didn't tip pitches.

That's good to know. But it would have been better to know that two weeks ago. After all, the damage is already done from Roberts' unfounded smear. Another reason fans get cynical about the press.

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Yankees have epic walkoff win thanks to a twist of fate

What a game! Last night was my third visit to the new ballpark, and I couldn't have picked a better night. I got to see a Yankee inside-the-park home run for my first time ever in person. I also got to see my first walkoff win since the Jeter-flying-into-the-stands game. And Squawker Jon was even semi-decent company. Hooray!

Friday's game had a feel of an event night, thanks to Alex Rodriguez's return. Lots of celebs in the house. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was at the game, and got cheers when he was shown on the big screen. Donald Trump got some boos. Bill O'Reilly got a ton of boos.

While A-Rod didn't do anything exciting at the plate (my home run prediction was way off), the crowd was about as pumped up for this game as I've seen them all year. Michael Kay and Paul O'Neill were just saying on this afternoon's broadcast that they thought last night's crowd was the loudest and most excited they had been all year.

But I have to criticize the fans who left the game in the seventh and eighth inning, and there were a bunch who did. I realize some of them in the upper deck were doing what I've done in the past - manuever my way down in late innings to get closer to the action. But those who left from the main and field levels have no excuse. The worst the Yankees were losing in the game was 4-1 in the middle of the seventh. Obviously, that wasn't an insurmountable lead. Too bad for those "fans"- they missed a heck of an ending.

It's funny how things worked out - Brett Gardner wouldn't even have been in the game if it weren't for Johnny Damon being ejected. Our seats, which were in the upper deck just to the right of home plate, were very good, and gave us a terrific view of Gardner's inside-the-park homer. What a thrilling moment!

Oh, and the Stadium scoreboard used this "The Melk-Man Delivers" graphic for Melky Cabrera's walkoff single. Talk about cheesy! But I was so happy for Melky, though. Liked how he threw his helmet in the air, as A-Rod famously did after hitting a walkoff homer.

We didn't know what the whole Mark Teixeira thing was about, but we assumed it somehow involved A-Rod because he was talking to the ump. But for once, A-Rod had nothing to do with it!

Speaking of A-Rod, the video screen had a graphic about him being signed by the Yanks on 1/10/07. That's embarrassing.

And speaking of Mark Teixeira, is it just me, or does he look a lot like Cotton Eye Joey?

I have to agree with Squawker Jon with the lameness of Cup Night. The concession stand's commemorative cups for beer and soda are much nicer.

As Squawker Jon noted, I did correctly predict that the Yanks would get to Joe Nathan, and that the Twins made a mistake in walking Robinson Cano. For once, I made a few correct prediction. Thank goodness for small favors!

One final note - the food report. While I still think Citi Field's food is much better, we did have the best dishes we've had at the Stadium so far. Squawker Jon and I each split a rainbow roll, chicken sliders and fries, and the Lobel's steak sandwich. All items were very good. The Lobel's sandwich, which we liked the first time we had it, was even better the second time around.

What do you think? Leave us a comment!

A-Rod's return means A-Squawker field trip to Yankee Stadium

Quick note to our readers: Squawker Jon and I are going to tonight's Yankee game so we can see Alex Rodriguez's debut at the new Yankee Stadium. Well, I'm going for that. Jon is going to celebrate Cup Night.

I bought two "Grandstand Dugout" tickets on StubHub for $17 each, plus service fees. The face value is $30 each. The tickets appear to be pretty good - very close to home plate, albeit a little high up.

Surprisingly - or maybe not so surprisingly, given that tonight is the night A-Rod returns - tickets were going fast today, and there were only about 1500 left. Several times, I tried to buy tickets that looked like a good deal, only to have somebody else buy them up before me.

Tonight will be a big test, I think, of the new Yankee Stadium. The weather is good, and it's an "event night," with A-Rod's return. If the seats aren't close to being filled, and if the crowd is lame, that won't be a good sign for the new Stadium.

But if it is, it will show the power of Alex Rodriguez to "put fannies in the seats," as George Steinbrenner used to say.

As I wrote earlier, I'm predicting A-Rod hits a homer. I'm also hoping that Phil Hughes pitches better than the last game I saw him at, against the Red Sox. And I hope that the crowd is raucous and loud and fun!

What do you think? Leave us a comment!

More of the 'Details' on A-Rod

Now it all makes sense. According to the "Details" magazine cover story about Alex Rodriguez that I wrote about the other day, he was drinking shots of Patron during the photo shoot. When some people engage in a little liquid refreshment, they talk too loud, or start singing, or call people they shouldn't call. A-Rod kisses himself. Go figure.

The story makes a whole big deal about how Alex doesn't seem fazed by the whole Selena Roberts thing coming up, as if A-Rod should have known that he would be exposed as a juicer the next day.

But here's the fallacy in that thinking. We don't know whether Selena told him the story was coming out that weekend. We also don't know whether he thought the story was going to be in the book instead of Sports Illustrated. Besides, given that Roberts is digging through his entire life, he's probably got a whole bunch of upcoming revelations to worry about. Something tells me he's made a whole lot of bad decisions we're going to hear about in Roberts' book.

What is more shocking to me - and disappointing - is that A-Rod didn't cancel the Details magazine dinner interview after what happened to him earlier that day:

He orders an iced tea and explains why he was delayed on his way to dinner. One of his daughters was taken to the hospital with a staph infection. She's going to be fine, he says, sounding relieved.

Your daughter is in the hospital, and you're wasting your time talking to a reporter? Get your priorities straight, Alex!

Here are a few more tidbits from the article:

The writer, describes A-Rod's style sense - he was wearing "a cappuccino-colored sweater, a white oxford shirt, jeans, and pristine white sneakers" - as "a little Fred Rogers, a little Jerry Seinfeld." Ouch!

Besides gushing about how what a good friend Madonna is, A-Rod's also seen wearing one of those Kabbalah red strings around his wrist.

A-Rod wanted - but didn't get to take home - an old-time scale from the old Yankee Stadium. He said "Babe Ruth weighed himself on that scale. Joe DiMaggio. Mickey Mantle. I would have paid a funny number for that."

Alex voted for Obama, lost money in the stock market, claims to ride the subway to games, and feels sympathy for Michael Phelps:

"We live in a world right now where everyone's keeping score," Rodriguez says of the hunger for scandal. "And it doesn't stop when the games end. . . . They've crossed over. And you have the Internet stuff, and all these phones. . . . It's very intense."

All true, Alex. But maybe you shouldn't give the media something to squawk about by getting photographed looking like you're in love with yourself.

What do you think? Leave us a comment!

What is the Madonna song title A-Rod wanted removed from an interview?

Forget any thoughts that all would be quiet on the A-Rod front while he recovers from torn labrum surgery. Today Alex is on the cover of the New York Post, kissing his own reflection. The headline is "I love you sooo much."

The photo is from A-Rod's upcoming cover story with Details magazine. But maybe even the Post is getting tired of writing about Alex - he has to share the cover with Barack Obama!

According to the Post:

The mag captures A-Rod's essence, with pictures of him smooching his own reflection, stretching his toned muscles on a bare mattress and brooding seductively for the camera.

Rodriguez wore Calvin Klein T-shirts and tank tops for the spread, evocative of the designer's sexy, envelope-pushing ads.

Click here to see another picture of A-Rod looking into the mirror.

Good grief.

I'm a big proponent of self-deprecation, and perhaps this is A-Rod's attempt of mocking his own image. Maybe this would work if he were in Hollywood. But Alex has never understood that this type of publicity, while part of the game if you're pushing a new movie, doesn't exactly fly in the baseball world.

A-Rod's got, what, at least a half-dozen people on his payroll working on his image, and telling him how to handle the media?

I can give him some much better advice for free: Here's a nice steaming cup of shut the heck up, Alex. Drink it.

Alex also discusses Madonna in the interview, calling her "an amazing entertainer." He also told Jason Gay, the reporter interviewing him, the name of his favorite Madonna song, a tidbit he "frantically reached out to him after the interview to retract" because he didn't want the song to be played by the team's opponents at every game.

So now I'm wondering which Madonna song is his favorite. And you know, there really isn't a good answer to that one for a professional ballplayer, except maybe Madge's "This Used to Be My Playground" from "A League of Their Own."

But I think these Madonna songs would be particularly embarrassing to be the most-played on A-Rod's iPod:

* "American Pie" - I thought the Brady Bunch did the worst cover version ever of Don McLean's classic hit. I was wrong.
* "Like a Virgin" - Although I still think of Weird Al's "Like a Surgeon" parody whenever I hear this song.
* "Vogue" - Think the tan in a can and the frosted tips were a bit much? How about this song as an A-Rod fave!
* "Material Girl" - Oooh, the Material Girl and the Material Boy hook up. Charming.
* "You Must Love Me" - This "Evita" soundtrack song really does fit A-Rod's personality, though. Are we going to have to start calling him A-Vita?


But what do you think? What's your guess for A-Rod's favorite Madonna song? Leave us a comment!

If A-Rod's life were a soap opera, would it be called "The Young and the Stupid"?

A few notes this morning of a variety of things happening in Squawkerland:

* I wrote a piece for PerpetualPost.com about what soap-operaish developments may happen in Alex Rodriguez's life, while he recovers from hip surgery. Click here to read the article.

* As somebody who is partially of Dutch descent, I am very excited over the Netherlands team's triumphs so far in the World Baseball Classic. (Hmmm, wonder if A-Rod will get the blame for the Domnican team losing to the Dutch without him?) And I'm figuring that if the Netherlands wins it all, or at least goes further, there will be a "Cool Runnings" type movie coming up about the team. Who knew that Sidney Ponson and Randall Simon were the stuff of miracles?

Anyhow, I wondered what the odds are in the WBC, so I talked to Shane Ford, Head Lines Manager, at BookMaker.com about it. He said, "Lots of money now coming in on the USA to win it, especially with the Dominicans now out. USA started the tournament at +250, and now are +150 favorites. The Netherlands were a whopping 250/1 before the tournament started and now are 30/1."

Does it make me a bad American to root for the Dutch? First the Mets vs. Red Sox dilemma on who to root against at the Citi Field game I'm going to, and now this!

What do you think? Leave us a comment!

How will the Yankees do without A-Rod?

It's the biggest Yankee health drama since Babe Ruth had a bellyache - or at least since Carl Pavano bruised his buttocks. Alex Rodriguez - and his torn labrum - are going under the knife today. It should take six to nine weeks to heal, which means he should be back either in April or May.

Some columnists seem almost gleeful over A-Rod being off the team that long, as if his absence will bring back the good old days of the late 90s.

Joel Sherman, in an article entitled "How the Yanks Could Survive (And Thrive) Without A-Rod," writes:

During the 1996 and 1998-2000 seasons, there were 152 instances of a player hitting more than 30 homers. None came from a Yankee, and yet they won the championship in all four of those seasons..... The Yankees three-peated from 1998-2000, and in that period, Scott Brosius hit 52 homers - or two fewer than Rodriguez hit in 2007. From 1998-2000, the Yanks won 33 playoff games, in 2007 they won one.

So, yes, you can win without an all-time slugging third baseman.

The New York Times' Harvey Araton writes:

Maybe the Yankees will hold their own with improved pitching, for which there was no shortage of off-season expenditure, and the brand of baseball that won them four World Series during a five-year stretch almost a decade ago. This is not to say that A-Rod is fundamentally unsound; it’s more his all-thumbs approach to life, his exceedingly unsubtle presence as the reigning clubhouse hub.

For all the talk of the late 90s dynasty, and whether the Yankees could survive without a superstar, there is another example that Sherman and Araton missed. The team didn't just survive but thrive when a big-name Yankee was knocked out due to injury from the beginning of the season until mid-May. Unlike recent years, when the Yanks struggled in the spring, the Bombers went 26-11 in his absence. Yet when this big name returned to the lineup, the Yanks lost 11 of their next 14 games.

That injured superstar was Derek Jeter.

Does that mean the Yankees were better off without him? Of course not.

But for all his drama and histrionics, A-Rod did win two MVPs as a Yankee, and the team would not have made the playoffs either of those years without him at third. It would be nice to see somebody remember that, instead of just waxing nostalgic for the days of Scott Brosius.
What do you think? Leave us a comment!

Mets could learn from Yankees on injury news

A-Rod is going under the knife, but at least the Yankees have an idea of when to expect him back and what to expect during the season. Johan Santana is said to be fine, no longer needs an MRI, and Opening Day is again a possibility for him. Obviously, the news is much better on Santana than on A-Rod as of now. But as far as future medical news on both players is concerned, at this point, I'm more inclined to trust the Yankees than the Mets.

Whatever else you can say about A-Rod, he hasn't tried to blame the Yankees for not realizing that the hip irregularity they saw on an MRI last year was actually something more serious. And the Yankees haven't tried to blame A-Rod's steroid use for his injury. The two sides have worked together to come up with what seems like a good compromise - lesser surgery that gets A-Rod back by May and leaves him healthy enough to play well for the rest of the season, leaving the more serious surgery for the offseason.

Even if A-Rod does not come back as quickly as hoped, or is not as productive as expected once he does come back, fans and media are unlikely to blame A-Rod or the Yankees for misleading them, since no one can say for certain how the surgery will turn out.

As for the Mets, when Johan Santana's elbow troubles surfaced, player and coach had different stories. Then, after saying the Santana had to go to New York for an MRI, as if there were no MRI machines in Florida - one is even advertised at Tradition Field! - the Mets canceled the trip because they said it was no longer necessary.

But fans and media who had been burned last year when injuries to Ryan Church, Billy Wagner and even Angel Pagan were originally underreported, wondered if the trip was really canceled only because it was snowing in New York.

When the trend of underreporting injuries is combined with finger-pointing, it's easy to conclude that there's something to hide. And that someone is not telling the whole truth.

Fortunately, the finger-pointing has died down as the Santana elbow story is (we hope) dying down as well.

Maybe the Mets need to get one of their doctors in front of the media sooner when these situations come up. Getting the story from A-Rod's hip surgeon makes the story a lot more credible than if it came from, say, one of A-Rod's relatives, much less A-Rod himself. And the doctor is a lot less likely to point fingers.

A-Rod's A-Hip problem means A--Mess for Yankees

I have a busy day ahead of me, after a busy day yesterday, so I don't have time for a full-fledged Squawk. But the A-Rod hip news, combined with the Yanks missing out on Manny Ramirez, has me down.

Alex Rodriguez is the oxygen thief of all oxygen thieves, to be sure. Squawker Jon wrote yesterday about it. And I do agree with Jon that there is a reality show idea in there. In addition to Squawker Jon's choices of A-Rod, T.O, and Manny, you could have Michael Jackson, Octomom, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan trapped in a room, trying to see which one can get the most attention. Sheesh.

On a more serious note, this really messes up the Yanks' season, obviously. If A-Rod needs to have the surgery eventually, though, I would prefer he do it sooner rather than later. I do wonder why he didn't get this checked out last year, when the hip was first bothering him.

What do you think? Leave us a comment!