A-Rod Dirty? Maybe. A Dork? Definitely
Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez recently caused a stir when, while trying to break up a double play, he threw an elbow at Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Pedroia took exception with A-Rod’s awkward slide:
“He went in late and kind of threw an elbow. It was a little cheap but no big deal. I’ll remember. I play second base. I’ve got to turn two with the Yankees 19 times a year, so I know now when he’s coming in, my (arm) slot gets dropped to the floor. That’s it.”
I was initially surprised by the candidness of Pedroia’s comments. Baseball code generally dictates that rookies are seen and not heard. Yet I’m impressed with the lack of intimidation shown by Pedroia, and at 5-8, 180 pounds it’s probably that gumption that got him to the big leagues in the first place.
“It was an awkward slide. We we’re fighting for every run. I’m playing as hard as I can. I kind of came up. I definitely didn’t roll or anything like that. It was definitely not intentional… Every run for us is like huge. I’m just not going to go in like a little baby doll and try to hug him. I’m trying to play hard.”
So was it a dirty play? No doubt. I fail to see how anyone without bias can look at A-Rod’s slide and consider it clean. Has worse happened on a baseball field? Sure, but that doesn’t make the slide any less dirty. A-Rod slid into second base, and after realizing he was no where near Pedroia, sprung up at a completely different angle. Instead of reaching for Pedroia, which is what he would have done if he had actually lost his balance, he lunges at him with a lead elbow.
A-Rod’s lying. You’d have to be blind to believe his explanation. A-Rod would have faired better with the truth. “I realized my first slide wasn’t good enough to break up the double play, so I got up and threw an elbow at him. Whatever it takes to win, I’m going to do it.” But that’s not A-Rod’s style.
Even more comical was the official league reaction:
“It’s how the play developed. It happened fast. I don’t believe there was any intent to harm Pedroia.”
Not intentional? If the league doesn’t think the play deserves punishment then fine. No one was injured. But to say the elbow wasn’t intentional leads me to believe either the official is blind or an idiot. I played baseball for a long time and watched even longer, and I’ve never seen that slide before. It didn’t just develop. It was intentional.
Yankee fans and even former players have been rallying around the play as a sign of fight in what many thought was a lifeless team. Some even comparing it to Jason Varitek’s memorable season changing fight with A-Rod during the 2004 season.
(Off-topic: Other than t-shirts and other traditional items the photograph of Varitek shoving his glove into A-Rod’s face is the most prevalent souvenir sold at Fenway Park. It’s everywhere. Yankee fans have a different view of that fight, believing Varitek should have taken each piece of catching gear off before defending pitcher Bronson Arroyo. Arod is 6-3, 225. Arroyo weighed in at 6-5, 190 pounds. Pedroia comes in at 5-9, 180 pounds. Notice a pattern? Legend says Varitek told A-Rod “ we don’t throw at .260 hitters”, and though he denies every saying it, it makes a good story.)
Which is strange, since not only was the slide dirty, but in typical A-Rod style, it was awkward to the point of being embarrassing. A comment at the Baseball Think Factory sums up my feelings:
“What striking to me here isn’t that ARod is a dirty player – what he does isn’t much worse than what others do – but that he doesn’t seem able to play dirty the way everyone else does. He has to do it in a way that sticks out, that looks unnatural, that looks sort of silly, and that gets him in trouble. He plays baseball like he’s profoundly uncomfortable out there, which is really weird for the guy who’s like the best player alive.”
Which is what I’ve been saying for years. From the slap, to his “Derek and I no longer have sleep-overs” comment, to the awkward elbow thrown at Pedroia, A-Rod is a dork on and off the field. He is the antitheses to Derek Jeter. Jeter exudes cool. Home run? Error? Strike out? It doesn’t matter, Jeter looks cool doing it. Derek Jeter is the kind of guy that can walk into a bar with a better looking date than yours on one arm and leave with your date on his other. A-Rod is the kind of guy that, despite making more money per minute than you’ll make in a lifetime, you merely chuckle at when he hits on your date.
If it had been Jeter breaking up the double play and not A-Rod it would have endeed with Pedroia helping him up and asking for his autograph. But this was A-Rod, so we get a play that will be photoshopped for years to come.
The play and resulting controversy led to speculation that the Red Sox would retaliate the next night, and Schilling certainly isn’t the type of pitcher that would shy away from a confrontation. The game, however, was played without incident, which was fine with me. The problem with throwing at A-Rod is that it wouldn’t end there. Instead of fighting with a team playing under .500 ball they should spend the energy burying them. But what of August when the division is settled one way or another?
Considering that for several years now Yankee fans have wanted Ortiz knocked on his butt for simply being Ortiz, a baseball in the middle of A-Rod’s back wouldn’t be unwarranted. Besides, just the thought of A-Rod charging the mound with those giant hamburger helper hands would make it worthwhile.
