Alex Rodriguez, call the WAAAAAAAAmbulance!

[Missy Vixen]

At the risk of being called insensitive or worse, may I present the latest excuse from PayRod's camp as to why he couldn't crack a .200 batting average during the playoffs?

One knows it's bad when one has to send out his MOMMY to make excuses. Randy Johnson tried this when he was with Seattle. It didn't work then, either. If PayRod's publicist thought this one up, he or she should be fired. In the meantime, I am sorry to hear of their family's loss, but it's incredibly stupid to use it as an excuse...

PayRod, be a man. Tell the press that you just weren't playing your best. Is that too much to ask?

Julie
still has no love for PayRod, Seattle's answer to everlasting athlete's foot

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/4997394

Associated Press
Posted: 29 minutes ago


> SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) - Alex Rodriguez played poorly in the Yankees' American League division series loss in part because he was saddened by the death of the uncle who raised him, the slugger's mother said in an interview published in a local newspaper Sunday.

Lourdes Navarro said her son kept the Sept. 30 death of his uncle to himself because he was committed to helping his team win.
"I think he should speak with the team and tell them that his uncle, who was like his father because he raised him since he was 8, died in a hospital in Miami," Navarro told Listin daily newspaper.

Navarro didn't say what caused the death of Augusto Bolivar Navarro, who was her last surviving brother.<

[Missy Vixen]

1. I can't believe that nobody else here is as nauseated as I am

over PayRod's latest hijinks...

:kick:

Julie

[KitchenWitch]

2. Oh, I am

I just saw this.

The man is making 25 brazillian a year, he ought to be able to shut his emotions off for that kind of change.

[Oeditpus Rex]

5. Was it 25 brazillion this year?

I thought his contract peaked at 21 brazillion.

[KitchenWitch]

6. what is 4 brazillion between friends?

:eyes:

[Oeditpus Rex]

8. A brazillion times more than I make

:grr:

[KitchenWitch]

9. I know!

Me too!

:nuke:

[Oeditpus Rex]

18. I once figured out that he makes

something like $1,700 per AT-BAT!

That's just wrong. :grr:

[philosophie_en_rose]

3. Seattle lanced that boil off her ass.

Let's never speak of it again. :)

[Missy Vixen]

4. The pain lives on

For twenty five million a year, I'd count myself extremely fortunate if the rest of the team farted in my general direction. With that kind of scratch, one could send a huge and showy bouquet with, "Love, The Front Office" twice a week to oneself and never miss the money. What the hell is WRONG with that guy?

Julie

[philosophie_en_rose]

7. I wish there was a term for a rich "welfare queen"

"Welfare queens" are generally a myth, but then you have these assholes like Payrod that just can't get enough. I mean, it's one thing to have a crappy season. It's another to be a whiny baby.

Good Riddance. The "superstars" of the Mariners have a tendency to stray and leave the team wobbly for a bit, but good freaking riddance.

[Missy Vixen]

10. I have a term,

but it would probably get me deleted. :woohoo:

I'm sure PayRod will have a great time spending the offseason putting "Bush/Cheney" stickers all over his neighborhood or something. What a tool.

Julie

[NYC Liberal]

11. His MOTHER said this not him. Sheesh.

It's in the first sentence.

[Missy Vixen]

12. I think Mom was coached

Of course, this is my opinion.

Julie

[NYC Liberal]

13. I don't think he'd have a problem saying it himself

IMHO

[Missy Vixen]

14. Okay, just throwing this one out here

Why did he send his mother out to do his dirty work? If he was so intent on "helping the team," why not just keep his mouth shut on the subject?

Again, IMHO, but perhaps the Yankees' front office is a bit concerned about their multi-million per year acquisition.

Julie

[NYC Liberal]

16. We don't know he "sent" his mother out, that's the point.

People see things and then they assume things that can't be assumed. He *did* keep his mouth shut.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

21. LOL-bottom line, the 2 highest profile megamamillion acquisitions by the

spankeez this year, Payrod and Randy Johnson, were a bust during the playoffs.

They better be "concerned".

[Missy Vixen]

22. Randy Johnson isn't whining

as much as he used to. I think his representation must have alerted him that he wasn't helping his own cause.

I'm wondering how Derek Jeter and PayRod are getting along these days. :eyes:

Julie

[petronius]

15. Didn't he say "I played like a dog" after the series was over

I could be thinking of someone else, but that sounds like a pretty stand-up assessment...

[NYC Liberal]

17. Thank you - I forgot about that.

Let's see what A-ROD (and not his mom) had to say, shall we?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2005/news/story?id=2187221

"I played great baseball all year, and I played like a dog the last five days. I can't put it into words. This is as low as it gets. I felt good, I saw the ball well," Rodriguez said. "If I would have contributed some, maybe we would be moving on to Chicago.

"I've got to take a long look in the mirror because I didn't do my part. I mean, you win and lose as a team, but I didn't show up."

Wait, you mean he took responsibility and DIDN'T blame his uncle's death? :o

[Missy Vixen]

25. If he used one more cliche in that statement

he'd get some kind of prize. "Didn't show up?" Uh, he's paid $1700 for every at-bat, it might be nice if he brought his A-game.

At the risk of being terminally cynical, I don't buy the "humble" act from PayRod. I also don't buy that his mother made her statement yesterday without a lot of coaching from someone, and I'm voting for his publicist. I'm also guessing he's getting a lot of heat from the Yankees front office -- HOW many years has it been since they failed to make the playoffs? If the Yankees say anything about his subpar performance, now they're the shits. After all, he was grieving.

He was a whiner in Seattle, he whined in Texas, now he's whining again. WAAAAAAAAAmbulance.

Julie

[WindRavenX]

19. Yes

And actually, despite his low BA in the playoffs, his OBP was respectable because pitchers were essentially pitching around him; the real culprits were Matsui and Sheffield.
ARod gets a pass from me because he got the Yankees in the playoff in the first place.
I have no doubt he'll come through next year.
And let's be real: the Yankees lost because of pitching- not offense. Randy Johnson does his job in game 3, the Yankees win the ALDS.

[northzax]

26. I thought that's what everyone said last year

that A-Rod would come through this year.

Look, in a regular season game, he's in the top two or three players in baseball. in the playoffs, in crunch time, he is outplayed by other, lesser players, all the time. Derek Jeter can't hold a candle to A-Rod's pure talent and ability, and over 163 games, that shows, but two men on, bottom of the ninth, down by one, who do you want batting, the brilliant A-Rod, or the clutch Jeter?

[WindRavenX]

33. Keep in mind that Barry Bonds was considered "unclutch" as well

The difference is that Jeter has has HUGE sample size of postseason AB; and from this sample size it is clear that he is consistent in the postseason. However,Jeter (and I LOVE Jeter) benefits from this a lot. I think that it is unfair to label ARod as unclutch, as ARod has no where near the post season experience that Jeter does.
I really do believe he will pull through next post season. But the problem with these 5 game division series is that it's too short to get an idea of whether he "choked" or whether he was just going thru an ill-timed slump.
I also dislike how Johnson and Matsui have been pretty blameless in the ALDS loss- Matsui didn't even draw walks, which at least ARod was able to do. Matsui and Sheffield nearly always were AB with runners on, and they didn't perform at all. In the few times ARod did, he didn't perform. But the difference here, again, is sample size.
Just some food for thought.

[northzax]

34. neither Godzilla nor sheffield is the highest paid player in baseball

the more money you make, the better you have to play in clutch situations to justify it. I would look at the three playoff series he's had with the Yankees (you can also add in the weekend series against the Red Sox this year, which was in essence a win or go home situation) and he hasn't performed even at a mediocre level. if he's willing to take the money, he needs to take the blame when he doesn't do the job.

oh, and who said Bonds was clutch? his only advantage is that people are so scared of him he walks to the plate with an intimindation advantage. But he's never outperformed in the playoffs, or when it really mattered. He's also never really been in those situations.

[WindRavenX]

35. Ok, here's a problem for me in discussing this

How are we defining "clutch"? Because really, that's the heart of this discussion. Being clutch is something that is, in my opinion, extremely hard to objectively value- the commonly used BA w/ RISP is only part of the picture; high team OBP is a team stat that directly affects the players' BA w/RISP. And as I've mentioned before, ARod has been in situations where he has not always had runners on whereas Matsui and Sheffield have had more instances to succeed. It comes down again to sample size...
Regarding your point about his pay, I do this that's another unfair critisism (although I do think that all athletes are grossly overpaid) towards ARod. He's overvalued. It's not fair to expect him to perform better because he is paid more, that's an artificial correlation of performance with value; also, most of ARod's salary isn't paid by the Yankee- the Rangers are paying a large chunk of it.
Oh, I don't know if you read it, but ARod did say he played like a dog in the series. So he has taken a large part of the responsibility, and rightly so, for a player of his calibur can certainly carry the team, as we saw all season long.
My comment about Bonds' was pretty much the media's response to Bonds before...the 2001 season, I think. Bonds didn't have a great deal of post season experience, and what experience he did have it was pretty poor- something like a .180 BA. But that changed quickly.
Anyway, it seems like you're an intelligent baseball fan. I enjoy discussing this with you :hi:

[northzax]

36. but the whole point of averages

is that sample sizes can be extrapolated. anyway. How to define 'clutch'? there is no one statistic that can adequately address it, although you might come close with some combination of BA(RISDP), BA last two innings when down by one or two, BA on the road in the playoffs, Fielding percentage in games currently separated by one or two runs, BA in October, and the like. but what it really is is a psychological phenomenon. who is the guy you want batting (or pitching, or fielding) when the season is on the line? Who is the guy that the other team doesn't want batting, pitching or fielding, when their season is on the line?

not performing well under pressure is normal, we all do it to some extent or another. performing better is what makes a performer special. and it's mental, it has nothing to do with physical ability. I don't envy A-rod on this (I do envy his paycheck, of course) the longer you fail under pressure, the harder it is to succeed (and, of course, the greater the relief if you do) the thing about sports is that you are define by those moments, more than almost anywhere else (at least in the public arena) And the greater your presence, the greater the pressure. Take someone like David Beckham, for all his success, he missed a penalty kick in the 98 world cup, that's what people remember.

It's purely psychological, the deer in the headlights look of someone getting hit with an unexpected body blow, some people respond, others crumble (see: George Walker Bush, September 11, 2001) no amount of after the fact apology changes the cruel reality that, when the chips were on the table, you blinked. That's what A-rod has to deal with now. If he's lucky, he will have an opportunity to change that history next year, or the year after, he's still young, and a fine player, but until he does (and there is always that reality that, in sports, he may not) he's saddled with the choke.

most players get one or two chances, in their careers, to define themselves, (see: Scott Norwood) it's a cruel reality, but the reason that they are paid millions of dollars a year (or in Arod's case, a month) to perform. And A-Rod knows it.

[WindRavenX]

37. you can only extrapolate if you have a decent size to begin with

...extrapolation is reliable only when you have a decent sample size to begin with.You need a large sample before that extrapolation becomes reliable. And IMO,because of this, it isn't fair YET to completely label ARod as unclutch.
There is a lot of psychological trauma around ARod- he comes from a troubled family and is actually seeing a therapist.
I hope he turns it around.

[northzax]

39. and my point was

you are lucky to get one opportunity to succeed in the playoffs, let alone two. How many ALCS did Ted Williams get to play in? you aren't guaranteed these chances, no matter how good you are, and the great ones take advantage of them all (baseball, more than any other sport, limits your playoff chances, in any other sport, if you play a key position, and have a career for the ages, you will make the playoffs more than you won't, one great player can take a hockey team, or a basketball team to the playoffs. Football is a little tougher, but a great player will still have more chances, if his career lasts longer than average (how many times did Barry Sanders make the playoffs, after all?)

maybe A-rod will get the chance, maybe he won't.

[WindRavenX]

40. Agreed

But we're still, I see, struggling to define what "clutch" is ;)

[HuckleB]

20. Who cares? All that matters now are the White Sox, Astros and Cardinals!

Go WHITE SOX!

[LynneSin]

23. BTW, here's another reason to find A-Rod nauseating

http://www.newsmeat.com/sports_political_donations/Alex_Rodriguez.php

Yep - That's George W. Bush he donated to

[VelmaD]

24. Well, this is a new low around here

I don't like the Yankees and I don't like A-Rod but Jeezus h christ on a popsicle stick. You lose the man who raised you and see if you can get by without it affecting you at all.

Hell, I lost someone who had been my best friend for just about 2 years this summer and there are still days where the depression is all but crippling and I am practically useless. And that's just with someone I knew for two years. When the man who raised me dies...I will fall completely apart.

Have a little human compassion.

[northzax]

28. sure, but what about all the great players

who have played through this kind of pain, when their teams needed them? Jordan in the playoffs after his father was killed, Brett Favre on Monday Night the day after his mother died, Clemens (last week, natch) with a two hitter, in the playoffs, two days after his mother died? none asked for sympathy, they stood up and played better.


If A-Rod couldn't play, he should have asked to be removed from the lineup.

[VelmaD]

29. Different people respond differently...

to this kind of stress.

I'm not the person to post a ringing defense of A-Rod...as a Rangers fan I was up close and personal with his issues. My issue is with the tone some of the people in this thread have taken.

[sasquatch]

27. Did he limpwrist slap the guy that brought him the news?

:D

[Nye Bevan]

30. Aww, poor May-Rod, AAA-Rod, Double Play-Rod!

[alarcojon]

32. Thanks for reminding us of THAT stand-up play

what a guy, that Pay-Rod

[peekaloo]

31. His nickname fits. A-Rod. case closed.

:D

[Deja Q]

38. A-Hole, whoops A-Rod, gets $500,000 every time he picks up a bat.

If he screws up, let him go. Especially for that salary.

Any of us in a high paying job would get the axe for one little mistake.

[DisgustedTX]

41. BIG PAPI

:)