A-Rod kinda nuked himself, I think.

[WilliamPitt]

http://www.nypost.com/sports/yankees/spoiled_rotten_yankees_andrew_marchand.htm

Giambi reportedly told Joe Torre to "stop coddling" Rodriguez. Giambi denied this last night, but it seemed to be confirmed in the story by Torre, whom, it should be noted, figures to have a strong relationship with the author of the article, Tom Verducci, since they wrote a book together nearly a decade ago.

Giambi said that Rodriguez displayed a "false confidence" during his struggles.

Giambi said, "He's guessing and he's doing a bad job of it, which is inevitable when you guess as often as he guesses. He's squeezing the sawdust out of the bat."

An unidentified teammate said, "I think he ought to get his eyes checked. I'm not kidding. I don't think he's seeing the ball."

Another said, "I honestly think he might be afraid of the ball."

A Yankees veteran said, "It was always about the numbers in (Seattle and Texas) for him. And that doesn't matter here. Winning is all you're judged on here."

A Yankee said, "One thing people don't like is his body language. Too much of what he does on the field looks ... scripted."

Giambi publicly confirms the division between Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. He is quoted describing the "the heat that exists between" the two.

After the Giambi nudge, Torre had a very stern meeting with Rodriguez in Seattle last month, but at the end of SI story, Rodriguez didn't seem to recall the details of the discussion.

In defending himself, A-Rod mentioned negative stats or the amount of money that Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Mike Mussina, Giambi, Reggie Jackson and the A's Eric Chavez had or make. This is considered a no-no in baseball clubhouses.

(snip)

Rodriguez also seemed to cause more trouble for himself by mentioning other players struggles to defend himself.

"Reggie hit .230 one year," Rodriguez told SI. "That's awful. He struck out 170-something times in a year. I don't care who you are, extremes are just part of the game. I was awful (in Anaheim), but Jeter was 0 for 32 (in 2004), Mo blew three games in one week (last year) ... Everybody goes through it.

"Mussina doesn't get hammered at all," Rodriguez said. "He's making a boatload of money. Giambi's making ($20.4 million), which is fine and dandy, but it seems those guys get a pass. When people write about me, I don't know if it's (because) I'm good-looking, I'm biracial, I make the most money, I play on the most popular team ... "

...more...

(ouch)

[Broken_Hero]

1. As a Mariner fan...I could really give a flip

how A-rod is doing really. I dont mean him any disrepect, but he is underperforming this year....

[NoGOP]

2. He just can't handle it.

The two toughest gigs in Baseball are the Yankees and the Red Sox. Some guys just don't have the makeup to handle the criticism and expectations from the fans and the media. The reason Jeter does well is it seems like he's one of the guys. I just don't get that feel with E Rod. I also don't with Peyton Manning. It seems like every response, every gesture has been thought out beforehand with a think tank of agents and PR people before it's executed.

[sabbat hunter]

3. considering giambi's numbers

giambi should STFU. he is hitting .250 and if doenst walk or hit a homer, most of the time he will weakly ground out to 2nd. he tries to pull everything, even a pitch on the outside part of the plate, leading to a ton of ground outs. there is a reason they play the shift on him.

[bigwillq]

4. I am a Yankees fan but

think A-Rod sounds like a cry baby. He's had a tough year, no doubt about it, but didn't have to mention other people's struggles.

He needs to work on some issues and he'll be fine.
Although he has put up some big numbers in the Bronx, I don't think A-Rod will ever be truly comfortable playing in N.Y.

Some people just can't handle it. I don't think he could. He'll do alright because he is that talented but the mental toughness is just not there.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. The NY Daily News doesn't think so:

That's gonna leave a mark. :blush: