The Agony Of Being Slappy

Today, a great article from Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated came out about the struggles of Alex Rodriguez, called, "A-Rod Agonistes." No matter where you stand on the subject of Rodriguez, it's worth your time to read it, and the New York media feeding frenzy has already begun on it.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/magazine/09/19/arod0925/index.html

There are a lot of great lines and quotes in it, like this one:

For 11 summers Rodriguez had been the master of self-sufficiency, a baseball Narcissus who found pride and comfort gazing upon the reflection of his beautiful statistics. His game, like his appearance, was wrinkle-free. Indeed, in December 2003, when the Red Sox were frantically trying to acquire Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers, several Boston executives called on Rodriguez in his New York hotel suite after 1 a.m. Rodriguez answered the door in a perfectly pressed suit, tie knotted tight to his stiff collar. The Red Sox officials found such polished attire at such a late hour odd, even unsettling.

And this:

"I can't help that I'm a bright person," he said last month. "I know that's not a great quote to give, but I can't pretend to play dumb and stupid."

And another:

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

It's without question an article that most people who follow baseball will be talking about. From the article, it sounds like Rodriguez is not exactly a beloved figure in the Yankee clubhouse (and the backhanded slaps he takes at teammates like Mike Mussina and Jason Giambi won't help his case). He sounds like a lonely man in that place, and he wants the whole world to love him. But he also sounds way too self-absorbed, which is hardly a rarity in any baseball clubhouse. Most Yankee fans see right through him, and have decided to beat him up for every little thing, whether deserved or not.

I'm not a Yankee fan. Rodriguez wears the pinstripes, and makes an eight-figure salary yearly. No sympathy from my corner of the world.

Take the time to read it, and reach your own conclusions.