Alex Rodriguez Speaks...
...about re-signing with Yankees and firing Beelzebub (Scott Boras). Here goes:
"So to make the right decision just feels really good," Rodriguez said, "versus being taken down a road where I'm like, 'Oh, my God, where am I? Oh, $400 million to play in some place I hate? Great, I'll blow my --- head off.' "I wanted to remain a Yankee and for once I put my money where my mouth was. It felt good to make a decision on my own and execute it - to deal with Hank and Hal (Steinbrenner) on a one-on-one basis and get a deal done. "If people want to question why I did it, I don't care because it made me happy. If I had gone to Team X, Y or Z, it wouldn't have made me happy. It would have been because Scott wanted me to go - it would have been for the most money. And then I'm always going to be known as a guy who always wanted the most money."
Well, we certainly wouldn't want anyone to blow their heads off over being stuck somewhere with $400 million dollars, so, glad he didn't that THAT particular cross to bear. And, I am not sure that staying in New York for just under $300 million will really drop the tag of him as plays-for-money guy, but I guess he can always hope.
"My wife and daughter both love New York," said A-Rod. "Four days after I opted out (and was living in Miami), my daughter says, 'I really miss my bedroom and my toys in New York.' I wanted to shoot myself. I said to my wife, 'What the --- are we doing?'
When it was suggested that some players never put such personal considerations ahead of the best deal, A-Rod nodded. "That was me - and now it's not," he said. "That's the difference between being 24 and 32. And that's what I'm proud of."
Wow, Rogriguez cusses as much as I do. Which is saying something. At any rate, I am still not sold that people are going to buy the sacrifice-to-stay-with-the-Yankees spin, but, hey have at it. At the least, this next part should make Rodriguez owners and Yankees fans happy:
"Once you start letting go a little bit, things start coming to you a little easier," A-Rod said. "They did for me last year. In the past, I've always said, 'I have to do this and I have to do that,' mainly because of the expectations. Now I've come to a point where, if I get a hit with the bases loaded, cool, and if I don't, so what? Next at-bat. Or next game. People always want it to be about the .individual battle with me, but I just want to be part of this team, and I think that will help me get to where I want to go....
"I want to believe it's the same with me. If I had gone to Detroit or someplace and I don't win, people are going to hammer me, because there's no loyalty, and by moving again, I don't represent anything. Instead, I'm planting my roots here and saying I want to win with one team and represent something as a Yankee the rest of my career. I think it's the right way to do it."
Guess he's been stung by the mercenary tag over the years. And if he feels more comfortable at the plate as a Yankee, I would suspect we can expect his ridiculous numbers to continue to accumulated as he moves through his 30s. As for New York winning a World Series again? That is going to rest more on the development of Phillip Huges, Joba Chamberlin, and Ian Kennedy than on Rodriguez sustaining his excellence.