From Nick Cafardo in the Boston Globe:
Red Sox fans won’t want to read this, but here goes.
Great players do great things. And Alex Rodriguez is one of the greatest.
Sox fans will resist every inkling in their bodies to admit that. They’ll bring up steroids, and incidents such as the ones with Jason Varitek and Dallas Braden. They’ll never give him his due, but the fact is he stepped to the plate with his team trailing, 9-7, in the bottom of the ninth inning last night and slammed a two-run homer on the first pitch from Jonathan Papelbon to tie the score.
But who is Hong Kong Phooey then?
(breaking out the ABC Saturday morning cartoon characters of yore)
[1] Dunno, but we do know Captain Caveman has left the Bronx and now plays for the Tiggers.
Yeah, but Cafardo is still an idiot.
Bad writer, too.
[3] yeah he is an ass - but nice to see him giving alex credit - even though it is probably mostly to rub salt in boston fan's wounds.
[1] did you ever see the hair bears diane?
[4]
Hair Bears? (shudder)
I do remember "Secret Squirrel".
It's really amazing that Arod was so maligned for so long. By just about every measure you can imagine, Arod has been the best and most "clutch" Yankee since he got here. The number of big HRs he has hit is really incredible.
It's funny....after years of hearing Red Sox fans look upon not getting Arod as a blessing, and many Yankee fans actually considering him a curse, we've come full circle and only know are people starting to give him credit for being the most dynamic Yankee since Mantle.
[5] the hair bears were cool - it was these 3 wacky bears that kept escaping from the zoo.
[6] yep, very true. i work with this nutty woman who still won't give him any credit.
i really don't get it - he has been an amazing player.
6) So true. And 7) I've had the same experiences. People who STILL hate A Rod and think he stinks.
NYY (7 yrs) 927 gm, .300 .400 .563 .963 - 151 OPS+
SEA (7 yrs) 790 gm, .309 .374 .561 .934 - 137 OPS+
TEX (3 yrs) 485 gm, .305 .395 .615 1.011 - 155 OPS+
Wow, ARod was just 28 when we got him. 28!
ARod was 25-27 yrs old with Texas. While his slugging is up (his Home SLG was .100 higher then his Away SLG those 3 years), his numbers are amazingly consistant.
After 2012, he will have played more Games as a Yankee then Sea and Tex combined.
His current career Reg.. Season stats: .304 .389 .574 .963
His current career Post. Season stats: .302 .409 .568 .977
His current career World Series Stats: .250 .423 .550 .973
[6] It's not amazing when you consider the fan base, who take their cues from the media who in several cases have established themselves as a bunch of clowns.
Agree completely on A-Rod. I always thought he didn't get enough credit for moving to 3B when he was always the better SS. From there he just wasn't appreciated. A big part of the problem of course is 2004. If the Yanks finished off the Sox, Alex would have gotten off to a much better start.
On the Sox, it's worth noting that after the Yanks they go home for two against the Twins then 6 on the road against the Phillies and Rays. They could easily lose 6 or 7 games be looking at being three or four under water at the end of May. For as much as people want to talk about the Yankees last year, missing Ellsbury and Cameron is not like missing A-Rod and Jorge. Moreover, Hermida and McDonald have pretty much replaced that offense. Other than that, the problems are not easily fixed. They're poorly constructed and with no backup plans. When V-Mart catches the pitching is looking at a .775 OPS against (.715 for Varitek).
[9] Nice comp!
A-Rod with the NY on his HOF cap. Amazing to realize that day will come in our life times.
[12] never underestimate the piousness of the BBWAA
[13] Sure, but then most of those old farts will die while we're alive. I worry about guys like PeteAbe, but I think even he will come around to the obvious. A-Rod will be made to pay but there's no chance they keep him out indefinitely.