The easiest target in baseball — probably in all sports — should just make life simpler for his detractors by replacing the No. 13 with a bull’s-eye.
Look, Alex Rodriguez always has been Alex Rodriguez’s worst enemy, and perhaps his litany of career sins — runaway ego and greed mixed with steroids — is never going to be absolved, even if A-Rod has offered a better version of himself the past two years.
Nevertheless, at some point legitimate critique of Rodriguez has been usurped by something close to piling on. He is the fish in the barrel and shooting at him has become a hard-to-break habit. It feels like the fun, easy game that anyone can play.
Of all people, Hank Aaron took a bunch of unwarranted shots at Rodriguez a few weeks back in this newspaper. And in the April 4 issue of ESPN the Magazine an anonymous player decided A-Rod needed to be worked over, as well.
In the regular Player X segment, a copy of which I obtained before publication, the anonymous player decides to view the negotiation breakdown between Albert Pujols and the Cardinals through the A-Rod prism. He writes: “Every guy I know in MLB would rather have Pujols hitting on his side than Alex Rodriguez, so I think Camp Albert has every right to want more money than Rodriguez makes. A-Rod is overpaid. Sure, he plays third, a more premium position on defense than first, but even if they played the same spot, I’d take Pujols.
“Everything he does at the plate he does well. His career numbers trump Hank Aaron’s at this stage, and his supporting cast is nowhere near A-Rod’s. Rodriguez’s numbers, on the other hand, are inflated. He’s mostly played in smaller ballparks or been surrounded by hitters so good he can just pound away.” OK, let’s see if I get this argument: Pujols is better than A-Rod. Is there anyone arguing the contrary? Is there a shame to being an inferior player to Pujols? Heck, Player X points out that Pujols’ numbers trump Aaron’s. Should we follow by lambasting Aaron’s career for not being as good as Pujols’. Should Kobe Bryant be ashamed of not being Michael Jordan?
If the point is that Pujols deserves more money, fine, I don’t think Rodriguez has said publicly that Pujols shouldn’t make more. If you have trouble with how much Rodriguez is paid, you might want to question the Yankees’ sanity for giving it rather than A-Rod’s motives for asking.
As for Rodriguez’s numbers being inflated, it is interesting that Player X does not go to steroids to make the charge, but rather talks about big lineups and small ballparks. Does that mean Robinson Cano also is overrated, because he hits in Yankee Stadium in that lineup? Do we now downgrade anything, say, Adrian Gonzalez does by moving from big Petco Park and a barren lineup in San Diego to Fenway Park and the stacked Red Sox?
A few weeks back in his always terrific Sunday Q & A, my colleague, Steve Serby, quoted Aaron taking a few slaps at Rodriguez for not having his baseball priorities in order. Among other insults, Aaron said, “Rodriguez has got too many irons in the fire, right now. I think his head’s not level enough to the point where he can have the kind of year that it takes in order to go by all of the records in the book.”
Again, Rodriguez is an easy target on many things, but focus on baseball is not one of them. His harshest detractors would concede Rodriguez obsesses on preparation; that he has the mentality of a baseball gym rat. If you think Cameron Diaz, for example, is keeping him from being ready for the 2011 season, you are wrong.
In fact, Scott Boras, no fan of Rodriguez since being fired as his agent, still defended Rodriguez on this issue.
“There is no one in baseball more committed to his workouts, routines and his performance in the game than Alex Rodriguez,” he said by phone yesterday. “I have known him since he was 16, and his commitment to the game has never ever wavered.”
Rodriguez really has worked in the past two seasons to be a better teammate, to emphasize winning and clubhouse chemistry. But his history of saying and doing dumb things apparently continues to trump all else; continues to make him the easiest target in the game.