[轉錄] Baseball needs healthy A-Rod

看板A-Rod作者veronica4 (Veronica)時間18年前 (2006/04/10 22:26)推噓1(1推 0噓 0→)

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http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMDYmZmdi ZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY5MTQ3NjMmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2 Sunday, April 9, 2006 By BOB KLAPISCH ANAHEIM, Calif. -- It was opening day 2005, when Johnny Damon broke ranks with Red Sox Nation and committed heresy: He apologized to Alex Rodriguez for the harsh depiction of the Yankee slugger in the best-selling book "Idiot." Damon had no reason to make amends other than his guilty conscience. After all, he wouldn't become A-Rod's teammate for another year, and he could've just as easily let the stab wound fester – especially after the Sox had spent spring training verbally attacking Rodriguez. But Damon could no longer be part of the anti-A-Rod army, not after realizing, "I really got carried away with the Yankees-Red Sox thing" when writing about Rodriguez. In the book, Damon was critical of Rodriguez's maneuvering to get out of Seattle and Texas. "He signed that huge contract with the Rangers and then when Texas didn't win, he wanted out of it," Damon wrote. "Well, you signed the contract. Honor it. Yeah. A-Rod wants to win, but so does everyone else. What would happen if every player decided to get out of his contract just because his team wasn't winning." When Damon finally spoke to Rodriguez in person, he asked to be forgiven, saying, "The way I perceived you was wrong." Damon now admits, "Some of the things I wrote in the book, I was a real [jerk]." Rodriguez not only accepted Damon's apology – "I told Johnny it was no big thing" – he would later become a key figure in the Yankees' recruitment of the center fielder during free agency. The temporary animosity quickly morphed into friendship; Damon now says A-Rod is "one of the greatest guys in this [Yankee] clubhouse." If there's any justice in the baseball world, Damon's conversion is only the beginning. Over time, the industry will recognize Rodriguez for the star he is, not to mention the Yankees' best hope of ending a five-year championship drought. This isn't about A-Rod's struggles in the postseason the last two years. It's not about his embarrassing slap at Bronson Arroyo in the 2004 AL Championship Series, or his silly waffling during the World Baseball Classic. Anyone looking for Rodriguez's flaws will find them; no doubt, he bleeds. But in an era that will be remembered for steroid cheaters, Rodriguez is coming through the chute without even a scratch on his reputation. As overwhelming as the evidence is that Barry Bonds has been juicing since 1999 – and is on the way to defrauding America out of Hank Aaron's home run record – A-Rod has never once come under suspicion. That's a powerful endorsement of a slugger who has 439 home runs by the age of 30. Rodriguez knows he has a chance to pass Babe Ruth, Aaron and Bonds – "staying healthy is everything" – and in doing so, will be the solution Bud Selig desperately seeks. No matter what special investigator George Mitchell uncovers about steroids, the commissioner won't have the guts to void Bonds' home runs. Instead, he'll wait for the Feds to make punishment easy, indicting him either for perjury or tax evasion. And if that doesn't happen, Selig will turn his lonely gaze to A-Rod. No matter how many homers Bonds hits after passing Aaron, Selig will say his prayers that Rodriguez finishes with one more. Think of the pressure, then, as Rodriquez approaches career home run No. 700 in, say, six years – just as his current contract is expiring. If Selig was leaning on A-Rod to participate in the WBC, he'll practically beg A-Rod to sign another contract just to wipe Bonds' homers off the books. Question is, would A-Rod play another three or four summers, just to take Selig off the hook? The Yankee third baseman isn't looking that far into the future, of course. And he's staying well above the fray as Bonds' alleged cheating is being examined by everyone, including the Internal Revenue Service. When asked, for instance, if he considered steroid use a violation of baseball's moral code, Rodriguez would only say, "I'm not going to pass judgment on that issue. That's just not for me to say." Still, Rodriguez made his point about hitting without the help of performance -enhancing drugs. "The longer I'm around, time will weigh in my favor," he said. "[Former Seattle teammate] Jay Buhner once told me, "You're either a [jerk] or you're not in this game. People eventually figure you out. "You can't cheat the fans without it becoming obvious. You either play hard or you don't. To me, it's all about the love of the game, which I've always had." Rodriguez's quest for full acceptance in the Yankee community needs one more boost – a World Series triumph, which may or may not happen in 2006. But in the meantime, he continues to obsess over every at-bat, committed to a work ethic that leaves teammates shaking their heads. Asked if there's any Yankee who works harder than Rodriguez – sees more batting practice pitches, studies more video of opposing pitchers, lives and dies with every swing the way A-Rod does – Damon took a quick, visual poll of the clubhouse. He looked in Derek Jeter's direction. Then Gary Sheffield's, followed by Hideki Matsui and Jason Giambi. Finally, Damon shook his head. "No one," is what he said. -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 218.160.123.177