A free pass for Jeter but not for A-Rod
Posted: Saturday, August 30, 2008 11:56 AM
Alex Rodriguez is being publicly humbled in New York. No surprise for A-Rod as he knows the rules of Gotham: He who takes the money gets both the glory and the grief. And coming up short so often in the clutch can bring a whole lot of grief one’s way. But a double standard exists in New York and don’t think it’s not at the root of some of A-Rod’s issues.
Tuesday night the Yankees had Andy Pettitte pitching in the opener of a survival series against the Red Sox. In the third inning, Pettitte jammed Jason Bay who hit a 26-hopper/roller up the middle. Derek Jeter never touched the ball, making a very late and futile dive as it bounded past him into centerfield for a RBI single. Pettitte slammed the air in frustration.
Those who try to analyze defensive play and performance through stats have long exposed Jeter’s lack of range. It is not a welcome topic of conversation in New York. In Tuesday’s game recaps, A-Rod was tormented for his offensive failures. Not one word was written or spoken about Jeter’s glaring defensive weakness that set up an important inning for the Red Sox.
How erratic is finding pitching? Brad Ziegler is now the Oakland closer. He’s a player who rose from independent ball but has wrenched the job from top draft pick Huston Street. While across San Francisco Bay, Tim Lincecum is establishing himself as the NL’s best young arm. Baseball America’s Best Tools survey of uniformed and front office and scout personnel ranked Lincecum as the league’s second-best starter.
As the Dodgers crash through the East, there’s further proof of pitching’s unstable nature: Clayton Kershaw, their answer to Lincecum, is whacked around by Washington and then, after the game, sent back to the minors.
After getting nothing from the four-year deal signed by Cristian Guzman, the Nationals may relish the two-year extension they reached with the shortstop last month. Guzman hit for the cycle Thursday night and his offense has been a rare bright topic in a horrid year for Washington.
Even when Scott Boras wins, he’s not satisfied. A grievance has been filed by the super agent over the agreement reached by Pedro Alvarez, Vanderbilt star who is “advised” by Boras and the Pirates. There was a record $6 million bonus but Boras has complained that the deal was reached one hour after the deadline.
Pirates president Frank Connelly came out of the Commissioner’s Office where he heavily advocated restraint in teams doling out signing bonus money. Not everyone has followed the word but Boras helped the mold. Sadly for all involved, Boras is not happy, although he has not uttered one word of complaint about the player picked after Alvarez, who signed with Kansas City about a minute after Alvarez for similar money. Boras and Connelly are longtime adversaries. We might be seeing proof of that.
At the Beijing airport, I checked in for the flight home alongside the bronze medal USA baseball team. One person I sought out was Matt La Porta. If you didn’t see any of the baseball games at the Olympics, La Porta took a pitch in the neck below his left ear in a heated game with China. There had been hard slides from both teams, hit batsmen and tight pitches and it all culminated with the frightening moment for La Porta, the centerpiece of Cleveland’s trade of CC Sabathia to Milwaukee.
Turns out La Porta was fine. He missed the next two games but returned to homer in the bronze medal game. I asked him if there were any lingering issues and he said no. He also said he had never before been hit by a pitch anywhere near the head. La Porta offered no blame, only the time-honored baseball stance that things had gotten out of hand in the emotions of the game. While the Indians exhale, La Porta said he was heading back to finish out at Double-A with no word about a September call up.
In baseball’s Olympic farewell, South Korea stunned Cuba for gold. Ed Lynch, part of the USA contingent, told me that both the Koreans and Japanese brought a major league all-star team. And there lies the reason for baseball’s demise in the Olympic world – the best Americans – the major league stars -- don’t play. International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge hinted baseball would not be back in the Games until major league players from the United States were allowed to take part. Now the ball – or in this case the baseball – is in MLB’s court. What it does with it could determine if baseball returns for the 2016 Olympics.
FOUR MORE SWINGS:
1. Was jolted by the realization that the final Yankees-Red Sox series at Yankee Stadium is over and it’s still August How can there not be a September farewell?
2. While the Mets play well enough to hold the NL East lead, a position that will be threatened on their annual long U.S. Open-driven trip (Philadelphia, Florida and Milwaukee), it is the second Carlos on the Mets, he being Carlos Delgado, who is leading them with excellent numbers since the All-Star break. The first Carlos on the team, Carlos Beltran, hasn’t been nearly as productive as Delgado since the break but his grand slam against the Marlins last night was huge.
3. Junior Griffey has only a handful of extra-base hits since joining the White Sox. Meanwhile, overshadowed by the breakout year of Carlos Quentin, Jermaine Dye is having another strong season and has earned the immense praise of manager Ozzie Guillen as the team’s anchor.
4. It still looks like the Cubs will be tough to beat in a short series. Rich Harden is healthy, Jeff Samardzija has added depth to a strong bullpen, Kerry Wood is back and Carlos Marmol has incredible numbers. It could be a terrific October matchup if Arizona with Brandon Webb, Dan Haren and Randy Johnson meets the Cubs with Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster and Harden.
