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Alex Rodriguez is having a season up to his pay. So why isn't it being celebrated more?
Alex Rodriguez is having a terrific season. The type of season that not only would garner him another MVP Award, but also one that's been so good, it has been amazingly under appreciated by the New York media.
Under appreciated? What!! That's absurd.
With the money he's making, the highest in all of baseball history, what more attention does he deserve? His jealousy is so common throughout baseball that certain Red Sox's players like Trot Nixon , coming off ending the most notorious curse in sports history, prefer to denounce him as having no heart to be a "true" Yankee instead of relishing in championship glory.
How is his season under appreciated at any level for a guy having more money than several teams' pay rolls? Well, it wouldn't be labeled as under appreciated for several reasons. Reasons that have made this year's Yankee's season as predictable as picking the right Lottery numbers. Rodriguez's mammoth homers and sparkling defensive play are devoid of all the respect it should capture because there have been more roller-coaster adventures with the Yankees this summer than at Six Flags.
Carl Pavano is done for the season after his fastball wasn't even part of it at any point. Jason Giambi has gone from lambasted, embarrassed, and silent cheat into exalted comeback player of the decade. Randy Johnson , no matter how great his stuff is at certain points, has a fastball that is just good now, not intimidating nor great like it has been in the past. Robinson Cano has been an exciting rookie with rookie being the key word. Bernie Williams's professionalism and clutch hitting of late haven't balance the fact that his days as a Yankee are coming to an end. Mariano Rivera has gone from done to invincible to being human again. And Joe Torre has danced the fine line of job security and being on the hot seat time after time this season.
All of this with 29 more games to go.
To be honest, it's hard to predict what is going to happen with the Yankees the rest of the way, even if the Oakland A's continue to play like they did the first two and a half months of the season or the Boston Red Sox continue to play musical chairs with their pitching situation.
But a few things are sure to continue for the $200 million team, supposedly the greatest team money could buy. Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui will continue to be in the shadow of both Rodriguez and Jeter, but their roles to team will just be as pivotal to the teams success, if there is any this season. Matsui will continue to be out there everyday playing in left field, always being fundamentally sound, while Sheffield, no matter what he says or how it's interpreted in a magazine, will continue to produce the runs in the clutch like Perdue produces chicken.
However, Rodriguez has displayed this season why he is the highest paid player in the game, even if Rangers's owner Tom Hicks still is thought to be insane with the offer he gave him four years ago. Moments like the three home run game against Bartlon Colon and the Angels that almost produced the first four home run cycle in major league history. The enormous game tying homerun against the Clevaland Indians [a team that is now the main competition for the AL Wild Card] a few weeks back. The stellar play at third base and the .320, 35 HR, 100 RBI total. And yet, Rodriguez received more attention last year about when was he going to have his Yankee moment like Giambi did that night against the Minnesota Twins in 2002. More attention when the Yankee suffered the debacle of all debacles against the Red Sox last October about why he went so quiet in the series besides the infamous ball slapping Game 6 incident.
Instead, other things that weren't expected to happen this season for the Yankees have overshadowed the season we been waiting for to happen for AROD. How could anyone with $25 million dollars not get attention up to his salary?
Alex Rodriguez, that's who. The quietest $25 million dollar season ever. His season is going just as quietly as it did with the Texas Rangers.
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