The Sports Illustrated cover story about A-Rod and his struggles as a Yankee is out today and it doesn’t paint A-Rod or his teammates’ lack of support (despite what they say) in a very flattering way.
The short version goes like this:
- A-Rod is a baseball narcissist that loves his numbers more than he cares about winning.
- Jason Giambi told Joe Torre to stop “coddling” A-Rod.
- Unidentified teammate: “I think he ought to get his eyes checked. I’m not kidding. I don’t think he’s seeing the ball.”
- Another teammate: “It was always about the numbers in [Seattle and Texas] for him. And that doesn’t matter here. Winning is all you’re judged on here.”
- Another teammate: “I honestly think he might be afraid of the ball.”
- A-Rod basically ignores his hitting coach Don Mattingly
- Giambi challenged A-Rod on his lack of big hits and A-Rod responded that he was finee and got 5 hits in Boston. Giambi told him, “You f—— call those hits?” Giambi said. “You had two f—— dinkers to rightfield and a ball that bounced over the third baseman! Look at how many pitches you missed!”
- A-Rod thinks the only reason people hate him is because of his contract and often compares his stats to his peers which is a baseball no-no.
It’s going to be a rough October and offseason for A-Rod unless he delivers in the clutch and the Yankees win the World Series.
