A Sports First...
Okay, this is the first time I'm gonna break down and talk about something in sports.
Alex Rodriguez gets more shit from EVERYONE in the sports world than fucking Pete "The Better" Rose. I don't think either did anything wrong, but someone needs to stand up and say something. A-Rod gets hassled by the New York fans on a regular basis. I know they're harsh as average people, and are harsh as sports fans, but god damn.
The guy makes an error, and he gets booed. He hits a game winning homerun and gets a standing-o. He makes an error and they don't even give up a run and he gets booed.
All right, I get it. They have NASTY expectations. That's fine.
However, the real reason that I brought this point up, is that I just took a poll on ESPN's SportsNation, and 70.2% of 10,000+ voted that when A-Rod slapped the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove in the 2004 ALCS, they "thought less of him as a player." (The other option was "More" of a player.)
I selected "More."
The guy is running to a base, and realizes he's going to get tagged out. Baseball has a rule, that you can't run outside the basepath or you'll be called out. So, his options are, get tagged and be over it, or try to do something else.
Granted, he could have stuck his arms in the air, danced around, and started screaming in an attempt to throw Bronson off his game, but that's a bit far-fetched, as well as unlikely to succeed. Instead, A-Rod attempted to replicate a catcher-crunching hit at the plate to knock the ball loose, and tried to slap it out of Bronson's glove. (The ball actually came out, too) Unfortunately for Alex, they called him out anyway, because the ball hit him first and apparently you can't interfere with the ball.
First of all, I think this poses a problem for baseball's ruling authority, because running into the catcher effectively does the exact same thing, doesn't it? I don't know the rulebook by hand and I'm not even going to look it up and read it, because my major point lies further into the examination of A-Rod's thought process.
If he were to get tagged out, people would be sad, and he'd probably be blamed for not getting a solid hit or putting the ball over the fence. Instead, he didn't get a hit, something GREAT baseball players can only do 35% of the time. Doesn't the fact that the guy tried to slap the ball out of his opponent's glove demonstrate his utmost desire to get on base and help his team? Doesn't it show that he was doing all he could to get to that base? Doesn't it show that he would try ANYTHING, as strange as it may seem, to help the Yankees win?
OF COURSE IT DOES. It may have been a stupid play, and he might have known that it wouldn't work, but you sure as hell can't say the play makes you think LESS of him as a player.
Fucking morons with votes...
I hate you all.
Alex Rodriguez gets more shit from EVERYONE in the sports world than fucking Pete "The Better" Rose. I don't think either did anything wrong, but someone needs to stand up and say something. A-Rod gets hassled by the New York fans on a regular basis. I know they're harsh as average people, and are harsh as sports fans, but god damn.
The guy makes an error, and he gets booed. He hits a game winning homerun and gets a standing-o. He makes an error and they don't even give up a run and he gets booed.
All right, I get it. They have NASTY expectations. That's fine.
However, the real reason that I brought this point up, is that I just took a poll on ESPN's SportsNation, and 70.2% of 10,000+ voted that when A-Rod slapped the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove in the 2004 ALCS, they "thought less of him as a player." (The other option was "More" of a player.)
I selected "More."
The guy is running to a base, and realizes he's going to get tagged out. Baseball has a rule, that you can't run outside the basepath or you'll be called out. So, his options are, get tagged and be over it, or try to do something else.
Granted, he could have stuck his arms in the air, danced around, and started screaming in an attempt to throw Bronson off his game, but that's a bit far-fetched, as well as unlikely to succeed. Instead, A-Rod attempted to replicate a catcher-crunching hit at the plate to knock the ball loose, and tried to slap it out of Bronson's glove. (The ball actually came out, too) Unfortunately for Alex, they called him out anyway, because the ball hit him first and apparently you can't interfere with the ball.
First of all, I think this poses a problem for baseball's ruling authority, because running into the catcher effectively does the exact same thing, doesn't it? I don't know the rulebook by hand and I'm not even going to look it up and read it, because my major point lies further into the examination of A-Rod's thought process.
If he were to get tagged out, people would be sad, and he'd probably be blamed for not getting a solid hit or putting the ball over the fence. Instead, he didn't get a hit, something GREAT baseball players can only do 35% of the time. Doesn't the fact that the guy tried to slap the ball out of his opponent's glove demonstrate his utmost desire to get on base and help his team? Doesn't it show that he was doing all he could to get to that base? Doesn't it show that he would try ANYTHING, as strange as it may seem, to help the Yankees win?
OF COURSE IT DOES. It may have been a stupid play, and he might have known that it wouldn't work, but you sure as hell can't say the play makes you think LESS of him as a player.
Fucking morons with votes...
I hate you all.
posted by Travis at 2:14 PM
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