Jeter glows in spotlight; A-Rod melts
Jeter glows in spotlight; A-Rod melts
August 18, 2006
New York - The most intriguing one-sided rivalry in sports ventures back onto the big stage in Boston today and you can't wait to see just what kind of cruel fate will befall one side thanks to the other.
You can't help but be mesmerized and amused by it any more, gawking at the twists and turns that forever cement one side's dominance.
No, not Yankees-Red Sox. That one balanced itself out a while ago and promises to be as evenly matched and exciting as ever throughout the five-game series at Fenway Park.
We're talking about Alex Rodriguez vs. Derek Jeter.
This one's getting as wickedly wild as Yankees-Sox used to be.
So maybe A-Rod will book the best restaurant in Boston only to find Jeter sitting at his table. Maybe he'll save a kid from an onrushing car only to hear Jeter snatched triplets from a lion's jaws. Maybe A-Rod will finally hit a big grand slam ... while Jeter smashes two.
And maybe this will be the weekend A-Rod finally has a "Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!" styled meltdown to match his inferiority complex as poor little Jan Brady once did.
To his credit, Rodriguez managed to avoid doing just that yesterday though he had plenty of reason to after the Yankees' 12-2 loss to the Orioles. Instead he simply offered a joking "mercy, mercy" as he ended his interviews.
But it could be coming soon since A-Rod will be in the spotlight that usually seems to scald him even as it shines on Jeter.
Especially since yesterday's game provided one more example of just how far under Jeter's shadow Rodriguez has found himself.
Even when A-Rod does nothing wrong in a low-pressure situation.
Even when — and this is the best part — Jeter makes the error.
Such was the case in the sixth yesterday with the Yankees down 10-2 when A-Rod had a popup hit his glove ... only to have Jeter come charging over and bump into him, knocking the ball out.
The fans booed — A-Rod, of course. The official scorer ruled the play an error — on A-Rod, of course. And so it continued.
Only later would scorer Howie Karpin review the tape and give Jeter the error for impeding Rodriguez on the play.
Only it wouldn't matter.
Because Joe Torre would indicate it was Rodriguez's mistake by saying, "If Jeter called it, it's his and Alex didn't get out of the way."
Because Jeter seemed as calmly confident as ever in discussing the play and dismissing any sense of wrongdoing as well as any concern over the ruling of the play.
"What happened?" Jeter said, repeating the question. "It was dropped. That was pretty much it. It was hit. I was calling it. I guess he didn't hear me. ... But that's it. That's all the story you can do with a popup."
Uh, I wouldn't go running to Paul Lo Duca with a wager on that one just yet ...
If it was about any other players on any other team in any other town, sure, that would be it. And, granted, we would have felt a little silly making any more out of this than that if not for what soon happened after that.
Because when Jeter was told the play was changed to be called his error, the Yankees' captain offered a blunt, honest response of "Really? I didn't touch it ... I mean, I don't know how ... I don't care." Except, that apparently wasn't the case.
Because a few minutes later, Jeter was spotted in a stairwell outside the clubhouse speaking to the official scorer. Which usually means a player is trying to get a play changed in his favor.
Especially since Karpin had already made a point of getting Jeter's take on the play in the clubhouse prior to the meeting in the stairwell.
You can't help but wonder if it was any other teammate other than the man who once questioned his leadership and skills so long ago, Jeter might have just eaten the error without a second thought. You can't help but wonder if Jeter — who has been called overrated and was expected by many to take a backseat to A-Rod when he first arrived in town — doesn't take some pride in his star actually growing thanks to A-Rod's often inept behavior.
But even if that's the case, Jeter has done a much better job of keeping such feelings from becoming evident and from affecting his performance — unlike Rodriguez, who always wants to show he's a leader so badly he does the opposite.
"I mean, it's a popup," Jeter said, laughingly dismissing the play. A-Rod tried to be just as dismissive, saying it was a "goofy play" that "kind of epitomized the day."
But the way it all went down captured a lot more than a bad day. It gave one more glimpse into the most one-sided rivalry in sports — where one high-profile teammate can't ever seem to catch up with the other.
Dave Buscema's column appears regularly. Contact him at buscema@hotmail.com.
Record Online is brought to you by the Times Herald-Record, serving New York"s Hudson Valley and the Catskills.
August 18, 2006
New York - The most intriguing one-sided rivalry in sports ventures back onto the big stage in Boston today and you can't wait to see just what kind of cruel fate will befall one side thanks to the other.
You can't help but be mesmerized and amused by it any more, gawking at the twists and turns that forever cement one side's dominance.
No, not Yankees-Red Sox. That one balanced itself out a while ago and promises to be as evenly matched and exciting as ever throughout the five-game series at Fenway Park.
We're talking about Alex Rodriguez vs. Derek Jeter.
This one's getting as wickedly wild as Yankees-Sox used to be.
So maybe A-Rod will book the best restaurant in Boston only to find Jeter sitting at his table. Maybe he'll save a kid from an onrushing car only to hear Jeter snatched triplets from a lion's jaws. Maybe A-Rod will finally hit a big grand slam ... while Jeter smashes two.
And maybe this will be the weekend A-Rod finally has a "Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!" styled meltdown to match his inferiority complex as poor little Jan Brady once did.
To his credit, Rodriguez managed to avoid doing just that yesterday though he had plenty of reason to after the Yankees' 12-2 loss to the Orioles. Instead he simply offered a joking "mercy, mercy" as he ended his interviews.
But it could be coming soon since A-Rod will be in the spotlight that usually seems to scald him even as it shines on Jeter.
Especially since yesterday's game provided one more example of just how far under Jeter's shadow Rodriguez has found himself.
Even when A-Rod does nothing wrong in a low-pressure situation.
Even when — and this is the best part — Jeter makes the error.
Such was the case in the sixth yesterday with the Yankees down 10-2 when A-Rod had a popup hit his glove ... only to have Jeter come charging over and bump into him, knocking the ball out.
The fans booed — A-Rod, of course. The official scorer ruled the play an error — on A-Rod, of course. And so it continued.
Only later would scorer Howie Karpin review the tape and give Jeter the error for impeding Rodriguez on the play.
Only it wouldn't matter.
Because Joe Torre would indicate it was Rodriguez's mistake by saying, "If Jeter called it, it's his and Alex didn't get out of the way."
Because Jeter seemed as calmly confident as ever in discussing the play and dismissing any sense of wrongdoing as well as any concern over the ruling of the play.
"What happened?" Jeter said, repeating the question. "It was dropped. That was pretty much it. It was hit. I was calling it. I guess he didn't hear me. ... But that's it. That's all the story you can do with a popup."
Uh, I wouldn't go running to Paul Lo Duca with a wager on that one just yet ...
If it was about any other players on any other team in any other town, sure, that would be it. And, granted, we would have felt a little silly making any more out of this than that if not for what soon happened after that.
Because when Jeter was told the play was changed to be called his error, the Yankees' captain offered a blunt, honest response of "Really? I didn't touch it ... I mean, I don't know how ... I don't care." Except, that apparently wasn't the case.
Because a few minutes later, Jeter was spotted in a stairwell outside the clubhouse speaking to the official scorer. Which usually means a player is trying to get a play changed in his favor.
Especially since Karpin had already made a point of getting Jeter's take on the play in the clubhouse prior to the meeting in the stairwell.
You can't help but wonder if it was any other teammate other than the man who once questioned his leadership and skills so long ago, Jeter might have just eaten the error without a second thought. You can't help but wonder if Jeter — who has been called overrated and was expected by many to take a backseat to A-Rod when he first arrived in town — doesn't take some pride in his star actually growing thanks to A-Rod's often inept behavior.
But even if that's the case, Jeter has done a much better job of keeping such feelings from becoming evident and from affecting his performance — unlike Rodriguez, who always wants to show he's a leader so badly he does the opposite.
"I mean, it's a popup," Jeter said, laughingly dismissing the play. A-Rod tried to be just as dismissive, saying it was a "goofy play" that "kind of epitomized the day."
But the way it all went down captured a lot more than a bad day. It gave one more glimpse into the most one-sided rivalry in sports — where one high-profile teammate can't ever seem to catch up with the other.
Dave Buscema's column appears regularly. Contact him at buscema@hotmail.com.
Record Online is brought to you by the Times Herald-Record, serving New York"s Hudson Valley and the Catskills.
posted by Walking Contradiction at 4:47 AM
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