Jeter vs. A-Rod
Jeter vs. A-Rod
Inside the lives of two biggest stars in the galaxy
BY T.J. QUINN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
When the calls rang out to strip Alex Rodriguez of his pinstripes, to get him out of New York before he brought the Yankees down, Brian Cashman's phone started ringing.
"There were teams willing to step up. Some called and said, 'If you do anything, we want to be in on it.' I had some throw ideas at me. I was like, 'Wow,'" Cashman says. "You can check with other teams; I told them all, 'We're not moving him.'"
But they all seemed to think it was possible.
When was the last time a team asked Cashman about Derek Jeter's availability?
"Never," Cashman says. "Not while I've been GM."
The idea of Capt. Jeter in anything other than a Yankee uniform is inconceivable. But as respected as he is, Jeter also might be the least-desired $20 million player in the game.
The idea of A-Rod going somewhere? Perfectly conceivable to a number of general managers, and, for a spell, even to Yankee fans.
One poorly timed strikeout in the playoffs could change everything, but Rodriguez has been through a sort of Bronx baptism over the past few weeks. Even through the worst depths of his 1-for-24 slump, Yankee fans began to cheer him when he came to the plate and the Bleacher Creatures still serenaded him.
"I think they figured out you shouldn't boo a Yankee that's struggling. When you see a guy struggle, you support him, you don't dog him," Cashman says. "Because there was a period when they were booing when it was inappropriate. It became the thing to do like, you go to a Broadway show, you boo Alex. It was almost like a little fad."
Cashman has a vested interest in having Yankee fans recalibrate their standards for Rodriguez, but something clearly had changed even before he belted a home run Thursday that elicted a curtain call.
"I think people took a second look. They saw Alex fight through it and they said, 'Hey, he's our guy. We need all those guys.'"
When Rodriguez came to the plate for the first time in Thursday's game he heard the supporting applause, then the obligatory but mild boos when he popped up to first. When he tapped a ball over the head of Tigers shortstop Neifi Perez in the third, bringing in Bobby Abreu, they cheered mightily. When he lined a ball to left for what normally would have been a single, he charged hard from the moment he left the box, reaching second in part because Perez dropped the relay throw, and in part because he was dead set on getting there. For that they screamed. After the home run, forget it.
Friday night, two home runs. Pandemonium and another curtain call.
But the whole continuing saga, started back in 2001 when A-Rod described Jeter to Esquire magazine as a mere No. 2 hitter who never had to lead, has reached a stasis. Fans and experts of all stripes wondered whether the two could share a team. The Yankees decided they could, and as the team has gained control of the AL East, Jeter and Rodriguez have coexisted as suns in separate solar systems, mostly indifferent to each other, supportive on the field, always bland, always non-controversial, but always essential.
Herewith, a glimpse at the inner workings of a team with two baseball giants.
What's The Clubhouse Skinny On Jeter And A-Rod?
They coexist peacefully in the Yankee clubhouse, on opposite sides toward the back of a well-appointed room that more resembles a hotel lobby than a locker room. The Yankees rarely hang out near their lockers the way most teams do, chased out by their unmatched press attention. During a typical pregame lull last week, Rodriguez came through the door in a pink T-shirt and black sweatpants, shared a laugh with Robinson Cano and went to his locker. He was soon met by a Sports Illustrated writer who has been following him, then had a few quick, one-on-one conversations with writers he knows.
Jeter came to his locker already half into his uniform, opened some mail, then held court while a dozen writers asked him for the official word on Carl Pavano following the revelation that the missing pitcher had broken ribs in a car accident. When Jeter talks about a controversial subject, his words are as carefully crafted and intently dissected as though he were the Fed chairman talking about the economy.
He was asked about whether Pavano's failure to return is a letdown. "It's not a letdown if you weren't counting on it," he says. And the market plummets.
What Are Jeter And A-Rod Best Known For?
For Jeter, it's the dive into the stands against the Red Sox, the flip to Jorge Posada to get Jeremy Giambi at the plate, the home runs against Baltimore in '96, the Mets in the Subway Series, and the Diamondbacks in '01.
And he is the captain, without question.
One reason the Yankees can handle so many big stars - don't forget they have Jason Giambi, Randy Johnson, Gary Sheffield, Mike Mussina and Hideki Matsui, all of whom were franchise players - is because they know who runs the show.
"I think everyone who comes in here knows it's Derek's team," says Johnny Damon. "Derek's the captain of the greatest franchise in sports."
For A-Rod, it's the contract. It will always be the contract as long as he is still under his 10-year, $252 million deal. He has had monster postseason performances, with a career .305 batting average in 31 games. He mauled the Twins in the '04 division series (hitting .421) but was mediocre (by his standards) against Boston in the following LCS (.258 batting, despite five RBI and eight runs scored). He still evokes the image of a spoiled star slapping at Bronson Arroyo, and last season his pathetic .133 average against the Angels in the division series made a mockery of his MVP award.
"He's always hearing about his contract," Damon says. "Alex is a very good teammate. You never hear about that." To illustrate his point, Damon says Rodriguez always invites him on his chartered flights home to Florida on off-days so Damon can spend a day with his own family.
What About Outside The Clubhouse? Who Gets The Endorsements?
Jeter actually passed A-Rod in endorsement money last year, according to Sports Illustrated. Jeter brought in roughly $7 million, while Rodriguez was a million behind. Over the past few years Jeter has scored well with Ford, Gatorade and Visa and he just unveiled a new cologne called Driven. They both did Wheaties, but Rodriguez had the box to himself and Jeter had to share the cover with David Wells and Bernie Williams in 1998. Rodriguez also did a Got Milk? ad, thus giving him breakfast dominance.
What Do Their Teammates Really Think Of Them?
Grumblings about A-Rod have been public for awhile, that some teammates think he is too programmed, too concerned with his image, too aloof. They don't all feel that way, as Damon points out, and Rodriguez has several friends in the clubhouse. But the players who weren't sure about A-Rod say they became less so this season as he found new ways to draw attention to himself.
Some noted that while Giambi, Sheffield and Damon came to town and quietly fell into the fold (Sheffield was quiet by his standards), Rodriguez was hardly shy, saying after his first season that George Steinbrenner had told him to be more of a leader. Regardless of the fact that Steinbrenner said it, some players felt Rodriguez would have been smarter to keep it to himself. The bare-chested shot of him relaxing in Central Park this summer didn't help, either.
One player says he has been put off by Rodriguez' attempts to be everything to everyone, saying he's a man of the streets one day, a CEO the next.
But it has also been noticed that while Jeter took steps to reassure Giambi's place in the clubhouse following the BALCO scandal last year, he never did the same for Rodriguez, bringing into question whether he is the captain of all 25 players, or just the ones he likes.
"He had to become a Yankee on his own," one team source says of Rodriguez.
How Is It That Jeter, An Inferior Player In Almost Every Measure, Commands So Much More Respect?
One Hall of Famer's View: "Alex Rodriguez is a better hitter, he has a better glove, better range, a better arm and he's a better baserunner. But Derek Jeter is a better baseball player."
What he means is that Jeter has that knack for the big hit, the big play, doing little things needed to win. But find a team outside of the Bronx willing to pay Jeter $20 million a year.
There are certainly some Yankees who think Jeter is too protective of his image and can be a little stiff. Jeter is prideful, and if he is indeed a phony, as one player says, at least he's consistent.
A-Rod's baptism has come in the waters of Yankee expectations. No matter if he is the MVP, or Jeter is, as many people believe he will be this season, their relationship will be dissected until they win a World Series. It won't matter who gives his teammates rides on his airplane, or who speaks up for whom, or who gets the most boos or cheers. Chemistry, as Joe Torre has said, is a three-run homer.
Originally published on September 3, 2006
All contents © 2006 Daily News, L.P.
Inside the lives of two biggest stars in the galaxy
BY T.J. QUINN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
When the calls rang out to strip Alex Rodriguez of his pinstripes, to get him out of New York before he brought the Yankees down, Brian Cashman's phone started ringing.
"There were teams willing to step up. Some called and said, 'If you do anything, we want to be in on it.' I had some throw ideas at me. I was like, 'Wow,'" Cashman says. "You can check with other teams; I told them all, 'We're not moving him.'"
But they all seemed to think it was possible.
When was the last time a team asked Cashman about Derek Jeter's availability?
"Never," Cashman says. "Not while I've been GM."
The idea of Capt. Jeter in anything other than a Yankee uniform is inconceivable. But as respected as he is, Jeter also might be the least-desired $20 million player in the game.
The idea of A-Rod going somewhere? Perfectly conceivable to a number of general managers, and, for a spell, even to Yankee fans.
One poorly timed strikeout in the playoffs could change everything, but Rodriguez has been through a sort of Bronx baptism over the past few weeks. Even through the worst depths of his 1-for-24 slump, Yankee fans began to cheer him when he came to the plate and the Bleacher Creatures still serenaded him.
"I think they figured out you shouldn't boo a Yankee that's struggling. When you see a guy struggle, you support him, you don't dog him," Cashman says. "Because there was a period when they were booing when it was inappropriate. It became the thing to do like, you go to a Broadway show, you boo Alex. It was almost like a little fad."
Cashman has a vested interest in having Yankee fans recalibrate their standards for Rodriguez, but something clearly had changed even before he belted a home run Thursday that elicted a curtain call.
"I think people took a second look. They saw Alex fight through it and they said, 'Hey, he's our guy. We need all those guys.'"
When Rodriguez came to the plate for the first time in Thursday's game he heard the supporting applause, then the obligatory but mild boos when he popped up to first. When he tapped a ball over the head of Tigers shortstop Neifi Perez in the third, bringing in Bobby Abreu, they cheered mightily. When he lined a ball to left for what normally would have been a single, he charged hard from the moment he left the box, reaching second in part because Perez dropped the relay throw, and in part because he was dead set on getting there. For that they screamed. After the home run, forget it.
Friday night, two home runs. Pandemonium and another curtain call.
But the whole continuing saga, started back in 2001 when A-Rod described Jeter to Esquire magazine as a mere No. 2 hitter who never had to lead, has reached a stasis. Fans and experts of all stripes wondered whether the two could share a team. The Yankees decided they could, and as the team has gained control of the AL East, Jeter and Rodriguez have coexisted as suns in separate solar systems, mostly indifferent to each other, supportive on the field, always bland, always non-controversial, but always essential.
Herewith, a glimpse at the inner workings of a team with two baseball giants.
What's The Clubhouse Skinny On Jeter And A-Rod?
They coexist peacefully in the Yankee clubhouse, on opposite sides toward the back of a well-appointed room that more resembles a hotel lobby than a locker room. The Yankees rarely hang out near their lockers the way most teams do, chased out by their unmatched press attention. During a typical pregame lull last week, Rodriguez came through the door in a pink T-shirt and black sweatpants, shared a laugh with Robinson Cano and went to his locker. He was soon met by a Sports Illustrated writer who has been following him, then had a few quick, one-on-one conversations with writers he knows.
Jeter came to his locker already half into his uniform, opened some mail, then held court while a dozen writers asked him for the official word on Carl Pavano following the revelation that the missing pitcher had broken ribs in a car accident. When Jeter talks about a controversial subject, his words are as carefully crafted and intently dissected as though he were the Fed chairman talking about the economy.
He was asked about whether Pavano's failure to return is a letdown. "It's not a letdown if you weren't counting on it," he says. And the market plummets.
What Are Jeter And A-Rod Best Known For?
For Jeter, it's the dive into the stands against the Red Sox, the flip to Jorge Posada to get Jeremy Giambi at the plate, the home runs against Baltimore in '96, the Mets in the Subway Series, and the Diamondbacks in '01.
And he is the captain, without question.
One reason the Yankees can handle so many big stars - don't forget they have Jason Giambi, Randy Johnson, Gary Sheffield, Mike Mussina and Hideki Matsui, all of whom were franchise players - is because they know who runs the show.
"I think everyone who comes in here knows it's Derek's team," says Johnny Damon. "Derek's the captain of the greatest franchise in sports."
For A-Rod, it's the contract. It will always be the contract as long as he is still under his 10-year, $252 million deal. He has had monster postseason performances, with a career .305 batting average in 31 games. He mauled the Twins in the '04 division series (hitting .421) but was mediocre (by his standards) against Boston in the following LCS (.258 batting, despite five RBI and eight runs scored). He still evokes the image of a spoiled star slapping at Bronson Arroyo, and last season his pathetic .133 average against the Angels in the division series made a mockery of his MVP award.
"He's always hearing about his contract," Damon says. "Alex is a very good teammate. You never hear about that." To illustrate his point, Damon says Rodriguez always invites him on his chartered flights home to Florida on off-days so Damon can spend a day with his own family.
What About Outside The Clubhouse? Who Gets The Endorsements?
Jeter actually passed A-Rod in endorsement money last year, according to Sports Illustrated. Jeter brought in roughly $7 million, while Rodriguez was a million behind. Over the past few years Jeter has scored well with Ford, Gatorade and Visa and he just unveiled a new cologne called Driven. They both did Wheaties, but Rodriguez had the box to himself and Jeter had to share the cover with David Wells and Bernie Williams in 1998. Rodriguez also did a Got Milk? ad, thus giving him breakfast dominance.
What Do Their Teammates Really Think Of Them?
Grumblings about A-Rod have been public for awhile, that some teammates think he is too programmed, too concerned with his image, too aloof. They don't all feel that way, as Damon points out, and Rodriguez has several friends in the clubhouse. But the players who weren't sure about A-Rod say they became less so this season as he found new ways to draw attention to himself.
Some noted that while Giambi, Sheffield and Damon came to town and quietly fell into the fold (Sheffield was quiet by his standards), Rodriguez was hardly shy, saying after his first season that George Steinbrenner had told him to be more of a leader. Regardless of the fact that Steinbrenner said it, some players felt Rodriguez would have been smarter to keep it to himself. The bare-chested shot of him relaxing in Central Park this summer didn't help, either.
One player says he has been put off by Rodriguez' attempts to be everything to everyone, saying he's a man of the streets one day, a CEO the next.
But it has also been noticed that while Jeter took steps to reassure Giambi's place in the clubhouse following the BALCO scandal last year, he never did the same for Rodriguez, bringing into question whether he is the captain of all 25 players, or just the ones he likes.
"He had to become a Yankee on his own," one team source says of Rodriguez.
How Is It That Jeter, An Inferior Player In Almost Every Measure, Commands So Much More Respect?
One Hall of Famer's View: "Alex Rodriguez is a better hitter, he has a better glove, better range, a better arm and he's a better baserunner. But Derek Jeter is a better baseball player."
What he means is that Jeter has that knack for the big hit, the big play, doing little things needed to win. But find a team outside of the Bronx willing to pay Jeter $20 million a year.
There are certainly some Yankees who think Jeter is too protective of his image and can be a little stiff. Jeter is prideful, and if he is indeed a phony, as one player says, at least he's consistent.
A-Rod's baptism has come in the waters of Yankee expectations. No matter if he is the MVP, or Jeter is, as many people believe he will be this season, their relationship will be dissected until they win a World Series. It won't matter who gives his teammates rides on his airplane, or who speaks up for whom, or who gets the most boos or cheers. Chemistry, as Joe Torre has said, is a three-run homer.
Originally published on September 3, 2006
All contents © 2006 Daily News, L.P.
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