Boorish Bronx faithful don't deserve A-Rod

Captain Convenient, who has watched A-Rod squirm at Yankee Stadium, never said a word in support of his teammate when Rodriguez was struggling last year. It was almost as if Jeter's mouth was wired shut, which it probably was -- to keep the smirk off his face. Jeter never embraced A-Rod, who arrived in 2004 as the best shortstop in the game but moved to third base to allow Jeter, the second-best shortstop on his team, to stay at that position. Jeter could have soothed Yankee Stadium's exasperation with A-Rod last summer with a quote or two in the media, but Jeter kept his counsel.

Last Saturday, after A-Rod's grand slam ended the game, which Yankee playfully pushed A-Rod back onto the field for a curtain call? It was Jeter. Captain Courageous.

The next day, Easter Sunday, a sign in the upper deck declared, "ARod has risen." Another sign referred to a group of fans as "ARod's Army." His at-bats triggered ovations. The media gushed. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees. Hypocrites.

You want to see some real fans? Boston has real fans. Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez is a complete buffoon -- selfish, flighty, useless without a bat in his hands -- but Boston fans give him unconditional love. Why? Because he plays for Boston. It's not that hard, Bronx Boors.

A-Rod is off to the best start of his career, which suggests that this season he will surpass his average annual numbers since joining the Yankees: an even .300 batting average with 40 home runs and 119 RBI per year. Those numbers will get a player into the Hall of Fame, first ballot. At Yankee Stadium, those numbers get A-Rod booed.

The next time A-Rod hits a walk-off home run or mashes two or three bombs in a game or does whatever it is he's going to do to earn another curtain call, it would be fitting if he came out of the dugout not waving his hands, but waving a single finger. And then, when he walks back into the dugout, A-Rod could jam that finger into Jeter's eye.