Bad combo: A-Rod image-conscious -- and stinks at PR
TAMPA, Fla. -- Alex Rodriguez can immediately make his life a whole lot easier by doing one of two things.
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| Alex Rodriguez signs autographs after arriving Sunday in Yankees camp. (AP) |
Seriously. The perplexing thing in this Everybody Bash A-Rod spring is we're talking about a very, very bright man. But nobody in the game is more hyper about his own image, and the result is that his insecurity often outweighs his intelligence.
He did it again Sunday, following his arrival at camp with a clumsy attempt to remain above the mud-slinging. Responding to questions about the blows he has been absorbing from peers, his first response was, "You've got to bring me up to date."
Well, let's see now. Aside from Trot Nixon, Curt Schilling, David Wells, Jason Varitek, Bronson Arroyo, Kevin Millar and Jose Canseco -- among others -- labeling him a phony, questioning whether he's a true Yankee and saying that they flat-out don't like him, oh, nothing.
Not only does Rodriguez keep up on things himself, he employs his own personal publicist.
So if he wasn't up to date on news that he has become Boston's personal piñata, then that would be a bigger upset than the Yankees failing to make the playoffs this season.
For all of his talent, Rodriguez has emerged as the most unpopular superstar among his peers. Even Barry Bonds gets more love from his fellow players than A-Rod. It started with the $252 million contract, but it really took off when players saw his behavior afterward -- namely, playing golf with Rangers owner Tom Hicks. That quickly separated Corporate A-Rod from his rank-and-file union brothers.
When he blatantly maneuvered himself into this Boston-New York rivalry, that was strike two of his changing image from a Talented Young Player to Spoiled Rich Guy Who Must Get His Way.
Then came his slap at Boston pitcher Bronson Arroyo during the playoffs last season, when he jarred the ball loose in what was deemed by umpires to be an illegal play. And last month, there was this thoroughly self-serving quote to Bergen Record columnist Bob Klapisch during an early morning workout: "I know there are 650 or 700 other players who are sleeping this morning. Either that, or they're taking their kids to school. But there's no way they're going to be up running the stairs or doing what I'm doing."
That comment, rightfully so, frosted the multitudes of those reporting to spring camp. And it will leave A-Rod on the defensive for a long time. In one sweeping statement, he called his peers lazy and diminished fatherhood. That pretty much covered the single players and the married players with families.
"I've been doing that for 11 years," Rodriguez said Sunday of his grueling workouts. "I probably misspoke. It was the heat of the moment ...
"I'm proud of my workouts, like Roger Clemens is proud of his workouts. In 11 years, that's the first time I've ever talked about it. And it probably will be the last time."
