Daily Archives: January 26, 2004

DOH!

As if Aaron Boone didn’t already have enough of an uphill climb in his effort to win over Yankee fans this year, Tom Verducci is reporting that Boone suffered a serious knee injury (believed to involve the ACL) playing basketball last week. Boone could miss the entire 2004 season. This sure won’t endear him to the Bleacher Creatures. According to Verducci:

The Yankees will seek all or some relief from the $5.75 million they were to pay Boone this season. Boone, whose dramatic home run ended the epic seventh game of the 2003 American League Championship Series against Boston, avoided arbitration Dec. 1 when he agreed to the one-year deal to return to the Yankees. His contract contains a standard clause that prevents the player from engaging in activities considered to pose significant risk of injury. Basketball is specifically mentioned in the clause as a prohibited activity.

Well, at least this gives us something to talk about. (Will Carroll, what do you hear, what do you say?) The burning question is this: Can the Yankees adequately replace Boone at third at this stage in the game? OK, I’m sure some observers will look at this as a chance to upgrade. Who do you think they’ll target? (And I don’t want to hear about Drew Henson, thank you very much.) I know the Rangers just made Alex Rodriguez their captain, but at least now we can still dream Steven Goldman’s dream.

Roy Smalley, Aaron Boone, Mr. Boone, Mr. Smalley. Pedigree doesn’t necessarily mean a thing in pinstripes, huh?

Alex Rodriguez was in New York last night to pick up his American League MVP award, but is making headlines this morning as the Rangers announced that he’s been made team captain. Does this mean the A Rod-to-Boston deal is finally dead? Gordon Edes in The Globe thinks so. So how did the latest twist in A Rod’s off-season come about? The Rangers’ owner provided some answers:

“This was the first time we’ve all been in the same location since the trade fell apart,” said Hicks, noting that Rodriguez and his wife had just returned from a European vacation.

“We spent five hours together and worked through the inevitable issues that build up when you go through something like this. As is often the case, two or three issues are amplified in the process to 10 or 12 issues, but we worked through those issues very quickly and put them behind us.”

One of those issues was the contentious relationship that had developed between Rodriguez and Showalter, who reportedly had made futile attempts to contact Rodriguez since the end of last season.

“It’s taken on a life of its own,” Hicks said of the reported friction between the men. “You see it in business all the time, a lack of communication. But they had a chance yesterday to look each other in the eye, they had a chance to talk, and they both realize they want to win a championship.”

Brooklyn Blogger Adam Dlugacz was on the scene and filed a report over at Zimmer’s Way:

A-Rod told a story about how after the trade failed to go through he had gone to Europe to get away from things. At first he liked that no one knew he was, he didn’t say where he went, but he admitted that after a few days he missed being recognized. (It’s amazing, Babe Ruth had the same experience when he first went to Europe, and complained about his lack of attention bitterly. The players almost need to be reminded of who they are.) Finally, on his last day there were three kids who appeared to recognize A-Rod. He admitted that he was craved the attention and was excited as the kids approached him. However, instead of asking for an autograph all three kids, in broken english, began chanting “Let’s Go Yankees!”

I should note that Cashman and A-Rod were sitting next to each other. And, A-Rod talked about how much he loved New York City. I honestly think that Boston, as a state would commit suicide if he came to the Bronx.

For now, it appears as if Rodriguez isn’t going anywhere soon. But then again, stranger things have happened.

Oh, and just to wrap up my thoughts on “In America,” there is something that I forgot to mention about the rendition of “Desperado.” Fortunately, Larry Abraham sent me an e-mail and hit the nail on the head when he observed:

I thought that the “Desperado” moment was one of the best in the movie. What I picked up on–I missed the knowing quality of her voice–was her pronunciation of the word “desperado”–with that British “a” from “flat” instead of the “ah” that we Americans expect. For me it captured how she was both quintessentially Irish and–as a cowboy–quintessentially American.

I caught that too. Thank you for noting it Larry.