Thank you.

Though I suppose that could be seen as proof of your assertion: the only friend he could find in his time of need was his ex-wife.

But I begin to sense that his biggest weakness is his not-so-unfounded belief that absolutely no one gives a crap about him. Is that why he tries so hard to be liked? Who really knows. People respond to adversity in different ways, just like AB says.

To me, it seems that the line between success and failure is often very thin, which has also been the case with Alex Rodriguez during his time as a Yankee.

As I have previously posted, if the Yankees had won the 2004 ALCS and gone on to win the WS, the entire perception of A-Rod would be totally different.

After all, he hit quite well against the Twins in the 2004 ALDS (.421 .476 .737) and his stats v. Boston weren’t bad either (.258 .378 .516 ).

I believe in redemption. I think A-Rod did what he had to do in order to put himself on a path for eventual redemption by merely confessing his prior steroid usage.

I also think that the guy is going to hit in the postseason and lead the Yankees to more than one championship.

Once the Yankees finally advance past the ALDS again, I think the weight will be lifted and the floodgates will open, unleashing A-Rod’s natural ability in the postseason.

Me, I want A-Rod to do well because he’s wearing pinstripes. But if he were to leave, I just wouldn’t care what he did.

The guys I really root for are the young or marginal players whose future with the team can’t be taken for granted. If Alex wants “fantastic, over-the-top, all-time greatness,” I want to believe that even “ordinary” people can have moments of transcendence…a time in the spotlight that they will appreciate far more than the A-Rods of the world ever will.

Thank God the entire MSM market is headed in the toilet, while you, Cliff and the Bronx Banter continue to become a greater voice.

[15] Saw that earlier. Nady can’t buy his apt. in NY and Damon can’t make his mortgage payments. Which begs the question, why does that guy even need a mortgage?

[0] Great post as usual, Alex. Thanks.

[6] Aikido Blackbelt from 18th Street?

Alex, what a beautiful post. You hit it out of the park. Whenever you share about your family, I feel you’re talking about mine. My father did a lot of those things, although he did hold on to his marriage to my mother, who was the high functioning bread winner.. There was a disconnect between who he thought he was and who he really ended up being.

I think I rooted for A-Rod for the same reasons that you stated. What I realized about him in the last few days is that he has a special gift and while he’s masterful is one aspect of his life, he is equally defficient in other areas. For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction. In other words, he’s flawed and no matter how much we root for him or send him good vibes his way, he messes up where we want him to excel. It’s his nature, or so it seems.

That’s why I choose to accept him for what he is, appreciate his talents and accept his penchant for poor judgement. What choice is there? And no, he doesn’t beat people or act belligerently. He isn’t snarky like Bonds, who is hard to like. He is someone who is his own worst enemy and when given the option will choose the road most dramatic.

I’m not going to let his self-destructive tendencies ruin my love for this team, the team I grew up, the sport I love and get light from. No, I won’t let it happen. If I do, it will be a long nine years.

There is really no way, none, that you can excuse that while condemning Arod. It takes a far far greater lapse in judgment to drive impaired than it does to take ‘roids. Joba put other people’s lives at risk by his actions and the papers barely cover it. ARod gets caught up in his own vanity and he is crucified.

A-Rod deserves lots of blame, abuse, and ire for all the stupid things he does. But he’s never beaten his wife, gotten behind the wheel intoxicated, gotten into bar fights, attacked fans, or any of the other countless despicable things that other baseball players and athletes have done and seemingly been forgiven for.

[0] I used to root hard for Alex Rodriguez, I wanted him to prove all the doubters wrong, I wanted him to stick it to Red Sox fans by shouldering a championship trophy. Then things changed, not exactly sure when, but they did and no longer was he someone I cared about much, outside of the games I watched. It just evolved into something deeper. What solidified it all for me was the way he opted out.

I don’t begrudge him for wanting more money, even though he already had gobs of money already. Just the way he went about the entire freaggin thing, it still bugs me, even more so now after all this nonsense has come out.

I just find ARod to be an embarrassment to my favorite team. I guess if he had 2 years remaining on the contract then I’d feel differently because I see an end in sight, but we have 9 more years of him. I really am not looking forward to it.

I will still root, clap, and hope he does something big for the Yanks in a big spot, but outside of that, he’s just a black hole of goodwill from my perspective.

As for Alex, he’s a baseball player on my favorite team. He’s a very good one, so I root for him. The second he stops being a very good baseball player on my favorite team, I no longer want to see him around. I find very little about his personality, private life, and off the field antics endearing. There are past and current Yankees that I hope will stay in and around the franchise for many years after their active playing career has run its course.

I hope Alex Rodriguez just goes away.

I mean, really — tragic heroes (with their quintessential flaws out there in the open for all to see) tug at your heart better than the seemingly steadfast ones — even if you would much prefer your kids grow up to be the latter type.

Whether it’s Icarus, Oedipus, Lear, The Mick or A-Rod — there’s something about the “humanity” of a guy who reaches for the sky and falls back to earth spectacularly that brings out the sympathetic side of me.

I do find it easier to root for someone in pinstripes and boo others. But I view that as more getting into the play or opera or movie. It’s like rooting for the actor’s character. I’ll boo Big Papi because he wears Red Sox, but it doesn’t mean I wish him ill. In fact “hating” just takes too much energy. Why waste energy on hating a person you’ve never met, never will meet and who will not have any real effect on your life.

I can sympathize with A-Rod’s insecurities, I’ve got many of my own despite two advanced degrees, a black belt in Aikido, owning my own home, etc. Manny being Manny I can enjoy, despite the uniform difference, even though the watching your homerun thing is stupid. I do draw the line at laying down on your team in order to get traded. It’s one thing to take a piss break in the green monster, it’s another to strike out because you’re peeved you have to pinch hit on your day off. I guess I’m just trying to say that I don’t take it too seriously even though I’m happy the morning after a Yankee win and grumpier than normal the morning after they lose.

I have alway felt a little “dirty” rooting for a-rod and only did it because his uniform compelled me to do so. However, the over-the top, holier-than-thou, msm reaction to the steroids and his press conference (cut him?…. really?) has completely turned me around. Now I am REALLY rooting for him.