Baseball

War of words stops at A-Rod

Alex Rodriguez won't parry back at the Bosox, saying they've earned the right to criticize.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published February 21, 2005

TAMPA - Alex Rodriguez has been the Red Sox's punching bag this winter.

Insults have come from pitchers Curt Schilling, Bronson Arroyo and David Wells, outfielder Trot Nixon, catcher Jason Varitek and first baseman Kevin Millar.

Rodriguez was called a clown, bush league and not a Yankee type.

He was ripped for his tactics in Game 6 of the ALCS when he slapped the ball out of Arroyo's glove as Arroyo tried to apply a tag. He was mocked for saying he worked harder than other players.

So when A-Rod showed up Sunday at Legends Field, the third baseman was expected to hit back at the World Series champs.

Instead, he kind of said no mas .

"All I can say is they're the champs, and I have the utmost respect for those guys one through 25," Rodriguez said. "The bottom line is they won. They earned the right to say whatever they need to say."

He even agreed with one of the barbs.

"As far as earning your stripes, I really couldn't agree (more) with Trot Nixon and the guys that said that. Hopefully when I pay the price ... the fans of New York will realize, hopefully, I'm a Yankee."

Rodriguez knows how this sounds, of course. He even predicted the headlines in the New York papers would be "A-Rod doesn't back up A-Rod."

But Rodriguez said the birth of daughter Natasha, and having "two (ill) family members look death in the face this week" changed his outlook.

"All this bulletin board stuff tells you how trivial it is," he said. "The perspective in my life has changed with my family, my baby. I'm just focusing on that."

And perhaps a little damage control as well.

No Yankees stood up for Rodriguez, not captain Derek Jeter, once a close friend, or catcher Jorge Posada, who Rodriguez said recently visited him at home.

And though Rodriguez said his teammates' silence is understandable - "It just shows you how classy is our organization and our players that they don't get caught up in the everyday stuff" - Rodriguez went out of his way to say he is commited to just being "one of the guys.

"I'm really excited to be here and be with my teammates," he said. "They're the best bunch of guys I've played with. I just want to fit in and do my thing on the field."

The fit hasn't been easy.

Despite batting .286 with 36 home runs and 106 RBIs, Rodriguez said it took him four or five months with the Yankees before he felt comfortable "even in my own skin, just walking around, sitting around, walking around the city of Manhattan."

Rodriguez batted just .248 with runners in scoring position and .167 with the bases loaded. He was 2-for-17 in the final four games of the ALCS, all losses.

Then there was the "slap" play with Arroyo in which Rodriguez was called for interference. Rodriguez on Monday called the play "brilliant" and "silly" and one he "almost got away with."

But Schilling called it "bush league." Rodriguez responded during a January conference call by saying Schilling cried after losses to New York earlier in the season, a claim Schilling denied.

Rodriguez said such outbursts are not smart, though he couldn't resist a shot at Jose Canseco who, in his autobiography, called Rodriguez "a phony."

"With my new life and my daughter being born, you realize you only care about the opinions of those who are really in your intimate circle," Rodriguez said. "I don't consider Jose to be in that circle."

That said, "Our approach here, and I'm getting to understand it more and more, is we don't get into the back and forth bulletin board stuff. I think the best opinion I have is to play baseball, and that's what I'm going to try and do this year."

"He's used to being the guy that looks around and everybody is sort of a cut below," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "When he comes in this clubhouse and he looks around, everybody's eye level with him pretty much. ... We never want anyone walking around the clubhouse thinking they deserve it more than someone else."

That is how Rodriguez apparently appeared to the Red Sox when he told the Record of Hackensack, N.J., about his offseason workouts.

"I know there are 650 or 700 players who are sleeping this morning," Rodriguez said. "Either that or they're taking their kids to school. There's no way they're going to be up running the steps or doing what I'm doing."

"That's the article that rubbed guys wrong," Millar told the Associated Press. "When you're a professional, you do your work. ... Derek Jeter is the Yankees, period. A-Rod's salary doesn't dictate that he's a Yankee. Making $25-million doesn't mean he's a Yankee."

Rodriguez said he learned his lesson.

"Eleven years. That's the first time I've talked about it," he said of his workout. "The last time, too."

[Last modified February 21, 2005, 01:32:19]