So much to cover to cover with the Yanks winning their 27th World Series. Now we are moving to one of the few very sensitive topics in the household.
Yep, that would be Alexander Emanuel Rodriguez. I have never been an A-Rod hater but have never been someone who would purchase an A-Rod jersey as outlined in this post when the PED allegations came out. But I will give him credit for facing the media without union representation, unlike a slugger from a rival organization, and for actually admitting that he took steroids – again, see same slugger from rival organization. When he opted out in 2007, I thought the move lacked class but what later came out was deep regret for the move and Goldman Sachs having to get involved – no kidding, *THAT* Goldman Sachs.
You can read about why Marc detests A-Rod here, which talks about when he played for the Mariners in the mid to late 90s. The hatred of A-Rod is probably the single most annoying thing about Mariners fans. The loudest that Mariners fans get is when A-Rod comes to town as a visitor and they continuously boo him. It's actually kind of pathetic because you never see the fans cheer that loud for their own team's successes with the same vigor that they boo A-Rod. My take is that the dejected and bitter fans should get to therapy, and soon, since this happened after the end of the 2000 season.
OK so Marc, along with countless others – mostly Mariners fans, believed that A-Rod was cursed and that as long as he was with the Yankees, they wouldn't win. It didn't help that his performance in the post-season from Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS through the end of the 2007 ALDS was abysmal. I know – well covered territory and now, ANCIENT HISTORY. When he came back from surgery in May, he whacked the 1st pitch that he saw out of the park in Baltimore. Yeah, things were different but as fans, we didn't know realize how that would all play out.
The Yanks have won it all with A-Rod playing a pivotal role throughout the 5 weeks of the playoffs, so I believe the 'bad karma' label is no longer applicable. Let's see - postseason batting average of .365, a .500 on-base percentage, a 1.308 OPS, 15 runs, six home runs, 18 RBIs and a few intentional and unintentional (ahem – that'll leave a mark) walks. That ain't so bad.
And for all of that talk about being a "true" Yankee, that always seemed to be a load of crap. Don Mattingly never won a World Series as a player (he played for the Yankees his entire professional career) and yet his number is retired in Monument Park.
So thanks A-Rod for destroying the psyches of our playoff opponents' closers – Joe Nathan, Brian Fuentes and Brad Lidge, but maybe you want to buy Kate Hudson something really, really, nice, too.