SU has a theory on why the fans have rallied around A-Rod so quickly in NY this year. First, check out a today’s read by Wally Matthews on espn.com:
SU believes it’s a combination of three factors. First, A-Rod has gotten off to a good start and has hit some tape-measure homeruns. Second, he is saying all the right things and has been able to stick to the story line without being tempted by the media to go negative. And third, it’s the absence of the shadow of Derek Jeter and SU believes this is in fact the most important reason. Jeter always did everything right, he never, ever mis-spoke (as he learned to say nothing in answering reporters’ questions) and for the last few years, he did not have A-Rod’s back anymore. They were best friends back in the mid-1990s but after the Esquire article where A-Rod bad-mouthed Jeter (slightly), well, that was that. After the 2009 World Series win, it just got bad and they really didn’t interact much anymore. The fans sensed that too and as long as Jeter was around, A-Rod would always be the bad guy and would always get the boos – especially at home if he failed to come through. With Jeter now retired, if you notice, A-Rod is no longer booed at home when he strikes out or leaves guys on base. We live in the post-Jeter era now and SU believes A-Rod also feels less pressure without Derek around. He is playing much more relaxed (and chemical free).
Much of the Yankees’ success this season is due to the combination of Ellsbury and Gardner at the top of the line-up. Some said last year that Girardi should have moved Jeter down in the order to take advantage of this but did not want to diss him in his final season. Given how bad their offense was last year, it looks like that would have been a good move.
Ellsbury is on fire of late batting around .500 for an extended period of time but still only has 4 rbis on the season because he bats in front of Stephen Drew and Sir Didi Gregorius. That is amazing. For the Yankees to have close to the best record in the AL with those two plus Beltran in the bottom of the line up is impressive. Surely Perela will start to get more playing time and the Stephen Drew era in NY will end. Some team must need a shortstop for the 2nd half of the season.
Finally, Deflategate is getting out of hand. There is talk now of a 4- or 8-game suspension for Brady. SU cannot believe this. It reminds me of the Mitchell Report in baseball where they exposed a handful of players for possible PED use and they took the fall for everyone else who was using PEDs. They all remained silent. Don’t you find it hard to believe that other NFL QBs are not doctoring the air pressure of their game balls? I am not a Patriot fan but the punishment does not fit the crime here. The refs handle the ball on every play – every play. If the air pressure was that far below the 12.5 psi threshold, they would have noticed it. It will be interesting to see if Brady gets both fined and suspended over this.
Sports Update Intergalactic 
Giants loved Bonds. Nobody else did. Sports is always about performance. A Rod is a cheater but if successful he is our cheater. Same with Brady and Patriots. If A Rod came back and hit .180 he would be booed out of town. Frankly at 39,out of baseball for almost 2 yrs. . and a body that has 2hip operations he is either a medical
miracle or back onPED’s. If they catch him he has got to go. How many Yankee fans care? We are in first place and will close our eyes, hold our nose and look t the standings and smile. Sports is a bottom line win now business. That is reality and he will get curtain calls if he keeps hitting 440feet hr’s.
Bill, I think you are spot on there. It was the same with Roger Clemens although for me, he was too much to stomach even as a diehard Yankee fan. A-Rod has no chance of redemption outside of Yankee Stadium nor did Bonds at the tail end of his career. I actually think A-Rod is sincere in his comments this year. I just hope he can stay healthy to see what a full year’s work will look like. And, he continues to be the only interesting at bats in the games as far as I am concerned.
I don’t know if the attached link will make it. But an 11/23/13 NY Times article documented the precision in which the NY Giant equipment staff gets the footballs prepared for Eli Manning. This includes both soaking and then high speed brushing. I’m sure most SU fans have already read this – but it is worth re-reading in the light of the current discussion.
As for A-Rod – the points above are all spot on. I will add that it seems that the vicious cycle of “up” and “down” in fans’ eyes never ends. Good A-Rod is being built up again. Will he take a tumble? I agree with Bill above.
If the link doesn’t work – search “Eli Manning Football” in NYTIMES.COM
Sasha, you raise a good point with the football preparation. The rules allow the QB to have the balls soaked, brushed, scuffed, etc. Isn’t that also altering the ball to a degree? Is that so different from altering the air pressure? To me, it all falls into the same category. Per Seth’s comment yesterday, then just have a single ball for the game that everyone uses and call it a day. No more custom pre-week treatment.
I would get rid of the ball treatment as well. It’s a stupid rule. Let them bring their own cleats and shoulder pads but everyone should play with the same ball.
It’s important to understand what happened here. The NFL does allow ball treatment. It also allows you to customize the ball pressure to your liking but within an acceptable range. The Patriots provided balls to the officials that had been treated and they were deemed acceptable. The ball deflation happened AFTER the balls had been approved by the officials. This is a big deal. They knew they rules. They knew they’d be caught if they were outside the pressure range. So they supplied compliant balls and then changed them. This is a big deal. It’s cheating. Not only that, there were 3 people involved in a pre-game routine designed to intentionally deceive the officials.And one of those 3 people is the most recognizable name in the league. If anything people, are being too lenient. This isn’t just about a guy trying to get an edge. He did that already when he (along with Peyton Manning) lobbied the league to allow a range of ball pressures. This is about a guy taking significance steps to deceive officials.
I love how Brady said that this doesn’t tarnish his legacy. As if he gets to decide what tarnishes his legacy.
It seems like you and your readers are in the forgiving mood. I wonder what your thoughts are on inducting Pete Rose into the HOF?
Evan, I think the issue with Pete Rose is that we don’t really know the complete facts of exactly what he did. For example, did he actually bet against the Reds when he was managing? I don’t believe the full report was ever made public of what the private investigators found. Also, he has never fully apologized for what he did to the degree that would satisfy me. If he had taken the position a long time ago that gambling is a disease and it took over his life, he is sorry and feels terrible, etc, then most people would have forgiven him and he would be in the Hall of Fame already. But I don’t think it’s in his nature. Having said that, Rob Manfred will likely allow him in at some point down the road as the general public seems to favor it. I think he’s 73 years old now. My prediction is that he will make a major apology statement that is coordinated with MLB. That will result in the ban being lifted.
A Rod is being embraced by fans because he’s doing well and the team is doing well. Beyond that it’s hard to read too much more into it. Sure there’s the Jeter angle and the comparisons to Bonds and other transgressors. But it’s actually very simply. Fans pay a lot of money to watch the team and they want the players to do well. You’re not going to sit on your hands when A Rod ties a game with a home run. If A Rod was putting up Stephen Drew-type numbers he’d be booed.
But Seth I think you have to also factor in the way he’s carried himself since spring training and how he has tried very hard to fit in with his teammates. I think that will buy him enough goodwill to make it through the season with the fans even in the down periods which will no doubt occur. He also benefits by some of the other high paid big names struggling like CC and Beltran. Question: did Jeter’s Players Tribune even acknowledge that A-Rod passed Willie Mays?
Does this mean that A-Rod is now a “true Yankee” ? One of the most meaningless phrases ever coined.
This has nothing to do with the prior posts, except for the Yankee connection, but I recently defended a deposition where the video guy was Whitey Ford’s son ! He said the most his dad was ever paid was $85,000, in 1967, and it would have been $75,000, but Yankees made him function as assistant pitching coach as well, and through in an extra $10,000 for that.
The question is if A-Rod had never been caught with PEDS and broke the all-time home run record, would his number have been retired? Or would Jeter have put the kabosh on that one?
No question. If A-Rod had never been caught with PEDs and broke the all-time record he would have his number retired. You have to realize what that would have meant. It would have meant a scandal-free ~15 year Yankee career with 30+ HRs every season. He would not be a lifelong Yankee but it would have been in the company of Babe Ruth, Roger Maris and Reggie Jackson (other Yankees with significant power-related records and achievements who played some of their careers elsewhere) and that’s not a bad group. The fans (and probably Jeter too) would have learned to love him.
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