Yardbarker: Alex Rodriguez

Yankees core provides foundation for our all-decade team

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:19:43 -0500

As the decade winds down to its final days, Big League Stew is reflecting on the biggest baseball happenings of the 2000s. Next up is our all-decade team, a group that includes four of the five players pictured above and more deserving Yankees than most non-New Yorkers probably want to admit. Which player didn't make the cut? Read on. * * * Catcher: Jorge Posada(notes), New York Yankees If Joe Mauer's(notes) career starts a few years earlier, this spot isn't up for debate. Instea...

Kate-Rod worked out before turkey

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:30:00 -0500

Anticipating putting away some serious calories on Thanksgiving Alex Rodriguez and Kate Hudson headed to the gym in Venice, California last Thursday morning. I wonder how their dinner later in the day went? Like did they discuss the fact that porn star Jada Sky says that her and Rod did the deed while he was still married (link nsfw) and that if Kate and him do tie the knot she's going to have to View this post in its entirety at EpicCarnival.com.

LWIB: Survey Testing Court Battle, Plus A's and Rays Stadium Updates

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:32:19 -0500

This week in LWIB, no end in sight in the “survey testing” court battle plus updates on the Rays and A’s hopes for new ballparks. “SURVEY TESTING” COURT BATTLE PROLONGED Despite several years of relentless media coverage, federal investigations and congressional hearings in to steroid use amongst MLB players, there is yet little to no evidence of a fan backlash. The 2009 season (if we include spring training) saw some of the games biggest and most popular star players admit openly (Alex R...

DRSEA INFORMER

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 06:31:13 -0500

Volume II, Issue 21 A Publication For Your Reading Enjoyment by Charles Farrell

Acto Dignificado (Class Act) – Albert Pujols may have had a better year, and Alex Rodriguez capped off his season with a World Series Championship, but the face – as well as the heart and soul – of Dominican baseball belongs to Pedro Martinez.

He may have fallen short in his World Series appearance that ended with a title for Rodriguez & Company, but Pedro – no need for last names here – is a hero in the minds of most Dominicans who sank or swam on every pitch the 38-year-old legend tossed this year. He started the season here in the Dominican Republic, tending garden with his mother and hoping to latch on with a team for one more shot at another ring. That opportunity finally came late in the season when the Phillies offered him a roster spot and Pedro delivered five wins while displaying flashes of the brilliance that made him an eight-time All Star and three-time Cy Young winner.

His return to baseball was either endorsed or rejected in the Dominican Republic. Many wanted to see him add to his status; others were fearful he would subtract from it. The night he made his season debut I happened to glance out from my rooftop onto what is usually one of the busiest streets in Santo Domingo and it was virtually empty. No need to guess why; everybody was on lock down to watch Pedro.

Pedro’s stats over his 13-year-career support that he is a fantastic pitcher, but what seems to truly set him apart is personality. I met him once and he is one of those rare people in sports who has the charisma to go with his talent. He was among a group of people, many of them baseball stars in their own right, but you could watch the crowd gravitate towards him, and the more attention paid, the more charming Pedro became.

Teammates talk about his ability to sing and joke in the clubhouse before a game, then take the mound with the seriousness of a surgeon about to undertake a delicate operation. Perhaps it was fitting for him to be a central character once again on one of sports’ grandest stages – the World Series.

I am pretty sure Pedro is in the Dominican Republic right now, under a mango tree somewhere, reflecting on his amazing career, which may or may not be over. He has always been someone who has remembered his humble beginnings and the fact that baseball liberated him, but did not erase the connection. He has been generous with his time, energy and money in providing for the educational needs of many of the children in the Santo Domingo neighborhood where he grew up.

Whether or not he returns to baseball next year remains to be seen, but from my vantage point Pedro has not only had a Hall of Fame career, he has had a Hall of Fame life, at least to the people of the Dominican Republic.

At one point during the World Series, Pedro chastised a fan sitting in the front row with his daughter who was saying “all kinds of nasty things,” about the pitcher. “I had to stop and tell him because I’m a father myself,” Martinez said. “God, how can you be so dumb to do those kinds of things in front of your child. What kind of example are you setting?”

The father need only look to Pedro for that example.

Acta Dignificado – When Manny Acta was fired last July as the manager of the Washington Nationals, I lamented that it was sad to see him go, in particular because people of color are scarce in management positions in sports, and it is even rarer that they get a second chance to assume such positions. But Acta has surfaced again, this time as manager of the Cleveland Indians.

New Indians Manager Manny Acta

I like to tell the story of how I met Acta in the Dominican Republic a year ago at a reception. Not recognizing him, I asked if he was in baseball. “Yes,” he said, “I am the manager of the Washington Nationals.” He showed a wonderful sense of humor when I tried to cover myself by saying I didn’t recognize him because I usually saw him on TV in the dugout with his hat on. He said, “Not likely; we don’t get on TV that much. You only get on TV if you are real good, and we are not there yet.”

Now Acta gets a second shot at taking a bad team to glory and I am hoping he will fare better than he did with the Nationals. It was reported that his communication skills are what impressed the Indians, who see the Dominican Republic native’s ability to relate with the team’s Latino players as a huge plus.

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ONLY ONE WEEKEND PICK THIS FRIDAY

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:09:12 -0500

Don’t look now, but our short day of post-gobble posting is over. And what better way to end the day than with an image of Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez digging one out behind a pickup truck. Check the dog on the driver’s side of the truck. I’d like to think the dog is actually [...]

Boxer's Death Creates Life For Others

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:00:37 -0500

Fighter Francisco "Paco" Rodriguez died from a brain injury suffered during a 10-round match last Friday, but his donated organs saved the lives of eight people, including his own uncle, who was on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. Rodriguez collapsed shortly after his super bantamweight title fight at Philadelphia's famous Blue Horizon boxing hall was stopped at the end of the 10th round. He was rushed to a hospital for brain surgery, but never regained consciousness an...

Francisco Rodriguez saves lives in death

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:21:06 -0500

As tragic as the death of 25-year-old Francisco Rodriguez is, I can't help but feel incredibly warmed by what has come about in the aftermath. Rodriguez, known as "Paco" to his family and friends, is saving lives. His kidney will go to his uncle, who has long been on the waiting list for a replacement. "We just learned that Paco and our uncle are a match," said Alex Rodriguez, Paco’s brother. "Our uncle has been on the waiting list for a kidney tra...

A-Rod’s Shoes A $15,0000,000 Ebay Bargain

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:24:09 -0500

My buddy Mike at Steady Burn Dot Net can really find bargains on Ebay. In a post about an army soldier selling the ad rights to his entire arm for fifty grand, Mike’s also found someone trying to sell an autographed pair of Alex Rodriguez’s game-used shoes for the low low price of $14,999,999 — plus $12.70 for USPS Priority Mail shipping. Seller rtiques99 from Oak Creek, Wisconsin has quite the sales pitch: LAST YEAR AT OLD YANKEE STADIUM!! Up for auction are a pair of custom made Nike Shox turf shoes worn and autographed Alex Rodriguez. This is one of his better signed items. AUTOGRAPH is CRISP and BOLD. (A-Rod is a notoriously light and hesitant signer.) These shoes were worn during the 2008 season and show HEAVY USE....

The 2009 MLB Season Has Belonged To A-Rod

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:40:00 -0500

The 2009 Major League Baseball season began with the startling revelation that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for two anabolic steroids in 2003. That was followed quickly by a bizarre and totally unbelievable admission from A-Rod that a cousin had bought performance-enhancing drugs for him and he didn’t really know what he had been taking. Yeah, [...]

A-Rod Contributes to Umpiring Controversy By Allowing Umps to Get One Right

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:03:56 -0500

Alex Rodriguez was the subject of the first replay review over a home run in Major League Baseball, and last night, he was the subject of the first replay review in World Series history.By hammering a ball to right field that hit a FOX camera, A-Rod once more became an unwitting pioneer in the use of instant replay. The trick, in a game played on Halloween night, was that he treated the officials to a rare opportunity this postseason to get a call right. Sort of. Phillies fans will surely sc...

FOX's TV Camera Extends Onto Field, Causes Controversy on A-Rod Home Run

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:53:54 -0500

Whether it’s been BCS games or baseball playoffs, we’ve often complained about FOX TV overproducing sporting events. Not to say that I or many others don’t have short attention spans, but it seems to me that along with showing you sports, FOX’s goal is to give you A.D.D. if you don’t already have it. [...]

Alex Rodriguez Is A Centaur

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:49:27 -0500

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They're back: Yankees return to World Series

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:09:05 -0500

Alex Rodriguez, welcome to the World Series. The New York Yankees are back in baseball's big event.

A-Rod rocks, Yankees roll past Angels in Game 4

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:37:54 -0500

Alex Rodriguez homered in the third straight game of his outstanding postseason, CC Sabathia pitched eight resilient innings of five-hit ball on short rest, and the New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels 10-1 Tuesday night to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the AL championship series.

Alex Rodriguez shows us the ass grab is the new high five

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:27:34 -0500

Seriously, WTF! Alex Rodriguez got all up in Derek Jeter’s business last night. The occasional butt slap is all right, but it is totally unnecessary to cup and lift another man’s behind. Look at how AROD sprints to get to the steps before Jeter got to the top. Like this was all premeditated. Thanks to Tirico [...]