Yankees' Carlos Rodon addresses blowing kiss at fan
New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon acknowledged he was more mad at himself than a jeering New York fan when he blew a kiss during a rough outing in Wednesday's 7-3 loss at the Los Angeles Angels.
"I guess it was the best reaction I could give," Rodon explained following the defeat, as shared by Garrett Stepien of SNY. "But better not to give a reaction, I guess. But just one of those things -- I was frustrated, and better to blow a kiss or not do anything at all. So just a frustrating outing, that's for sure, and I showed it there in the second early."
Rodon signed a six-year, $162M contract to join the Yankees this past offseason, but things largely haven't gone how either party envisioned this year. The 30-year-old dealt with forearm and back issues that ultimately prevented him from making his official club debut until earlier this month, and he's thus far gone 0-3 with a 7.36 ERA.
Like the spectator on Wednesday, Rodon understands his performances haven't matched the value of his deal.
"I didn't really pay mind to what exactly was said, but a fan was angry -- as they should be," he continued during his postgame comments. "I'm angry, too. I was angry at myself and blew a kiss, unfortunately."
In fairness to Rodon, he wasn't the only member of the Yankees to lose his cool on Wednesday. As noted by Christian Arnold of the New York Post, Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle allowed a run in the bottom of the eighth inning and then took his frustrations out on a different kind of fan:
Needless to say, members of the last-place Yankees seem to be in serious danger of falling apart.
"I would like him not to do that," Yankees manager Aaron Boone admitted about Rodon's actions after the team's fifth loss in six games coming off the All-Star break. "I also think it was him -- look, he's frustrated. It's obviously been tough for him to be out. And then he comes back and had a rough go of it today. He wants to help this team turn it around. And I think, probably, that prevented him from doing something that he didn't want to do, which is yell at a fan or yell at somebody."
Rodon and company will hear only worse from paying customers if their latest woes continue. The Yankees began Thursday trailing the first-place Baltimore Orioles in the American League East standings by nine games, and New York was also three-and-a-half games back of a wild-card spot at that time.
The 50-47 Bronx Bombers get a needed breather Thursday before they open a home series against the lowly Kansas City Royals (28-69) on Friday night.
More must-reads: