Hey, I thought I would expand my horizons a little bit, do something I normally don't do on this page.....rip on Gay-Rod!!! (That was my sarcastic voice.) I mentioned some of this on French's page, but will re-state here:
In all honesty, it's not that horrible of a play. Yeah, it's bush, but it probably happens quite a bit. Whether he yelled "Ha!" or "Mine!" is somewhat irrelevant in my mind. If, say, Jason Varitek yelled at a fielder as he was running by, I would be embarrassed, but I wouldn't be up in arms like some writers, or like the Blue Jays, who are really pissed by the sounds of it. However, I find it amusing that the most talented player I've ever seen, one of the most talented ever, consistently finds himself in these situations. He is ridiculously good; why does he pull things such as slap the ball out of Arroyo's hand and claim innocence, or come out of a takeout slide with an elbow up towards someone's crotch, or yell things during pop flies? These are the same types of things that A.J. Piersyznski does, and he is probably the most hated player in baseball. At what point does "just trying to win" become "being a little bitch?" Did you ever see Michael Jordan raising his arms or making random noises during other players' free throws? Joe Montana? Wayne Gretzky? (I can't really think of iffy moves that a football or hockey player could make.) Never has such a talented player been involved in so many questionable plays, from a sportsmanship standpoint. And I guess that is Gay-Rod in a nutshell. There's no denying his talent, but wow, who would want that guy on their team, stats be damned? On that note, what are Jeter, or Damon, or Pettite saying to him after these things? Someone on that team needs to tell him to act like a pro, not like a tee-baller.
Between all these plays and the Yankees' struggles this year, I guess it kinda puts me in a state where my hate for Gay-Rod is subsiding in a way, and I am almost amused by him at this point. I found myself laughing at the highlights and post-game interviews, rather than yelling and swearing at the TV. However, I will still refuse to call him anything but Gay-Rod.
