“Yeah. That’s what I said a few posts later if you would have read it.”

Dude chill. Everything in my post, especially with the WBC part, wasn’t meant for you. Good lord LOL.

And I wasn’t criticizing what you said more so than I was the people who want him to do what they want.

Jeff Passan comes off as a pompous ass in that first paragraph. People should always be searching, seeking and yearning until their last breathe or they are not living a full life. How nice it must be for someone as young as him to have all the answers already. And how arrogant of him to think he knows who A-Rod is while claiming A-Rod doesn’t know who he is.

I’ve never heard A-Rod say he was exploring a new religion, dating Madonna or needing to re-establish his status as anything. He’s off the clock and owes the fans nothing until the first day of ST.

A-Rod has made for many lazy journalists. There is no need to look for a story if you can just make him the story. Stop projecting trouble and just report it if and when it happens.

The answer to the mystery that is A-Rod is simple. Realistic expectations. He’s not going to put up 2007 numbers every year. Not many have before him and few will follow with that kind of performance. He’s never going to “earn” $27.5 million a year because baseball is a game of failures and those who succeed only 1/3 of the time for a number of years find themselves making a speech 5 years after retirement in a small upstate NY town. He’s not always gonna say the right thing because he’s human. I don’t always say the right thing but the difference is no one holds me accountable for it and reminds me of it everytime I make a mistake. And learn to seperate Alex from A-Rod. A-Rod is capable of doing superhuman things on a baseball field and Alex struggles with the same stuff all other humans do- albeit in more expensive clothes and a nicer house and car.

He is part of the solution, not part of the problem. He plays on the biggest stage, takes the pressure off 24 other guys around him to be able to be human. Applaud excellence when you see it instead of booing imperfection.

I would love for him to play with the DR in the WBC. How could a couple of weeks of hanging with Manny and Pujols, taking BP, working out and talking hitting be a bad thing?

WBC means nothing. Playing for the DR or US means nothing.
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Yeah. That’s what I said a few posts later if you would have read it. And SINCE it doesn’t matter, and since he should know that move like this would draw unneeded attention (as unfair as it may be), it would have been prudent (and in his best interest) to not change countries. If he knew it would create this controversy (which, whether or not you like it has been created), then he should have just stayed with the US.

“He should have, however, realized that changing countries would draw attention he doesn’t need. He needs to hire a better publicist or PR manager.”

Why? In order to spend his life tap dancing for people, who in the end, don’t give a shit about him anyway? No one knows the dude. No one knows what parts of him are fake and what parts are genuine.

It amazes me how so many people think they know these athletes. If we were more intuitive about our own lives maybe our own relationships, careers and achievements would be better.

WBC means nothing. Playing for the DR or US means nothing. Instead of seeing it as being lost, why not view it as acknowledging both cultures. Its not the Olympics or something. Its an exhibition tourney.

MJ, honestly Afraud and St Derek both are out there strutting their stuff, whether we like it or not. People evidently care if Afraud is having sexual relations with an old skank ho like Madonna. He’s in the american media capital, so he’s bringing this upon himself. St Jeter is wilder than Afraud but unfairly gets a pass. If Jeter has one more record GIDP year this year, he should be a goat too(in my eyes he already is one).

Big Flappi? He is so beloved by other baseball players and is in provincial Boston. It doesn’t have the same play as being a NYY.

Lastly, I don’t give too sweet shits if Afraud plays on the Santo Domingo team or what! He can play with Manram or Flappi, he can play for the Hashin Tigers for all I care…..

Alex Rodriguez is a walking identity crisis. He is perpetually looking for something new because he never has found himself. He is the Howard Hughes of baseball, rich and famous beyond belief and still searching, seeking, yearning.
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Also, the hyperbole in this article is sickening. No one cares about the WBC, especially MLB players. Who knows why A-Rod switched teams.

For all we know Ortiz came up to him and was like “yo, how sick would it be if we got to hit back-to-back? I’ve had Manny behind me and want to see what its like to have you batting 4th.”

And then A-Rod goes, “Yeah, that sounds good. No one gives a shit about the WBC anyways, so I’ll happily switch teams. I mean, I do have Dominican heritage.”

Is that a mid-life crisis? Is he soul searching? PLEASE. The exagerations when it come to A-Rod are sickening.

are you kidding me lol…who cares where he plays in an EXHIBITION tournament…does anyone seriously feel national pride from the WBC? If you do you need to get your head checked..
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That’s the opinion I, MJ, and others have, but certainly not the media. Listen, it matters if Bill Clinton is getting BJs in the Oval Office because his character and honesty is an integral part of being President.

‘Character’ issues basically don’t matter in baseball, especially if the character in question is one of the hardest working, most dedicated, and most talented players in baseball. He worked out with Robbie and Melky, for God’s sake. This guy has a decent (yet quirky) character.

Most of the things A-Rod get’s chastised for has nothing to do with his performance on the field (except for his so-called lack of clutch.)

I don’t know where I am going with this anymore except to say that A-Rod gets undeserved media attention for things that have nothing to do with baseball. It’s stupid and many fans don’t care about it.

are you kidding me lol…who cares where he plays in an EXHIBITION tournament…does anyone seriously feel national pride from the WBC? If you do you need to get your head checked..

But Butchie, why does it even matter? Who cares if A-Rod is dating a disgusting used skank like Maddona while Jeter is dating down the list of FHM’s top-100? People seem to hate A-Rod for who he dates, for his supposed immaturity, for all of these silly things. David Ortiz is universally loved but do we know that he’s mature? Do we know that he’s a well-adjusted, sane, competent individual in his private life?

Why does any of this matter? We’re baseball fans, not a bunch of gossiping teenaged girls, right?

If the only reason people disliked A-Rod was because he’s “unclutch” (a fairly large steaming pile of BS, by the way) then I would shake my head but move on. But that’s NOT the reason. It’s not why Pete Abe posted a picture of A-Rod wearing a silly scarf at a Madonna concert on his website and it’s not why Steve continually posts negative A-Rod stories here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-LFBNbDzBs