Simply Pointing Out The Difference…
This is Steve’s blog and I’m merely a volunteer member of “staff.” So while I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes here, I do want to point out a small difference between two players…
I’m not arguing against his on-field brilliance and I’m not trying to draw a comparison between their talents or accomplishments, but when A-Rod messes up, he sits on a podium in front of a microphone and says so. When Pujols isn’t at his best? He heads for the exit:
Pujols, 3 for 10 with an RBI and no extra-base hits in the series, left Busch Stadium without speaking to reporters. (ESPN.com)
Please note that Pujols’s .300 average with an RBI is WAY better than anything A-Rod had done in recent October memory. That wasn’t my point. I’ve got no bias or agenda against Pujols but I just felt like I had to point that one minor detail out.
-Posted by MJ
Add on from Steve: Well, back in August, we did have this report to share from Tyler Kepner:
[Alex] Rodriguez is a ghost in the clubhouse, at home and on the road, especially before games. He limits his availability almost exclusively to brief sessions with a group after games in which he has made an impact, good or bad. He does almost no one-on-one interviews, and nobody questions the rules.
But, to MJ’s point…this refers to the regular season and not the post-season.
[...] How Mets Could Learn From David Robertson / Simply Pointing Out The Difference… [...]
I think MJ is specifically referring to how they stand up to adversity at the worst moment, when the team is eliminated.
Pujols vanishes; he’s done this before, if I remember right. A-Rod has ALWAYS faced the music.
It’s a small thing, but it still counts for something, at least in my eyes.
@ Evan3457:
That’s exactly what I saw saying.
Can you imagine the backlash if A-Rod walked out before facing the media after a playoff series where he was a non-factor? Pujols won’t get called out because (1) he plays in a market whose sports writers don’t have an inflated self of themselves and (2) because he’s a darling anyway.
It reflects poorly on Pujols and he should know better.
maybe bud should pull a stern on Albert?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/news/story?id=4232264