Alex Rodriguez - Too Smug for Yankee fans!

Boston beat the Yankees 7-3 on Tuesday night in one of the most disappointing games of the season for Yankee fans.  Many of us who follow the Bombers so closely had built our hopes up after the sweep in Baltimore and the recent win streak by New York.  Could wins over the Bosox cut into the margin in the Wild Card Race to the point where post season play was possible in the Bronx?

Was Andy Pettite to blame in that he turned in a subpar performance?  No.  He suffered from some bad luck when Boston hitters dribbled the ball here and there and then scored on clean base hits and miscues by Yankee fielders.  And he got distracted by home plate ump, Jim Reynolds' inability to find a consistent strike zone.

So was Jim Reynolds to blame because the Yankee starter and New York hitters couldn't figure out what he was going to call a strike from one pitch to the next?  No, big leaguers have to be able to overcome this inconsistency on the part of the ump and just do their job.

So who was to blame?  One man.  Alex Rodriguez.  Sure Giambi went 0 for 4 and had a couple of brain farcts at first base that cost runs.  And Tim Wakefield pitched effectively if not spectacularly for the Sox.  Other Yankee hitters left men on base and Jose Molina looked like he had just taken this catcher's mitt off the rack that morning and was trying to break it in.

But A-Rod is to blame, as much for his attitude as his poor performance.  This year he is hitting .246 with runners in scoring position.  POINT TWO FOUR SIX.   Last night, in a critical game he left 7 runners on base.  S-E-V-E-N.  He hit into two inning ending double plays.  T-W-O.  And one of those came with the bases loaded in the seventh.  He also flied out weakly to center field with the bases juiced and ended the game with a weak strike out against Papelbon.

A-Rod didn't seem to have his head in the game to begin with.  In his first at bat against Wakefield he looked silly swinging at a pitch that he couldn't possibly have reached.  In the field he looked as though it was his first game at third, throwing balls all over the infield, ending up trying to catch one ball that was hit right at him while he was sitting on his ass. 

But what has to burn long time Yankee fans more than his performance is his attitude.  After he had slogged to first after grounding into the inning ending double play in the seventh, he turned, jutted out his chin and had a smirk on his face as he started pulling off his batting glove as boos rained down on him from all the seats in Yankee Stadium.

After the game he said, "We win as a team and we lose as a team.... Tomorrow can't come fast enough."  But as he said it he had that same self-satisfied look on his face.  Where is the frustration?  Where is the anger?  You can say the right words, and Alex always has the right words, just like he has been coached or scripted.  But where is the feeling to go with those words?  Where is the anguish that this season is slipping away and he is a big reason for it, the main reason for this loss last night?

Maybe these games don't really mean all that much to you when you make $27 million a year and you probably have tickets for September 29 to fly to Madonna's English country farm, or a villa on Lake Como or a French Riviera retreat. 

For some of us who can't even imagine what it must be like to have your talent, never mind your money; who have followed the Yankees since we were kids and memorized ever stat we could find for Gehrig and Dimag and Mick, A-Rod's attitude and self possessed smirk are way past getting old.  We want you to play hard on every pitch, physically and mentally and we want you to show us that you really care, not just mouth some words that you think sound nice.