Friday, September 22, 2006
Thoughts on A-Rod from E-Craw ...
Wanted to get the meaters take on the A-Rod story in SI. Here are the things that jumped out at me:
-) The candor with which the Yankees spoke to Tom Verducci, who wrote the article. There's no question that players confront other players, challenge them and question them in a clubhouse, but rarely does that filter out to the press. Especially in a clubhouse as professioanl and buttoned-down as the Yankees.
-) The access Verducci had. He got stuff I wouldn't expect a beat writer to get -- he was probably helped in this regard that he's not there bugging everyoen every day, but it speaks well of Verducci's understanding of the league and his experience that he could infiltrate the Yankees so well. Very impressive stuff.
-) I actually thought A-Rod came off as a pretty sympathetic figure, but also as a little aloof and out of touch. He seems to exist in a different world from everyone else on that team (a point Verducci made well when A-Rod named Rob Thomson, who throws BP, as his closest friend on the team). That said, he's not a bad guy, and his so-called bad season is still pretty remarkable.
-) I'm definitely starting to buy into the whole clutch-hitting debate. A-Rod is undeniably talented, but he legitmately seems to go into big at-bats hoping he won't screw up rather than relishing the chance to be a hero (clearly I have never interviewed A-Rod in my life, so I'm basing this all on stuff I've read).
Overall, good stuff and worth reading. Thoughts?
-) The candor with which the Yankees spoke to Tom Verducci, who wrote the article. There's no question that players confront other players, challenge them and question them in a clubhouse, but rarely does that filter out to the press. Especially in a clubhouse as professioanl and buttoned-down as the Yankees.
-) The access Verducci had. He got stuff I wouldn't expect a beat writer to get -- he was probably helped in this regard that he's not there bugging everyoen every day, but it speaks well of Verducci's understanding of the league and his experience that he could infiltrate the Yankees so well. Very impressive stuff.
-) I actually thought A-Rod came off as a pretty sympathetic figure, but also as a little aloof and out of touch. He seems to exist in a different world from everyone else on that team (a point Verducci made well when A-Rod named Rob Thomson, who throws BP, as his closest friend on the team). That said, he's not a bad guy, and his so-called bad season is still pretty remarkable.
-) I'm definitely starting to buy into the whole clutch-hitting debate. A-Rod is undeniably talented, but he legitmately seems to go into big at-bats hoping he won't screw up rather than relishing the chance to be a hero (clearly I have never interviewed A-Rod in my life, so I'm basing this all on stuff I've read).
Overall, good stuff and worth reading. Thoughts?
# posted by EJ @ 11:50 AM 
