tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post5361107999410018812..comments2024-03-29T02:42:01.539-04:00Comments on IT IS HIGH! IT IS FAR! IT IS... caught.: Let us now praise famous men: The Daily News salutes the minor league pitcher who hit A-Rod on the hipStanghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17758839786688249648noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-23581827377645028722013-07-09T02:12:17.736-04:002013-07-09T02:12:17.736-04:00I'm going on record and saying that I hope Ale...I'm going on record and saying that I hope Alex Rodriguez comes back healthy, puts on a hitting and fielding exhibition the likes of which have never happened before, and carries this team on his back to not a wild-card appearance but the division crown. I hope he continues into October, making game-saving stops at third and getting key base hits. I hope he is the WS MVP. I hope he's the ALCS MVP. I hope he's the ALDS MVP. I hope he does so well getting the team into the playoffs that he's the regular-season MVP.<br /><br />Mostly I hope that last one. That would be perfect; it'd give Alex Rodriguez a chance to say to the wonderful Daily News staff something along the lines of, "You people sure are quick to forget that I won two of these IN THIS TOWN before!"<br /><br />This probably sounds like I am an A-Rod fan, but I assure you I was one of the last people on earth who wanted to see him in pinstripes. To me he was a very talented guy who never won anything; my memories of him in Seattle and Texas are of him walking back to the dugout with that over-the-shoulder look after yet another strikeout in a key situation...the soundtrack to which would be Alex saying a bunch of stupid things. He said plenty of them; when you can include Derek Jeter and Boeing Corp. amongst your ramblings, you're good at saying stupid things.<br /><br />So why do I defend the guy and wish him well?<br /><br />I'll admit it: A-Rod won me over when he got into it with Varitek years ago, calling him an asshole several times. Varitek, that assumedly plucky, gritty, bad-ass Boston catcher with the C on his chest, yammered something back at our third baseman. But he never removed his mask...at least not physically.<br /><br />I've kinda liked A-Rod ever since then; probably more a rueful respect. But that's a hell of a lot more than I thought of the guy before then.<br /><br />Anyway, I hope he makes it back...failing that, maybe the Daily News can hire Ol' Al to do the fifth-inning discussion. His answers to The Master and Tonto's questions couldn't possibly be more boringly obvious than the crap that rules the roost there now.<br /><br />Beyond that I'll just say that I hope Scarpetta Senior gets a daytime talk show. He seems to have a knack for it; given his penchant for melding heuristics with assorted other foolishness I think he might make a go of it.<br /><br />Get well soon, Alex!Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-34303108392003835702013-07-08T20:03:55.328-04:002013-07-08T20:03:55.328-04:00Good to note that Scarpetta's manager pulled h...Good to note that Scarpetta's manager pulled him after hitting Pay-Rod. Curve ball or no curve ball, Scarpetta had better learn to throw inside with gtreater accuracy. Anyway, the Manatees' manager knows Pay-Rod and had this to say:<br /><br />"Talk to Joe Ayrault, Brevard County's manager, who came to the mound to get Scarpetta after that errant curveball. Ayrault, 41, had crossed paths before with Rodriguez, who will turn 38 later this month.<br /><br />Ayrault was a coach in the Rangers organization during A-Rod's final years in Texas. He recalled being in the room when Rodriguez talked to several hitting coaches about his approach, sharing ideas and techniques that Ayrault still teaches today.<br /><br />"He's a big leaguer. You see that. It's a Hall of Famer," Ayrault said. "You tell the guys, 'That guy was the best in the game when he was rolling.'"<br /><br />The two occasionally chatted during Saturday's game, Ayrault in the third-base coach's box while Rodriguez played defense. Ayrault said he mostly told Rodriguez he was happy to see him back on the field. But when A-Rod came out for the bottom of the fifth, the Manatees' skipper saw a chance to crack a joke.<br /><br />"I ran over to [Rodriguez], I said, 'See how I roll? Somebody hits a Major League rehab guy, I take him out of the game,'" Ayrault said. "He was laughing about that." "<br /><br />SanJoseKidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-49234505461949315162013-07-08T14:59:11.153-04:002013-07-08T14:59:11.153-04:00This Scarpetta guy doesn't have to bat, right,...This Scarpetta guy doesn't have to bat, right, because it is an American League minor league club? He says he didn't hit A-Rod on purpose. Fine. But when A-Rod's minor league club plays this team again, there absolutely must be payback. If you cannot plunk Scarpetta in the batter's box, then you spike him hard, up the ankle, when he is covering the bag on a groundball to the first baseman. Or, if he throws tight, the batter charges the mound and gets in some dirty punches. But you absolutely have to mete out punishment to this rodent. As for Granny? Hah. Send Jimmy the Weasel and the Knockaround Guys over to her house to take her out for a little Jimmy Hoffa lasagna. Grandma would look lovely buried under concrete. Alive. Somwbody from Illinois ought to know better.SanJoseKidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-152512408177758262013-07-08T10:29:05.839-04:002013-07-08T10:29:05.839-04:00I hope they send out the crew when she falls and b...I hope they send out the crew when she falls and breaks her hip.Swinging Keinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3932285159851204335.post-68944976188164557642013-07-08T07:29:24.159-04:002013-07-08T07:29:24.159-04:00many people hold negative opinions of A-Rod, inclu...many people hold negative opinions of A-Rod, including me. But I want him to be healthy and successful. He's a Yankee, damn it, and we need him at 3rd! I do hope a pitcher on A-Rod's team follows the CODE. Their "star" deserves to be plunked. KDnoreply@blogger.com