The Media Sucks - Sports Edition

I should be thrilled. Being a sports gal, and being that my favorite sport is baseball, I should be all excited that the regular season is so close. But the sport press has gotten me angry and annoyed.

Spring training has begun, and while it is as new as a spring chicken, they have decided to pick up the old chestnut of the A-Rod/Jeter fight. Why, it's being sold as an all out controversy! The back pages of the New York tabloids are screaming with ridiculous headlines about what A-Rod said about his friendship (or his faded friendship) with Jeter. The press asked the question, A-Rod answered it in what seemed like an honest and genuine manner: They aren't as close as they once were, but there is no problem on the field, period. The next day the press asks Jeter about what A-Rod said, and he basically no commented them right out of the dug-out.

John Harper of the NY Daily News wrote this regarding Jeter's no-comment attitude on talking about this situation:

[Jeter] repeatedly avoided questions yesterday by saying his relationship with A-Rod had no relevance to the Yankees trying to win a championship, and here is where he was dead wrong.
Of course it matters because it matters to A-Rod, or at least it did for the last three seasons, when A-Rod desperately wanted to restore his old friendship with Jeter, to the point where it may have messed with his head.

Last I looked, A-Rod was a grown up, and Jeter had no obligation to become BFF with someone who he felt had done him wrong. Both of them have said there is no problem on the field, so let's drop this bullshit, please.

A-Rod has been beaten down in the New York sports press the past couple of years. The Yankee fans, known for being hardasses, booed him mercilessly last season. While I was not one of the ones casting aspersions his way, I was frustrated by his inability to be the superstar he had been before coming to town. I could see how upset he was with all of it, and I don't blame Jeter one bit. I blame the media.

As a point of full disclosure: I have been a Yankee fan for over 30 years, and love Jeter in pinstripes. I was never excited about the prospect of A-Rod joining the team, and said so to many of my fellow Yankee fan friends, and watched as their jaws hit the ground. Whatever. I never felt like he was a good fit for the team, but I always wanted him to do well for the sake of 'My' team. So last year, when the boos came raining down on him at Yankee Stadium, I was one of the quiet few rooting for him to prove everyone, including me, wrong (who could have ever predicted that Alex Rodriguez could be portrayed as the underdog?).

Listen, I know we Yankee fans are the most spoiled of fans. We expect our team to get to the World Series every year, and we get upset when a team full of great players can't seal the deal, but I think this story is ridiculous. It is A-Rod's job to figure out his own crap, no one else's, and to put the blame on Jeter's shoulders (no matter how big and handsome and talented they are - hee!) is unfair and childish. Jeter may have a quiet reputation for holding grudges, but he has an outloud reputation for wanting to win and supporting his team. There is a reason he was made Captain. But he is not a psychologist.

This is about selling papers. Pure and simple. Well guess what? I'm not buying this soap opera crap. I want to hear about the game. The team. I want to hear if Carl Pavano is stepping up and pitching the way he was supposed to two years ago. I want to know if Melky is ready for his close-up (I think he is). I want to know who is healthy, who is getting a slow start, who could have a star making year. Which rookie is gonna shine, how does Joe Torre feel about their chances this year, will we ever see Bernie in a uniform again. I want to know about the baseball, not about another episode of The Bold and the Beautiful.

New York press.. grow up!!