2004-02-15 - 6:40 p.m.

Of course I'd never wish an injury on a player or anything equally mean spirited, but in my heart I want A-Rod to have a bad year--he certainly isn't deserving of any favors from above. He's the reason why we're paying our superstars billions (we're paying Manny mega money because of A-Rod's landmark Texas contract), and now that he's filthy rich--now that money isn't as important anymore, he wants to switch teams so he can get his fucking ring.

The Yankees are losing a good ball player in Soriano and will have problems getting someone to replace him, so you can take some consolation in that. Adding A-Rod to their team is absolutely perfect for them, however, in that he's a great athlete who excels in all aspects of the game, as well as a classy player who can deal with the pressures of playing in a city like New York way better than Jason Giambi has. Make no mistake--this is huge for the Yankees and an even more huge blow to the Sox.

The one thing I will say about this is that it's evil and disgusting. I'm nauseated by this. And Karma has a way of allowing something for just so long before it snaps back and bites the offender in the ass. The fact that A-Rod wouldn't switch positions for the Sox, on top of the drawn out and overhyped negotiations (which were certainly damaging to the Sox-Nomar relationship) on top of all of his other contract woes was one thing, but to have the Yankees wind up getting him exactly the way they wanted him, in the face of the Red Sox, to spite them as much to get a good player to help their team, and furthermore for them to apparently have zero problems from Major League Baseball in doing this, is just wrong. It's filthy and disgusting and I'm personally offended by this.

The whole thing about the Red Sox is that if they're going to win the World Series, they have to do it the right way. They need honor and dignity, the road to the Series has to go through New York, and they need to ooze underdog. This A-Rod development is a good thing for the Sox in that 1) it's a distraction to the fact that the Sox have quite the payroll and just went out and picked up a few hired guns themselves, 2) it weaves in yet another piece into the rich rivalry tapestry, 3) it's a bitch slap, true, but it's the kind of bitch slap that makes the bitch flip out and force a few changes to the relationship.

The Sox-Yankees archetype works out because the Sox are the "good team" (which is why players like Carl Everett and Izzy Alcantrera don't belong) that strives for baseball justice, and the Yankees are the "evil team" that values money and winning over justice. Sox fans can love their ball club because their ball club is the eternal underdog, their players are classy and honest and play for each other and for the love of the game. Yankees fans don't have that--they can point to all of the championships that they've won, but they also have to live with the fact that all 26 or whatever of their championships were bought, not earned, were won by individuals, not players, who sold their souls for money and flashy jewelry. One Sox championship, won the right way, would mean more than the sum of every time the Yankees steamrollered over an opponent by scoring more runs by spending more dollars, and the A-Rod signing only furthers this.

The Sox got so close last year, and that team was one of the best teams in the history of baseball, but maybe they weren�t ready. Maybe they can be even better this year, and who knows if that would have been possible had the Sox won the Series last year. When we were going after A-Rod, I was secretly hoping it wouldn�t work out. We�ve been rooting for Nomar for years--he deserves a ring way more than A-Rod anyway. The Sox had a good year without A-Rod hogging the limelight, and they don�t need him around to have an even better one. If the Sox can beat the Yankees this year despite the A-Rod signing, in the face of this A-Rod deal, then justice will have prevailed, which is even more sweet.