Kevin Millar -- the clown show continues

Kevin Millar, December 1993:

By Bob Hohler, Globe Staff, 12/17/2003

Count Kevin Millar among the Red Sox who would welcome Alex Rodriguez, even if it meant the departures of Nomar Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez.

"You look at Nomar, and he's won two batting titles, and you look at Manny, and he's a great hitter," Millar said by phone last night from Beaumont, Texas. "But if you're talking about the best player in baseball all-around, I'm taking Alex Rodriguez."

[...]

"You're talking about the greatest player in the game," Millar said of Rodriguez. "Who wouldn't want him on their team?"

Kevin Millar, February 2004:

Sunday was Kevin Millar's turn to take a few shots at Alex Rodriguez.

Millar became the sixth Red Sox player in six days to criticize Rodriguez, taking the Yankees' third baseman to task for boasting about his workout routine and not measuring up to Derek Jeter as a "Yankee type."

"Derek Jeter is the Yankees, period," Millar said. "A-Rod's salary doesn't dictate that he's a Yankee. Making $25 million doesn't mean he's a Yankee.

"I don't know him," Millar said. "I know one thing. A lot of us in this locker room, we watch a guy like Derek Jeter play over and over, and he's a winner. And then, I think, I don't know if the guy grasped for the respect or whatever, but you don't need to tell people you're an upper-tier player. You don't need to tell people that you work out seven hours a day."

Defending world champion and a real class act.