Thursday, February 17, 2005

Selena Roberts channels Trot Nixon

Is there a less relevant sports columnist working today than Selena Roberts? Ok, maybe that guy over at USA Today, but, still, she is working with some mighty rare company.

Today she decides that Yankees' third baseman Alex Rodriguez is bruised goods. A phoney, she says. Why? Well, because future non-Hall of Famer Jose Conseco and Boston's Trot Nixon say so, that's why.

First she quotes Conseco saying that Rodriguez is overly careful in what he says when he talks to the press. Um, isn't that a good thing for a guy playing in New York? In fact, isn't that one of the things Derek Jeter has excelled in throughout his career -- making sure his words are so benign that they never make headlines?

In other words, being a bit cautious so that he doesn't come off as a brat, like the unfortunately named, Trot Nixon:

True, overdosing on steroids has probably left Canseco loony, but what about everyone else? On Tuesday, Boston's Trot Nixon singled out Rodriguez for failing to be a genuine Yankee like the true-blue Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada and Bernie Williams.

He also mocked Rodriguez for bragging about his workout regimen in the off-season. "Like Rodriguez says, he's running stairs at 6 in the morning while I'm sleeping and taking my kids to school," Nixon told reporters. "I'm like, well I'm not a deadbeat dad, Alex."

Nixon's hit streak continued as he added this kicker concerning Rodriguez's entrance into fatherhood: "He's got a kid now, too, so I guess he'll have his limo driver take her to school."

That's got to leave a mark, even on A-Rod's pristine veneer.

Oh, yeah, I'm sure Rodriguez is smarting after being called, weirdly, "a deadbeat dad."

Bizarre. But the question Ms. Roberts fails to ask is, why are the Boston players so obsessed with Rodriguez? Shouldn't they be glorying in their championship?

John Harper, who, unlike Roberts, has a ticket on the clue train, does wonder why Nixon and the Sox are determined to pick a fight with the future Hall-of-Famer.

Question to Nixon: Why do you care whether A-Rod is a true Yankee? If you're worried so much about the Yankees, worry about Randy Johnson, and pray that as a lefthanded hitter, Terry Francona doesn't make you face him.

April 3. A Sunday night. The fun begins again for these two teams that, clearly, have no use for one another.

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