ed purely against himself, pushing the cost of Rodriguez well beyond what any other team was willing to pay him. But guess what? As the owner of his business, that’s his right. Perhaps he determined that $252 million was a good price to pay for the revenue that this asset would generate for his company, or team, in the future? Or perhaps Tom Hicks is an idiot. Rac's Rant

July 1, 2006

Has there ever been a more scrutinized player in the history of sports than the Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez? Furthermore, has there ever been a superstar more disrespected? Common sense dictates that the majority of the boos stem from jealousy. However, I suppose you could argue that Yankee fans, angered by the fact that their owner hasn’t been able to purchase a World Series title since 2000, basically have decided to take their aggression out on the highest paid man on their roster. And before you start in with the “He’s not clutch like Derek Jeter” nonsense, simply look at the numbers. As far as the post season is concerned over the last few years, Rodriguez has comparable if not better numbers than Jeter in many key statistical categories. It simply comes down to money, which is ironic since the Yankees have been throwing theirs around for years. But does he really deserve the constant criticism?

Even as a non-Yankee supporter, I suppose I have to defend A-Rod on this one. Sure he signed the highest contract in the history of professional sports, but the only person who legitimately should be booed is the person who would turn down a contract like that in the first place. To turn down that kind of money would be an injustice to your family, to charitable organizations, and to any other future beneficiaries of that money. This was a case of yet another unintelligent owner who negotiated purely against himself, pushing the cost of Rodriguez well beyond what any other team was willing to pay him. But guess what? As the owner of his business, that’s his right. Perhaps he determined that $252 million was a good price to pay for the revenue that this asset would generate for his company, or team, in the future? Or perhaps Tom Hicks is an idiot.

hat their owner hasn’t been able to purchase a World Series title since 2000, basically have decided to take their aggression out on the highest paid man on their roster. And before you start in with the “He’s not clutch like Derek Jeter” nonsense, simply look at the numbers. As far as the post season is concerned over the last few years, Rodriguez has comparable if not better numbers than Jeter in many key statistical categories. It simply comes down to money, which is ironic since the Yankees have been throwing theirs around for years. But does he really deserve the constant criticism?

Even as a non-Yankee supporter, I suppose I have to defend A-Rod on this one. Sure he signed the highest contract in the history of professional sports, but the only person who legitimately should be booed is the person who would turn down a contract like that in the first place. To turn down that kind of money would be an injustice to your family, to charitable organizations, and to any other future beneficiaries of that money. This was a case of yet another unintelligent owner who negotiated purely against himself, pushing the cost of Rodriguez well beyond what any other team was willing to pay him. But guess what? As the owner of his business, that’s his right. Perhaps he determined that $252 million was a good price to pay for the revenue that this asset would generate for his company, or team, in the future? Or perhaps Tom Hicks is an idiot.

if not better numbers than Jeter in many key statistical categories. It simply comes down to money, which is ironic since the Yankees have been throwing theirs around for years. But does he really deserve the constant criticism?

Even as a non-Yankee supporter, I suppose I have to defend A-Rod on this one. Sure he signed the highest contract in the history of professional sports, but the only person who legitimately should be booed is the person who would turn down a contract like that in the first place. To turn down that kind of money would be an injustice to your family, to charitable organizations, and to any other future beneficiaries of that money. This was a case of yet another unintelligent owner who negotiated purely against himself, pushing the cost of Rodriguez well beyond what any other team was willing to pay him. But guess what? As the owner of his business, that’s his right. Perhaps he determined that $252 million was a good price to pay for the revenue that this asset would generate for his company, or team, in the future? Or perhaps Tom Hicks is an idiot.

f professional sports, but the only person who legitimately should be booed is the person who would turn down a contract like that in the first place. To turn down that kind of money would be an injustice to your family, to charitable organizations, and to any other future beneficiaries of that money. This was a case of yet another unintelligent owner who negotiated purely against himself, pushing the cost of Rodriguez well beyond what any other team was willing to pay him. But guess what? As the owner of his business, that’s his right. Perhaps he determined that $252 million was a good price to pay for the revenue that this asset would generate for his company, or team, in the future? Or perhaps Tom Hicks is an idiot. ed purely against himself, pushing the cost of Rodriguez well beyond what any other team was willing to pay him. But guess what? As the owner of his business, that’s his right. Perhaps he determined that $252 million was a good price to pay for the revenue that this asset would generate for his company, or team, in the future? Or perhaps Tom Hicks is an idiot. But that’s inconsequential at this point. The fact is that the best player in the game at the time the contract was signed and for several years to follow was given the richest contract. And in my opinion it was because of pure envy that this player slowly became the most hated man in sports.

The truth is, in this day in age where athletes are jumping into the stands and inciting riots, punching camera men, taking illegal drugs (performance enhancing or otherwise), beating their wives, driving while intoxicated, or doing any number of other disgraceful things, the worst thing Rodriguez has probably ever done would have to be a toss up between flip flopping between countries to play for during the WBC and slapping the ball out of the 1st baseman’s hand during game 6 of the 2004 ALCS. In this day and age I’d say he’d almost have to be considered a saint. So what do people do? Well since they can’t attack his character off the field, they are forced to rationalize their hatred of him by pointing to, what else, the money he makes.

Let’s think about that for a minute. Is anybody worth $252 million? Can a human being justify someone earning an amount of money that they most likely can’t even comprehend in the first place, and would probably never accumulate even if they lived one hundred lifetimes? I doubt it. So why do fans insist on always making everything about nickels and dimes? Are Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Chipper Jones, a