By JACK CURRY

Published: October 21, 2004


The Slap. That is what most of New England will gleefully remember about Alex Rodriguez now that Boston Red Sox shocked the Yankees, 10-3, to incredibly snare the American League Championship last night at a quiet Yankee Stadium. "Remember what A-Rod did the year the Red Sox went to the World Series?" That is what Boston fans will keep shouting.

For the Red Sox to be able to perpetually tease Rodriguez about slapping the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove in Game 6 on Tuesday night, they had to stop the Yankees for the fourth straight game last night. The Red Sox did so in dominant fashion, meaning they will not fade, and neither will the scrutiny of Rodriguez.

He has been in the vortex of this ageless and intense rivalry since Feb. 16, the day the Yankees swooped in and acquired him from the Texas Rangers. It took the Yankees a few days to complete a mammoth trade for a player the Red Sox could not get despite weeks of discussions.

But the team that failed to acquire Rodriguez will play host to the opener of the World Series on Saturday night at Fenway Park, and the team that did get Rodriguez will hear George Steinbrenner's rants, perhaps as early as today. Steinbrenner, the Yankees' principal owner, may well bash General Manager Brian Cashman, but he would be better off starting with the ineffective, aloof Kevin Brown.

Whether Steinbrenner will eventually tweak Rodriguez is uncertain, but the fans at Fenway will remind Rodriguez that they won the pennant without him and will remind him about the Slap, too. Rodriguez has one season under his money belt with the Yankees, but he became an instant symbol of the rivalry and maybe motivation for the Red Sox.

"Perhaps there's something there," Rodriguez said. "But this is a team sport, and you win and lose with 25 guys. One guy is not going to win or lose the World Series. But there might be some symbolism there."

Rodriguez ended his season lamely, by going 0 for 4. He looked too anxious as he grounded out in the first inning. After Derek Jeter's single helped the Yankees pull to 6-1 in the third, Rodriguez hit a squibber back to the mound. Rodriguez grounded out again in the sixth and struck out in the eighth, and he was booed both times. Forget the Slap. The Yankee fans simply wanted a single.

Rodriguez tried to diminish that his last memories of the stadium this season will be of being booed. Rodriguez said, "Everyone got booed," which is not true. The fans left Rodriguez with his ears ringing after he finished the series 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position, a situation in which he struggled all season.

"I don't know how to explain it," Rodriguez said. "I think being up, 3-0, and not being able to close the door is what I'll take with me."

While Esteban Loaiza warmed up for the Yankees in the fourth, Rodriguez and Jeter stood side by side on a pitch of grass in front of second base. They took off their caps and looked bewildered. They make a combined $44 million a year, but all those zeros provided no answers for the seven-run deficit that they most likely knew would result in a loss. Jeter said he did not remember what they talked about, if anything.

"We haven't won in a while," Jeter said after the Yankees failed to win a championship for the fourth straight season. "Every year is a different group. This group didn't get it done."

Curt Schilling, who made recruiting calls to Rodriguez while the Red Sox chased him last winter, criticized Rodriguez before Game 7 for the Slap in Game 6.

That was "junior high school baseball right there, at its best," Schilling told ESPN Radio, adding: "First off, Bronson wasn't in the base line to begin with. He could have easily broken his arm right there."

Schilling continued to malign Rodriguez by comparing him unfavorably to Jeter. He said Jeter would not have done what Rodriguez did because Jeter is a class act and a professional. Schilling said that Rodriguez could end up as the greatest player ever, but that he would not consider him classy.

The Slap came about with one out and Jeter on first in eighth inning Tuesday. Rodriguez, who declined to respond to Schilling's remarks, cued a dribbler that Arroyo scooped up near the foul line. Arroyo saw that first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz had also converged on it. With no one covering first, Arroyo reached to tag Rodriguez.

When Arroyo extended his left arm toward Rodriguez's chest, Rodriguez slapped down on it, causing the ball to shake loose from the glove and roll toward right field. Jeter rushed around to score and Rodriguez made it to second. The Yankees trailed, 4-3, and it looked as if another legendary Boston meltdown was imminent.

Randy Marsh, the first-base umpire, called Rodriguez safe, but Boston Manager Terry Francona argued the call. It was quickly reversed. Rodriguez was called out for interference. Marsh later explained the ruling, saying a player cannot use his hands or arms to commit an obviously malicious or unsportsmanlike act.

Malicious and unsportsmanlike are two words the image-conscious Rodriguez does not want attached to him, but his behavior was dubious. Rodriguez lamented how he would have been better off barreling into Arroyo, whose arm, but not his entire body, was in the baseline as Rodriguez scampered to first.

Rodriguez was perplexed by the play, but he should not have been. Surely he realizes that he cannot slap, smack or swipe at the ball when it is in a player's glove. He looked desperate in slapping a ball 50 feet in an important situation.

Rodriguez batted .258 with two homers and five runs batted in during the A.L.C.S. But, fair or unfair, Rodriguez will be remembered in Boston and other places for the Slap. He wanted to erase that image in Game 7, but the Red Sox made history, and Rodriguez will hear about it for a long time.

his 'Slap' or his Ka-Rod-E chop...

They are just looking for a reason to slam the best player in the game. Same mentality that most of the Eu slams the US. Ni coincedence that a lefty posted it. It's a shame that envy is rewarded and hard work and talent is put down.

A-Rod put himself in the position of being subject to endless scruitiny by desiring a trade to New York by signing a $250M contract. He has no simpathy from me.

TK, your ham handed attempt to turn this into a liberal attack speaks volumes about your state of mind or lack there of.

What else do you have to know the guy is the best baseball player in the game right now. How much he makes is not relevant to the game in any way. It's petty jealousy a very liberal trait as I pointed out.

Never palyed the game did you KK?

So you never fouled anyone in a hoop game? You would be a cheater right?

We had a city leauge team in kirkland. When we all where in our early 30's 4 of the 8 guys on the team tore the achilles in the same season. It worked out OK as the leauge asked us not to come back because we played to rough. We belonged at Green lake with all the bloods so we could foul them and listen to them biotch:D

How did a comment about a baseball player come around to barbs about liberals vs conservatives?

TheKing (yeah I have no problem calling you by what you want to be called if it makes you feel superior) - does your hate for anything not yours so all consuming that you can't keep a simple comment on topic?

yes

a-rod is good but the best?

my vote for the best player in the game right now goes to vlade...

...remember when kent hrbek pushed terry pendleton off the bag during the world series? everyone said 'heads up baseball right there' when really, it was against the rules. The call just didn't go their way. That the call was even changed is testament to how far the umps have come in their 'get the call right' mentality.

this to me is just red sox fans rubbing the yankees fans noses in shiat........

....haha, for a change.


its part of the game

I'm just glad the umpires got the call right! I'm not going to root against A-Rod but I sure as He!! am going to root against the Yankees! I'll be interested to see just how much more money Stienbrenner throws away this off season. Sure is nice watching some good baseball after this past pathetic season in Marinerville!

soccer

does it surprise no one to learn that a sport the entire world embraces would go completely over rory's head?

Dante,

It's simple. Taking shots at someone because they are the best or make more money like ARod or the Yankees etc. is very much like the liberals that want to make everything even and fair. Ie their tax plan and most legislation desinged to bring everything down to the lowest common denominator. BTW where in the rules does it say all post have to meet your standards? Are you the PP mommy maker of all the rules? my post was about baseball and liberalism very on topic , mom.

he even hates creole cookin and he doesn't know why.

TheKing,

Sorry for the late reply as I was actually fishing this weekend...

No I am not your mommy nor do I plan to legislate behavior on PP. Interesting that you would use that as your line of attack. Seems you need someone to tell you to eat your vegies, quit picking on your little brother and grow up.

I am just stating that you can't keep your ideologies outside of a simple post without attacking someone for forming their own opinion.

There is no rule in changing subjects on a topic. It just seems like common courtesy that posting on a topic would suggest keeping to it. I actually read this post to avoid reading the childish drivel on the other political threads. But lo and behold there you are spewing your hate.

Yawn....... I'm tired of it and called you on it.

Dante,

It would seem to me that your post attacking me is filled with the very thing that you protest? And I am supposed to respect your opinion? Do as I say don't do as I do?

I saw someone attacking someone because they are a great athelete and make alot of money I called them on it and I compared that behavior to a political bent. It's very accurate even if you do not like it.

TheKing, you are admirable because you have strong convictions and a unique point of view. I praise you for that. I am just weary of the us-verses-them mentality. If it appears I am attacking you or singling you out, it was only in reaction to you doing the same to Jeff'e'd and I apologize. Just allow us folks who think differently than you do, or even hold points that are not clearly black-or-white the right to disagree AND ESPECIALLY a chance to escape it.

If you see fit that a topic about Arod needs a political bent to argue the case for why liberals suck then you and I are just not going to see eye to eye.

If we can stop attacking anyone purely based on a difference of opinion - and - debate the topic based on the merits of the arguement, then it gets to my end goal. Keeping to topic.

Dante,

Makes sense. There are thre or four of us here that knock each other around. I can see where others may not want to hear it all the time.
My apologies for my part in it as well.

My kudos to Dante and The King.

Thursday, October 28, 2004
Boston ace cites clubhouse presence

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ESPN.com news services

Curt Schilling says what he thinks, and what he said to sports talk radio listeners in Boston on Wednesday afternoon is that the Red Sox would not have been in the World Series if Alex Rodriguez was on the team.

"The biggest move, when all was said and done, was the non-move. I think if we get A-Rod, we don't get here [to the World Series]. I don't question that for a second," Schilling said on WEEI's "The Big Show."

As recounted in the Boston Globe, Schilling continued, "He's a Hall of Famer, sure. But after getting to know people who, A, play with him and, B, have played with him, I don't think it would have worked here. I think this clubhouse would have been a much different place, and I don't think it would have been better, given the personalities involved."

The proposed trade with the Rangers to obtain Rodriguez would have sent Manny Ramirez to Texas. Ramirez stayed in Boston and was named World Series MVP.