 |
 |
 |
|
Insider | Love Letters
Nearly three months later, the Toronto Blue Jays are throwing at Alex Rodriguez?
Ha!
Here in the heat of August, the once-left-for-dead Yankees are going all Bucky Dent and threatening to give Boston the most severe case of heartburn since the Bee Gees were topping the charts?
|
|
| Alex Rodriguez isn't too pleased with Toronto catcher Gregg Zaun after getting hit by a pitch on Tuesday. (Getty Images) |
With less than two months left in the wild-card sprint, the Yankees are positioning themselves to turn Seattle's coffee bitter, Detroit's autos rusty and Cleveland's ... well, what the heck spoils in Cleveland?
Ha!
The Yankees are back, though Roger Clemens might not be for his next start. Clemens was suspended after he drilled Alex Rios with a pitch after warnings had been issued from the umpires during this week's ugly series north of the border.
We still don't know if A-Rod's screaming "Ha!" at Toronto infielder Howie Clark back in May will be referred to as one of the rallying points of another successful season.
But we do know that the fact that the Jays continue to hold a grudge two months later is even more bush league than A-Rod's original transgression -- which, despite even manager Joe Torre's subsequent head-shaking, wasn't so bush league.
"Those are the little extra things that help you win," Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver was saying recently. "(The Jays) got mad when he hollered at the infield, but I don't understand. He's helping his team win.
"That's what I call a ballplayer."
Quick recap for those with fuzzy memories: In a late-May game in which the Yankees were leading by two runs with two out in the ninth inning, Jorge Posada popped up and Rodriguez ran slowly by third baseman Clark and, as Clark began to camp under the ball, yelled "Ha!"
The ball dropped for a hit because Clark was fooled. He thought shortstop John McDonald had called for the ball. The Blue Jays went ballistic; the Yankees ended up winning 10-5.
