Yanks unconcerned about A-Rod Being A-Rod

Wednesday, March 18, 2009 | Feedback | Print Entry

Alex Rodriguez has nine years and about $275 million remaining on his contract, and he'll probably outlast everybody currently in the organization not named Steinbrenner. He'll be with the Yankees after Derek Jeter retires, after CC Sabathia's contract expires, after manager Joe Girardi is fired. He isn't going anywhere.

So in that respect, he's increasingly viewed as the eccentric uncle in the Yankees' family. He's part of the clan and that isn't going to change. So the Yankees live with his personality quirks, which don't surprise any of them anymore.

The rest of the world might ask: Why has A-Rod befriended Madonna? Inside the Yankees' family, the response is That's Alex.

The rest of the world might ask: Why would A-Rod host a news conference about his past steroid use and create more questions than he answers? Inside the Yankees' family, the response is That's Alex.

And today, the rest of the world might ask: Why would A-Rod pose for a picture in which he appears to be kissing himself in a mirror? Inside the Yankees' family, the response is That's Alex.

"Don't worry, we'll be sure to make fun of him for it," one teammate told Kat O'Brien.

The Red Sox lived for a long time with Manny Being Manny because he had an eight-year contract, he's a great hitter, and he helped them win two World Series. And similarly, the Yankees will live with A-Rod Being A-Rod, and they will go about their business around him and ignore all the unusual decisions that he makes. They will hope none of that prevents him from being as great a player as he has been in the first 14 years of his career.

The Yankees' spring training is actually going pretty well. Jorge Posada, coming back from shoulder surgery, is throwing to bases now, and appears to be on the right track. Mariano Rivera made his first exhibition appearance Tuesday. Sabathia looked great. The young pitchers who struggled last year are doing well.

Strange A-Rod pictures? A-Rod being A-Rod? They have stopped worrying about all that.

Buster's comments about a nine year-old pitcher he may try to acquire in his keeper league, where Homer Bailey will start the season, what to expect from John Lackey this year and the development of Felix Pie are available exclusively to ESPN Insiders. Insider  
 

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  • Buster Olney Buster Olney

    Buster Olney is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. He began covering baseball in 1989, as the Nashville Banner's beat reporter assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. Later, he covered the San Diego Padres (1993-94), the Baltimore Orioles ('95-96), the New York Mets ('97) and the Yankees ('98-2001). Olney joined ESPN The Magazine in 2003, after six years at The New York Times, and he's the author of the Times' best-seller "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty," a book about the Paul O'Neill-Tino Martinez Yankees dynasty of 1996-01.

    He grew up in central Vermont collecting baseball cards and listening to Red Sox, Expos, Phillies and Pirates radio broadcasts, and was a rabid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He graduated from Vanderbilt University the same year as hoops legend Will Perdue, and ranks among the all-time leading scorers in pickup basketball at Memorial Gym. He claims to have witnessed the Commodores' winning football season in 1982 (although anthropologists have not yet confirmed this).

    Olney also contributes to ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, "SportsCenter" and "Baseball Tonight."

    Follow Buster on Twitter: @Buster_ESPN

    Ask Buster a question: Buster's Mailbag

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