Alex Rodriguez’s Attendance vs. Derek Jeter’s Absence: What’s Worse?
April 2, 2013 · Dave Giancola · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Opening Day for the New York Yankees was, let’s be honest, awful. Many Yankees fans held unwavering optimism heading into Monday’s game against the Red Sox but could not turn a blind eye to what they saw on the field. Although many of the “experts” said the Yankees would be bad, maybe the typical Yankee fan thought they meant “worse than usual.”
What fans saw, rather, was an uninspired club that could not produce runs (as predicted), and a CC Sabathia that looked out of sorts (not predicted). If the Yankees get blown out with Sabathia on the mound, what does that mean for the rest of the rotation? Just one of the many questions that fans are left with after the 8-2 loss at the hands of their greatest rival.
Honestly, it is one game of many. There are plenty of opportunities to right the ship—161 to be exact. Tuesday, however, a day off for the Yanks, is a day when the media gets to tear into them and over-analyze the Opening Day debacle.
Perhaps a bigger topic, at least among the local New York fanbase, is the fact that Alex Rodriguez was in the building but was not introduced, coupled by the idea that Derek Jeter, the captain, stayed in Tampa instead of joining his club in the Bronx.
So the question is: What is worse?
Mark Teixeira is hurt but showed up to the stadium and was introduced to the crowd. He received an ovation, something Rodriguez most likely would not have. Instead of addressing the fanbase and giving a heart-felt wave to the crowd, Rodriguez stayed in the shadows, avoiding the situation all together. With this said, can we give him credit for being there?
Jeter, who will live on in monument park forever as a great Yankee captain, decided not to show up at all Monday afternoon. He continued rehab in Florida for a hopeful return next week (I doubt it).
If Teixeira and Rodriguez found it in themselves to be at the ballpark, then Jeter should have as well. You cannot tell me he needed to be rehabbing during the 12 hours it would have taken to make the trip and attend the game.
On an Opening Day where Yankees fans saw Mariano Rivera introduced for the final time, they were without the other half of the heart and soul of the team, Jeter.
There are obviously many ways to look at this situation, one of which being that this is not a situation at all. When it comes down to it, introductions do not win games, and we will all forget about it in a few weeks.
But now, at 0-1, it is definitely a situation we can talk about before the season really gets rolling. Is this a microcosm of the culture of the club or just a detail that is being over-hyped and blown out of proportion?
The bottom line is Rodriguez should have given a wave, and Jeter probably should have made the trip. Either way, Teixeira played his cards correctly, attending the game, wearing his jersey and saying hello to a crowd that loves their hometown Bronx Bombers.
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