Gloating from last place.

"Here’s the point: if things had gone the way Red Sox owners wanted them to during the winter of 2003-04, there is no telling where the Red Sox would be today."

Well, ARod's team finished in first place ... and the Sox finished in last place ... since we we're talking about today. 

What was the tragic consequences you were imagining?  Perhaps finishing in last place?


"In retrospect, Rodriguez and Red Sox administrators were a perfect match, two parties far more interested in image and ratings than actual performance on the field."

Of all the charges leveled against Alex Rodriguez, I think the oddest I've ever seen is the notion that he's not interested in actual performance on the field.

It's quite clear that ARod is utterly obsessed with his performance on the field, perhaps to a dangerous and ultimately self-defeating degree.


Also, the Red Sox administrators you're denigrating won two Championships shortly after the ARod deal fell through. So what the heck are you even talking about?


"But as this all pertains to the Red Sox, the latest Rodriguez scandal is yet another reminder that Rodriguez could very easily have been here, in Boston, in place of Ramirez (the eventual 2004 World Series Most Valuable Player) through 2007. Certainly Francona’s book has shed more light on Ramirez’ antics, many of which caused Sox players, in particular, to roll their eyes.
And yet, repeatedly, Sox players said they wanted Ramirez on their side because they wanted his bat. Would the same have been true of A-Rod? Rodriguez’ political nature has made him a divisive force on more than one team now, a poster boy for the modern athlete. Big image. No substance. Now that the Red Sox have become the same thing, one cannot help but wonder."

Uhhh ... are you even reading this?

 You're actually using Manny Ramirez as your counterpoint to an example of a disinterested modern athlete?


I have trouble believing ARod's presence would have hurt the Championship Red Sox clubhouse .... unless he bogarted the syringe from Manny, Papi, Trot, Tek, and Pedro.