Monday, June 22, 2009

Following up on ARod and his "fatigue"

I don't care if this was a party scheduled 14 years ago, or 14 days ago. I don't care what the cause was, or which A-listers were present. This is why:

Alex Rodriguez's two days of rest was instigated by the front office, as was reported first here. But it shouldn't necessarily be taken as a slap at manager Joe Girardi. A-Rod just couldn't bring himself to admit he was wearing down whenever Girardi checked with him. So Yankees higher-ups Brian Cashman and Randy Levine engaged A-Rod and Yankees medical staff on a conference call (Girardi wasn't available at that moment), and Rodriguez finally admitted he was tiring to the point where he wasn't himself. Rodriguez's refusal to give Girardi the straight dope isn't a reflection on Girardi but the natural course for players who don't like to sit. So the decision was made on the conference call.
ARod was benched for fatigue. Not being "mentally tired"; fatigued. Skip the damn party, Alex.

I might be in the minority on this one, and I'm OK with that. If your (or my) management has a conference call to discuss your (or my) physical well-being and they recommend a few days off to rest, you (or I) should rest. Rest doesn't happen at 2:30am. I don't care what his "work" hours are.

This is not ARod bashing; I'd do the same thing for any player, any team. If you're hurt, you rehab. If you're sick, you do what you can to get well. If you're fatigued, you rest. It's that simple. Trying to justify it as anything else is silly.

8 comments:

Mark said...

Seems to me this isn't all that far removed from some random "Eyewitness News" report about city, town and state workers being filmed playing golf or something while they're on disability -- and if there's a difference, it's only one of degree. Jason, you're totally right: if you're supposed to be taking it easy, then take it easy. Sit on the couch and watch TV. It's actually not that difficult.

JE said...

Jason, do we know what was going on at this "party"? To my knowledge, there is no evidence that the affair was any more taxing to A-Rod than a late-night stroll through the aisles of a Key Food or Ralph's. Calcaterra is dead-on: as long as the guy refrained from dancing the tango and got sufficient sleep afterward, then, public relations issues notwithstanding, there is nothing of substance to get excited about.

Anonymous said...

Jeter was in a club that night and had just sat the previous 2 days with a bad ankle. I haven't heard anyone taking issue with him and he was scheduled to play the next day. He should need his rest more. The only reason this is getting any play is because A-Rod was out with Kate Hudson and the tabs want a story.

Once these guys leave the stadium, they are on their own clock. They know how much sleep their bodies require.

These guys fly after games and get in at 4 or 5 in the morning. They play rain delays and leave the stadium after 1 am. 2:30 am is primetime for baseball players.

A-Rod has been accused of many things but being unprepared has never been one of them.

Jason @ IIATMS said...

JE: We don't know anything more than he was out when he was told to sit two games to rest due to fatigue. I respect Craig a ton but I disagree with him here (and I told him so). If he was told to rest by his employer, dammit, rest.

Anon: Jeter had a bum ankle. Not fatigue. And never once have I ever questioned ARod's preparedness. I'm not worried about that. I'm more concerned with fatigue and resting a surgically repaired hip when he can.

Anonymous said...

Stop with the fatique. The effort to play a baseball game is a little different than to sit in a lounge. If they thought he was too fatigued to sit, they wouldn't have let him sit in the dugout during the game.

You're sounding like someone with an agenda.

Anonymous said...

Hip, ankle, hanging out in the wee hours. No difference. None.

Anonymous said...

And if he was so fatigued he couldn't sit in a lounge then wouldn't be too fatigued to pinch hit?

Anonymous said...

This is absurd dude, Pete Abe isn't even really on him for this one.

They guy sat in a lounge with a date after a game in his hometown. Big deal. I am sure what went on after they left would impact his "fatigue" more than being at the party.