Alex Rodriguez and his frosted hair
Photo: Marino for News
It occurred to me that I have separated the two stories of Alex Rodriquez's rumored divorce and his on field performance as a ball player. I don't think I can any longer. The divorce papers are real now and the battle begins in Miami.
If you have watched Rodriguez play this past week, you wouldn't know anything was wrong even though the Madonna friendship news broke and divorce rumors began. In fact he appeared to be looser and not as tightly wound as he has in the past.
Despite that slight hiccup, he finally seemed to bring together his desire for greatness and a strong regular season batting performance that Yankee fans thought their team had bought when they acquired Rodriguez. He was named his league's MVP and his numbers were outstanding (54 homers, 156 rbi's, .314 average). All that while his infidelities with a now infamous blonde created tabloid hell and speculation about his marriage.
A Rod's stats from the last 10 games this year show consistency while coming in the rumor meets reality stages of the crumbling of his marriage. His batting average ranged from .327 to .323, he hit 3 home runs and batted in 7; and the big one last night, #536, to tie Mantle on the all time home run list.
Say what you will about his oddness when speaking to the press, his edgy and icy relationship with Derek Jeter, aggravating other teams with his bush league behavior and sunbathing in Central Park, we have seen that the off the field drama doesn't hurt his on field self.
So what does all this mean? Who really knows except that enigma wrapped in a conundrum named A Rod. But one thing is for sure; he can certainly compartmentalize better than most men and maybe, just maybe, he likes it this way. Cynthia will have to be consoled by rock star friends, a hefty sum of money wrapped up in a pre-nup and lawyer rumbles about taking more from him. I'll bet her husband ramps up his numbers during the whole mess and has a great rest of the season.
Comments