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Taylor goes on to say:
"Jeter is the Yankees' Teflon shortstop, the golden boy to whom no criticism ever sticks. He is a clutch player, to be sure, and he is one of the few Yankees who earned his paycheck on the field in the Yankees' ALDS flop against the Detroit Tigers. But in the most crucial area, the A-Rod area, he was a crashing failure."

"in the most crucial area"?? Supporting ARod is Jeter's most crucial area? Give me a break!

The entire article reads like it was written by ARod's mother. That is if she, at least, likes him.

That article is just more proof that ARod must go. He's a distraction, a team divider. Now at least one idiot sportswriter thinks Jeter is undeserving of the MVP because of that crybaby. Before I read that drivel, I would've assumed an anti-Yankee bias if Jeter does not win the MVP. Now, am I to assume it may be due to not telling me to love ARod?

Oh, come on, Steve, there were clearly moments just before ARod would come to bat in a clutch situation or start to make a fielding play where you could see Jeter outright giving him the evil eye, as they say in the old neighborhood. I've gone over every game from this season on my DVR and I can show you a million examples. It was so obvious even Peter Abrahams has to admit it. This is so infuriating, the way Jeter is shirking his duties as team captain and ARod athletic supporter. I definitely think this is because Derek knows ARod is prettier than he is. There, I've said it. It's out there. It's sheer jealousy. Oh, you know that the great Thurman Munson didn't treat any of his teammates that way. Why, everyone knows he gave Reggie a big, reassuring hug just before Game 6 of the 1977 World Series. The big lug just melted, feeling the man love emanating from the captain.

"¿ARod? ¿Quien es ARod?"

I love Peru :)

I haven't looked at the article, but I figure it's FOS. Having said that, you would think the team captain would've nipped this in the bud a long time ago.

Fact of the matter is, saga or not, Rodriguez had a productive year. Saga or not, the Yanks had the best record in the league. All this bunk about his supposed inability to play in NY has been disproven. Sadly, you have people going out of their way to bash the man. For what? Because he makes a lot of $$? C'mon, people should be able to do better than that.

Yep, articles like that make me glad I gave up on the mainstream media

All truth lies in the middle. In my opinion, a lot of ARod's problems are self-created, either because he doesn't know what to say to people to get them off his back or because he just hasn't been able to relax in those few moments when EVERYONE is watching.

That being said, there is no doubt that Derek could've, if he felt like it, said something to just get people to give Alex a bit of space. There's no telling if that would've solved all of the problems that Alex went through in 2006, but for a guy as media-savvy as Derek, he knew what he was doing (in my opinion) by maintaining silence on the topic. For that reason, I think it reflects poorly on him.

Steve, you're right, no amount of hugging and kissing could've/would've changed anything. But it wouldn't have hurt Derek to at least have made a token gesture. Bottom line, even if it was for self-serving purposes (to show what a maganimous Captain he really is), it would've been the right thing to do.

What kind of token gesture?

Blaming Jeter for A-Rod's failures is the worst excuse yet. And it just feeds into A-Rod's problems -- the inability to be accountable and accept his own mistakes.

The idea that Jeter had to wipe A-Rod's nose because he's the captain of the team -- or that Jeter's "love" could have helped shorten A-Rod's swing -- is ludicrous.

Listen, do I think Jeter dislikes A-Rod and liked seeing him struggle? Well, I sort of do. Because Jeter is a human being and what A-Rod did to him hurt. As much as A-Rod has heard the "Jeter has four rings" line, Jeter had to live through the "you're not as a good as Alex" line (which hurts worse). So Jeter left him out there to simmer in the hot juices of New York baseball and its media. So what? If A-Rod needs Jeter to navigate his way in this territory, then he might as well leave -- because he really CAN'T take it.

So, bailey, you admit that Jeter put his petty jealousy ahead of the good of the team, but still think Arod is the bad guy, huh?

Did the "you're not as good as Arod" line come form Arod?

Those words "hurt worse" , but Arod is the one who "really CAN'T take it"

YOu're just reinforcing the point that Jeter fell short in his role as captain because of his own insecurities

Bailey/Steve - I'm neither blaming Jeter for ARod's troubles, nor removing the burden of responsibility from ARod's shoulders. No one can help ARod while he's out there on the field.

But a "token gesture", something like telling reporters to take it easy, phrased in a diplomatic and casual way, could've helped and certainly wouldn't have hurt. In so doing, Jeter would've killed two birds with one stone - he would've earned brownie points as a "great leader, sticking up for his teammates" and he would've quieted the feeding frenzy, even if only temporarily.

Again, I repeat, none of what happened to ARod was caused by, or the fault of, anyone on the team. But anyone who plugs his ears and stomps his feet insisting that Jeter handled this in the absolute best possible way is simply being obtuse. I mean, if Jeter is STILL hurt by comments that ARod made almost 6 years ago, well, he's got some growing up to do.

It was an awkward situation last season, fueled by the media's and some fans' thirst for mind-numbing reality-show drama BS. It had very little to do with what was happening on the field. Who's to say that if Jeter "goes to bat" for Alex in the media, it actually helps the matter? Murphy's law might argue that if Jeter does that, it raises the next question, which is, "Is Jeter covering for Alex?" "Have they buried the hatchet from Esquire-gate?" "What does Jeter really think about A-Rod?" And even if he does say something, the next day Alex grounds into an inning ending DP, and it begins again: "Derek, do you still support A-Rod after that DP?" "What about the error, Derek - could you have turned two if A-Rod fileds the ball cleanly?" The reason I support trading A-Rod is not that he can't produce, and not that he can't hit in October. It's that he is a lightning rod for this ceaseless crap, which is a huge distraction for the team, and we might just be able to get some good pitching for him. Short of opting out of his contract and taking less money (would anyone?) what can Alex do but experience another season of this same crap and then go out and try to hit .500 in October? GIve me a break. Jeter was in a no-win situation and he knew it. He went by the old axiom that you rarely get in trouble for saying too little. Even that didn't work in this surreal A-World.

So, bailey, you admit that Jeter put his petty jealousy ahead of the good of the team, but still think Arod is the bad guy, huh?
----

No, ieddyi, I didn't say that at all. Because 1) Jeter doesn't have a "petty jealousy" toward A-Rod (it's more of a disgust and dislike) and 2) I don't believe any words of encouragement would have helped A-Rod, so I find this entire premise to be false. Here's my take on A-Rod: he's been a success almost from the day he was born; he was amazing in high school and got taken first overall in the draft; he was a tremendous player from the moment he stepped on the field; he was the best player in baseball since that day; he was always the best, always the greatest, and I don't think he really understands the idea of failure. When he failed, he couldn't comprehend that it was him. He was always looking for someone ELSE to help him snap out of it. Mattingly, Piniella, Joe, his child, Jeter. This is why his teammates were so turned off by him. Because he had this attitude of "Hey, I'm A-Rod, my struggles will disappear because -- didn't you hear? -- I'M A-ROD!"

I don't think Jeter has to get over what Alex did to him. Also, don't forget that Jeter was at Alex's press conference, even though you know that Jeter was pissed beyond belief that Alex was coming to his team. Jeter, as far as I'm concerned, has handled himself so well here in New York that this situation doesn't even dent his image.

Think about what A-Rod did, though. You're talking about two people who were close friends. One of them ripped the other publicly. Engaged in the kind of A-Rod-is-better-than-Jeter bullshit Derek had to deal with from the press. We all know that Jeter never forgets a slight. There's no reason why Jeter couldn't enjoy seeing A-Rod sweat a little.

I do think, however, that if Jeter thought a pat on the ass from him would have helped A-Rod learn to swing the bat again, he would have done it. But he knew that was dumb. Maybe he didn't want Alex to think he "needed Jeter to save him" (as the press might put it).

The bottom line is that Alex is a drama queen with more issues than "Time" magazine. I really wish the Yankees could go back to being a baseball team and not a teen soap opera.

I never quite got the whole connection until moments ago. Exit9 above mentioned the term reality show.

But that is it. Has to be the reason for previously rational fans’ abject fealty or hatred for ARod. Some fans see the NY Yankees as the newest reality show and support or loathe the characters as on a television drama.

I am not a TV watcher other than for sports, but in the summer of 2005 I was stuck in a hospital bed and passed some of the time watching non-cable TV. One of those reality shows, "Big Brother #324623984632" was on every night I think, so I saw parts of some episodes which seemed to spend entire segments, and perhaps episodes, deciding if one person made a comment to slight another person, creating alliances of some sort for some end game and watching them evaporate because of real or imaginary other comments.

Often these were so mind numbing to me I was fast asleep before the show was over. But I am feeling deja vu all over again. (Thanks, Yogi.)

The whole ARod drama is a reality show for some people with heroes and villains, as ESPN and the moronic article by Phil Taylor of Sports Illustrated continue to stir it up even more.

It is impossible to consider Taylor a journalist after that tripe wherein he seamlessly confuses Derek Jeter's MVP performance on the field, in the batters' box, and on the base paths with the reality show drama he is stoking involving ARod.

But this is baseball, or used to be.

Most Valuable Player evaluation is based on playing baseball. It is not a ballot on performance as a captain, with other players in the clubhouse, nor in bed. It is not about suckling the wayward teammate. It is not an opportunity to vote someone off an island. Think baseball, not reality show. Please!

I live for the moment the Alex Rodriquez Traveling Circus™ moves to another town and we can all get back to baseball.