pr11fan Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/3342850 NEW YORK (AP) - Even in the dead of winter, Alex Rodriguez and Curt Schilling are still going at it. "I just hope he continues to talk about me and my teammates," the New York Yankees third baseman said Friday. "It's going to give us great motivation to beat him up in the future." Schilling called it a "bush-league play" after Rodriguez was called out for interference in Game 6 of the AL championship series last October. A-Rod, trying to beat out an infield dribbler, slapped the ball away from pitcher Bronson Arroyo near first base. "To me it was just odd, because I mean we beat him a couple of times during the year and he was crying on the bench," Rodriguez said of Schilling. "And then he lost Game 1 and he wouldn't talk or anything. And obviously, he wins Game 6 and then he's still talking 'till today. So it's just something we as players have been accustomed to. But it's something I'm not worried about." Schilling, reached on a cell phone Friday, said Rodriguez had his facts wrong. "It's not true. I talked after Game 1," Schilling said. "I don't care what Alex says. When someone says that, you consider the source." He also denied shedding tears in the dugout. "I was upset, but I wasn't crying on the bench," Schilling said. Pitching on an ankle tendon held in place by suture, Schilling won Game 6 and Boston then became the first major league team to win a best-of-seven series after trailing 3-0. He then won Game 2 of the World Series, helping Boston sweep St. Louis for its first Series title since 1918. He wasn't upset by the remarks A-Rod made during a telephone conference call Friday. "That Alex Rodriguez doesn't like me? Not at all," Schilling said. Asked whether he thought the comments were made for self-motivation and to stir up the rivalry, Schilling responded: "If that's what he needs, cool." Traded by Texas to the Yankees last February after winning his first AL MVP award, Rodriguez went 2-for-17 in the final four games of the playoff series against Boston. He hit .286 during the regular season with 36 homers and 106 RBIs but batted .248 with runners in scoring position and was 2-for-12 with the bases loaded. "I played well at times, I played terrible at times," Rodriguez said. "And at the end of the day, I feel like my job was a failure because I was basically taken there to be the final part of a world championship team. So if you have to blame someone or point a finger at someone, you have to look in my direction, and I take 100 percent of the blame." While Rodriguez hit .270 in the first half, he batted .307 after the All-Star break. Playing in New York was far different than in Seattle, where he began, or in Texas. "It was a tough year overall to (get) used to all the different things you have to get used to, especially off the field, in New York," he said. "But I finally felt in August, September and October I was back to myself and played well and felt more comfortable." With a record $252 million, 10-year contract, expectations are high and he knows it. "Coming in for me was totally different than most players," he said. "I think you have to ask Rocket (Roger Clemens), myself, probably Randy (Johnson) and the upper-echelon-type of player, because there's a much grander responsibility that comes along with being who I am, and I understand that completely. ... "To me that's the responsibility that I've always carried, and that's fine. I want those fans to expect those things from me. I expect them from myself. My salary dictates that. Everything that has to do with me, I expect to be the best at what I do." Still seeking his first World Series ring, Rodriguez said the playoff loss to Boston has been "the driving force of my winter" and admits "it's been hard to sleep thinking about that." He predicted Johnson will have an easier adjustment to the Yankees this season - notwithstanding the Big Unit's run-in with a television cameraman last week on a Manhattan sidewalk. "He's going to pitch well. He's going to enjoy the run support and the good defense behind him," Rodriguez said. "And I think he's going to enjoy winning again, like he did in Arizona. As far as the other stuff, that's his issue, and I don't really think it's that big of a deal." Clemens, who agreed to an $18 million deal with Houston on Friday, also believes Johnson will find success in the Bronx. "I think even though he got off to a little bit of a bad start that he'll be - he'll have a great time," Clemens said. "He's going to light it up and those people are going to love, those Yankee fans are going to love what he brings to the table every time he goes to the mound." --- AP Sports Writer Howard Ulman in Boston contributed to this report Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pr11fan Posted January 22, 2005 Author Share Posted January 22, 2005 Mods, please move to tailgate. Sorry :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatty P For The Pulitzer Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Yeah, just like they beat them up in the ALCS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fifty Gut Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Baseball?!?!?!?! :puke: :mad: :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pr11fan Posted January 22, 2005 Author Share Posted January 22, 2005 Originally posted by Gfunk703 Baseball?!?!?!?! :puke: :mad: :doh: Not a big fan myself, but I thought this story too amazing not to post. Message to A-rod, actually improve the performance of one team you've been with before running off your mouth to a guy with 2 rings. A-rod is a total jackarse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSteve Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Baseball wins the "Most OverTheHill Woman Who Thinks She's Still Hot" Award. Football is now America's favorite pasttime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsFTW Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 ""Coming in for me was totally different than most players," he said. "I think you have to ask Rocket (Roger Clemens), myself, probably Randy (Johnson) and the upper-echelon-type of player, because there's a much grander responsibility that comes along with being who I am, and I understand that completely. ..." What an *******. He makes too much cash. Every team he has played for got better the year after he left. Thats gotta say something. Kinda like our defense this year without Chump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyDave Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 I do blame A Rod and company for he11 freezing over but since dubba ya beat the other nuisance from massachusettes, I'm content knowing that the yanks this year will help start another series drought for the chowder heads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljer Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Originally posted by NavyDave I do blame A Rod and company for he11 freezing over but since dubba ya beat the other nuisance from massachusettes, I'm content knowing that the yanks this year will help start another series drought for the chowder heads :snore: :snore: :rolleyes: And when the Big Unit doesn't pan out, where do you turn next??? Funny stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJWatson3 Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 i kind of hope the A-Rod trade begins a new Yankee Curse, maybe the "Curse of the Open Wallet"? A-Rod is a great player, and i actually liked him once-upon-a-time, in SEA. i couldn't stand it when he signed that deal in Texas because i knew what it would do to the average salaries. now we've got mediocre players demanding boat-loads of money, because that's what the market is now thanks to those fools. A-Rod in NY is a sick thought. even worse than Randy Johnson in NY. i used to like RJ too, but now that he joins this band of hired-guns? yes, i know every team pays their players, but they don't just out-spend everybody and forsake building an organization from within, with and eye for talent, not a limitless budget. i gave Schilling a pass, because he was joining the cursed organization, the turtle to NY's hare... ya know? he joined the perennial loser and wanted to make them the best and he did his part. it was grand! A-Rod is all act. he tried to get onto the Red Sox, talked about how he would love to be a part of the organization, and would be willing to take a pay cut, and then when it didn't work out, he signed in NY and all of a sudden hated the Red Sox. why do you think he started that fight with Varitek? he wanted immediate recognition that he was a Yankee punk. he got it, and he was loved by NY for it. he's got no substance, and is all about the image. **** the yankees! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mookie0720 Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Why is A-Rod talking? The Yankees can't talk any sh!t after their debacle last season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsfan080 Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 As an Impartial Baseball fan ( I love the Cardinals, so I'm not so impartial anymore) but this rivalry is so much fun to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portisizzle Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 A-Rod was on the first team in major league history to lose four games in a row in a championship series after carrying a 3 - o lead. A-Rod is a straight up dork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking Deadman Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Who cares, The Sox broke the curse..... But really we'll see this match-up again in the ALCS b/c the Yankees and the Sox spend the most money in baseball and will be in it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJWatson3 Posted January 22, 2005 Share Posted January 22, 2005 Originally posted by goskins Who cares, The Sox broke the curse..... But really we'll see this match-up again in the ALCS b/c the Yankees and the Sox spend the most money in baseball and will be in it again. i still have hope that they will institute a minimum and maximum salary cap in baseball. i think that's a huge reason (besides the strike and the 'roid raging) that baseball has lost a lot of fans to football and is no longer seen as "America's game". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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