I am Confused

First off, I like Relaxo will be missing next week's Beer Sandwiches.

All week on the radio people have been calling in and discussing the Arod contract situation and whether Yanks she even try and resign him etc. A large amount of the callers say that Arod is not a team player. I don't understand this.

What is a team player in baseball? Are they saying that he does not try and advance a runner into scoring position or he goes for a big hit rather then a sacrifice fly? Baseball is the most individual of all team sports. Does he play less hard then other players? I don't buy any of this. If you're going to say not to resign Arod then do it for the right reasons.

Maybe the money would be better spent on 2 or 3 players, like a Lowell and a Texiera.
Maybe you think his off the field behavior is too large of a distraction?
Was Peyton Manning not a team player because he has so many endorsements? These elite athletes are under such a microscope that i think people lose sight of what these guys are truley about.

I once read that Arod goes home after a game and rewatches the whole game, rewatches his at bats hundreds of times. Manning watches more game tape then anyone else. Yes I know we saw him with the blond, and apparently he likes strip clubs, but this guy has a drive to be the greatest player ever to play. To say he is not a team player is ridiculous. Is it a numbers thing or something else? He's batting like .540 in the 9th innings of games, is he not trying hard enough? He wants to win so bad, and help the team so bad that he often tries to hard and crosses the line of what is acceptable (Arroyo chop, yelling "i got it", sliding high into second, etc).

Arod is not asked to bunt, he is paid money to swing the bat. He plays every game, he plays banged up, and he plays hard. What do Yankee fans want him to do which would make him a better teammate and translate into more wins? I do have a little problem with him staying in a different hotel on the road on occasion, but you can't convince me if he stays with the team they win more games.

I believe people want a scape goat for the Yanks lack of World Series wins the past 7 years. What about Mussina, Matsui, Damon and all these other guys who haven't produced one either? Have they been so good in the clutch that they get a free pass with all the dissapointing performances they have had? No way. Arod has not got the job done in the postseason so far, we all know this. But to say that he is not a team player and a bad teammate because of this is not fair.

To get a raw deal in New York is nothing new. To be treated by the media unfairly is nothing new. But to be treated by your fans the way Arod has been is beyond.