Have a Hot Dog on ARod Day! (and other interesting reflections. . .)

So everyone's talking about how ARod is crawling back to the Yankees, how Scott Boras dropped the ball, and how he's still going to be the highest-paid player in Major League Baseball. About the only good thing I can say about Barry Bonds' indictment is that it gave the news guys something else to talk about. (I'll have more on Scary Barry soon, but not tonight.)

So my question is, why do I even know who Alex Rodriguez's agent is? Can you name Jeter's agent? Who represents Johan Santana? I'm sick and tired of the fact that the only thing I hear about ARod is how much money he's made, is making or will make in the future.

That's because Scott Boras has made a point of making money the end all. Instead of putting his client's needs first, he put money first. Boras doesn't work for ARod, ARod plays for Boras.

Alex Rodriguez already had far more money than he could spend. He didn't need someone to broker a career money deal. He especially didn't need this PR nightmare!

What ARod needed was to come out of this latest signing looking like the knight in shining armor.

Imagine Scott Boras had done the right thing instead of what he did. What if he allowed ARod to sign for the original Yankee offer. Then, at the press conference, let ARod say, "I'm a Yankee for life!" And then, he could appeal to his "fellow Yankees" who are considering free agency to "make the same committment!"

Then, maybe he could announce that, to celebrate, at the Yanks' home opener he would be personally sponsering "Have a Hot Dog on ARod Day" at Yankee Stadium, or something equally endearing.

My point is, ARod is undoubtedly a phenomonal player. But he looks like a shmuck. No matter what he's involved with, he looks like a shmuck. He's spent so much time building his net worth, he's given little if any thought to his image.

And that's where he's gone wrong. New York is a tough town. He's playing in the House That Ruth Built. Legends played on that field. Mantle, Gherig, Ruth, DiMaggio. Does ARod deserve to be listed in among them?

Statistically, yes! But he looks like a shmuck. He's not beloved like they were. He's not anywhere near as beloved as his teammate Derek. So, for that reason, every single move he makes is hyper-analyzed until he can do no right. Meanwhile, Jeter can hang for the night with a couple strippers, and we forget about it the following day! Nothing sticks to Jeter, because we love him.

We don't love ARod. We have a hard time liking him. But here he is. With some effort, (and maybe a free hot dog or two,) he may be able to win over the hard-boiled New York fans. Then, maybe he can finally stand up as the new legend in a long line of Yankee legends.