The Yankees superstar makes it impossible to take him seriously.
New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez wandered aimlessly through the playoffs and was ultimately benched.
All of my vast reservoir of fans have been clamoring for my opinion about Alex Rodriguez.
No, really. Both of them asked me the same thing.
Such an unrelenting demand must be answered, so I have a confession to make. I feel kind of sorry for the guy.
You might ask how anyone could feel sorry for a guy making a kazillion guaranteed dollars, and not earning his keep enough to justify minimum wage, deserves empathy.
Not only is A-Rod an admitted steroid user, he reportedly spent part of the playoffs trying to get to first base with the women in the stands, after failing to do it against Detroit Tigers pitching.
But I have always looked at Rodriguez differently than most. There are many despicable people in sports, but he's not one of them.
He's worse. He's pathetic.
Beyond the fact that the Boston Red Sox' 2-1 lead over New York in 21st Century World Series titles looks safe for awhile, the meltdown of the Yankees was notable for the epic collapse of Rodriguez.
Pulled from a Division Series game in the ninth, then alternately squandering second chances and being benched, was an astonishing fall from grace for one of the greatest natural talents of all time.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi was right in saying this was not an A-Rod issue. Pick a Yank, any Yank, and more than likely he was letting his team down.
Even Donald Trump got into the act, not that he had to be asked. Trump called for A-Rod to be fired for poor performance, and for misleading the Yankees about his steroid use in the first place.
Ah, Donald. If only reality were as simple, superficial and just plain dopey as your reality show.
Nothing could make me an A-Rod fan, and yet his utter cluelessness over all these years makes it hard for me to muster the dislike I harbor for say, Barry Bonds.
Bonds is smart, maybe too smart for his own good. He spent his career sneering at the game and the public because he knew he was talented enough to get away with it.
Rodriguez has not done that. In fact, he has periodically been too gracious and accommodating for his own good, exposing a clumsiness in public relations that is dwarfed only by his baseball skill.
Judging A-Rod as the lesser of two evils, I held out hope he could pass Bonds for the all-time home run record.
He has 647 homers, and five more years on a contract that is a monumental headache for the Yankees.
By averaging 23 home runs a year for five years, he would catch Bonds. But Rodriguez hit 16 home runs in 2011 and 18 this season, when injuries cost him 103 games over the two years.
Maybe it's age. Maybe it's getting off the 'roids like everybody says.
For whatever reason, Rodriguez is petering out. No matter - everybody knows Hank Aaron is the real home-run champ, anyway.
Every six months or so, the Miami Marlins change their minds on whether to model their team after the Yankees or the Kansas City Royals. They were reportedly interested in A-Rod.
Another report mentioned the Dodgers, who have already proven to Red Sox fans that they're crazy.
But neither team seems crazy enough to take on A-Rod's salary. They might not want him around even if the Yankees pay most of the freight, just to get rid of him.
As usual, Rodriguez seems tone-deaf to the swirling mess around him. He has a no-trade clause and says he expects to stay in New York.
He want to play for a team that no longer wants him, a fact he doesn't seem to know about, or care.
I still find it hard to muster up a hard-core dislike for A-Rod. To dislike someone, you must first take them seriously.
Otherwise, it's not worth getting all worked up. Rodriguez doesn't let us do that.
Blessed with an almost obscene collection of natural gifts, and rich beyond anyone's wildest dreams, he remains more of a cartoon character than a famous (albeit controversial) superstar.
He's not a love-him-or-hate-him personality. I don't anyone, including Yankee fans, who love the guy.
Hating him isn't worth it. He's pathetic.
I'm not gloating over his failure now, because I pity the guy more than I despise him. Not that I'm losing any sleep over the spectacular fall of Alex Rodriguez, and neither should you.