Alex Rodriguez is … clutch?
Yes, it's inarguable. The man once known for his blue October lips and 2004 "man slap" of Bronson Arroyo is tearing down his bad reputation, one ferocious line drive at a time.
In Boston, this couldn't be worse news. In his six seasons in the Bronx, A-Rod has been the easiest target for all Red Sox fans. So much so, in fact, that Red Sox fans have softened quite a bit on Derek Jeter — once the most hated man in Boston but now respected as a ballplayer (though I wouldn't put stock in his new cologne selling well on Newbury Street).
That would have never been possible if it hadn't been for Rodriguez and his ability to absorb the Hub's hate. Most Red Sox fans would have admitted that A-Rod was easily one of the best players in the game — numbers don't lie. But his overwhelming failure in pressure situations time after time (after time after time) was the most readily available retort. He was, in the strict sense of losing games, a loser. He kept losing.
And Yankees fans couldn't disagree. He hit an anemic .118 with a homer and two RBIs in Games 4-7 of the 2004 ALCS as the Yankees became the first team to surrender a 3-0 series lead. In his next 13 postseason games, Rodriguez hit .159 with one home run and an absolutely impossible-to-believe one RBI.
One RBI from one of the game's best players, in the heart of the game's best lineup? One?
From Boston's perspective, it was all too enjoyable.
But this year, A-Rod is dismantling his past. He's driven in 11 runs in seven games, 11 times his production in the previous 13 games.
In doing so, he's pushed New York to just a game away from the World Series. Should Rodriguez and the Yanks hoist the trophy in the Bronx in a couple weeks, it could be a devastating sight for everyone who's enjoyed watching A-Rod’s lifetime of playoff failure.
That's nothing new in New England. For years, football fans watched Peyton Manning — far and away the best regular-season quarterback on the planet — come to Foxborough in January and look befuddled. He may have thrown 300 touchdowns in Weeks 1-18, but at Gillette, his top receivers were Ty Law and Rodney Harrison.
Then came 2006, when Manning became Tom Brady. The Colts’ quarterback exorcised his playoff demons at the hands of the Patriots and won the Super Bowl two weeks later.
After three years, Patriots fans still haven't fully recovered from the shock.
In the span of just a few weeks, Manning shed the Dan Marino similarities to become a champion, something that can never be taken off his record (unless someone had the time and wherewithal to make an edit or two on his Wikipedia page).
If A-Rod continues on his pace, he'll lose his title of "biggest loser" and leave the sports world without a championship-less superstar that is so easy to hate.
LeBron James comes to mind, having been eliminated in the playoffs the past four seasons and causing a stir by walking off the court without shaking any hands. But LeBron is just 24 years old, and he's already arguably the best player in the world. An NBA championship for him probably is only a matter of time.
Terrell Owens has made himself an easy heel for sports fans over the years, and his extraordinary talent combined with his lack of rings makes him an automatic contender for the position. However, it's hard to fault him for his big-game performance. In Super Bowl XXXIX with the Eagles, Owens played with two screws in his ankle and caught nine passes for 122 yards.
He didn't win the Super Bowl, but he definitely didn't lose it.
Which brings the attention to his former teammate, one Mr. Donovan McNabb. The quarterback has made a habit of losing the big one. He owns a career 9-6 record as a starter in the playoffs, and lost four of the five NFC Championship Games in which he’s played. When he finally made it to the game’s biggest stage, he was visibly gasping for air and was said to be vomiting in the huddle as the Eagles fought to come back against the Patriots.
That right there is, in its most literal sense, choking in the big one.
But McNabb, while having all the qualities of the biggest loser, just isn't hateable. (Unless you're T.O.)
The rest of the crop still lacks the prestige that a Rodriguez or Manning carries: LaDainian Tomlinson, Joe Thornton, Ken Griffey Jr. and all the other players who haven't won are, for the most part, likeable (though L.T.'s moping in recent years has him contending).
When you think about it, a lot more is at stake over the next two weeks than just title No. 27 for the Yanks. The sports world — or at least the one in New England — is at risk of losing its favorite loser.