Kobe Bryant Worried About Yankees' Chemistry, Promises to Talk With Alex Rodriguez About It

Kobe Bryant Worried About Yankees’ Chemistry, Promises to Talk With Alex Rodriguez About It

by Dan Duquette Jr. on Thu, Oct 11, 2012 at 10:10AM

After Alex Rodriguez was pinch-hit for by Yankees manager Joe Girardi, many fans likely began to wonder how A-Rod would react to the move.

Count Kobe Bryant among those worried that the move will begin to affect the makeup of the Yankees clubhouse.

Kobe on the Yankees finish: “I don’t like that. That’s not good for the chemistry of the team. I’m going to have to call A-Rod.”

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) October 11, 2012

ESPN’s Arash Markazi also notes that Bryant did not smile when told of Rodriguez’s benching, because he considers the Yankees slugger a “good friend.”

Bryant and Rodriguez have been known to discuss important matters before, since it was Bryant who suggested that A-Rod get a certain knee procedure done this offseason. However, Bryant’s well-publicized fallout with former teammate Shaquille O’Neal suggests that any discussion of team chemistry by the Lakers star should probably be taken with a grain of salt.