THE CANADIAN PRESS
DUNEDIN, Fla. — There were boos, like always, and there were cheers, like always. And at the end of the day Alex Rodriguez’s spring debut wasn’t all that different from the countless other times he’s stepped into a hostile environment and did his thing.
Polarizing fans as only he can, the tainted New York Yankees slugger brushed aside the frenzied circus born from of his admission to the use of performance-enhancing substances to homer and walk twice in a 6-1 victory Wednesday over the Toronto Blue Jays.
While one road Grapefruit League game is hardly a litmus test — especially one before a Dunedin Stadium crowd of 5,014 heavy with retirees — Rodriguez at minimum showed he still has the ability to perform unbothered in the face of relentless controversy.
"You’ve got to understand, it’s been like that for me since — it’s been a decade like that," Rodriguez said of the booing that is a fact of life for him wherever he plays. "I thought the fans were OK, actually.
"I’d like to invite a bunch of them out to Fenway this summer. I thought they were pretty nice."
Clever quips aside, there will be tougher tests for Rodriguez.
The Boston Red Sox fans at Fenway Park are certain to be nasty when he next visits, while Yankees fans themselves may not all be as forgiving as those in Dunedin on Wednesday.
There was a love-in for him during batting practice when a woman shouted, "It’s OK A-Rod, it’s OK," and a man near her yelled "You the man. Fifty homers this year." But later another shouted that he had shamed all the great Yankees before him, and there’s no doubt others feel that way, too.
Then again, it’s not like Yankee Stadium has always been a sanctuary for Rodriguez. New York fans have had a love-hate relationship with him since his acquisition in 2004 and this year no doubt promises more of the same.
Blue Jays fans Wednesday booed him every time his name was announced and he stepped up to the plate in the first inning versus prospect Brett Cecil amid taunts of "What did you have for breakfast, A-Roid?" and "First Jeter, then the cheater."
He walked.
"Oh, yeah, definitely," Cecil said when asked if he heard the reaction. "Even in a stadium like this, that’s the loudest I’ve heard people cheering or booing or what have you."
It was more of the same when he came up again in the fourth, but was cheered loudly after he smashed a 2-2 offering from 2005 first-round pick Ricky Romero over the wall in left for a two-run shot, making it 3-1 Yankees.
So much for distractions affecting his play.
"I really don’t think it’s a big deal at all for me," said Rodriguez, who added there was no update on a pending meeting with MLB investigators. "I’m just excited to be playing baseball.
"Everything else is confusing but baseball is what I feel best, is what I do and is what I get paid to do. I’m just happy to be doing it again."
He walked against Rick Bauer in the fifth before calling it a day.
"He’s going to hit anyway," said Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston. "When you’re up there hitting you don’t hear that noise, you shouldn’t hear it.
"If you’re hearing it than you’re not concentrating."
.Clearly that wasn’t an issue.
Of course, Rodriguez has had a lot of practice at this.
He’s played through the resentment caused by his then-record US$252-million, 10-year deal in 2001, the drama in his relationship with Derek Jeter, the controversy over his poker playing at illegal clubs, the tabloid headlines detailing his alleged infidelity, the messy divorce from his wife, and the rumoured relationship with Madonna, to name just a few incidents.
Fans never needed any encouragement to boo Rodriguez, anyway, so the worst thing his admission of banned substance sue from 2001-’03 will do is just change the material.
"I’m just so used to it," he said of the booing. "I just felt really relaxed and had fun.
"Honestly, this is one of the most relaxed springs I’ve ever been (to)."
Rodriguez’s debut brought the steroids circus over from the Yankees’ spring home in Tampa, with both media and fans making the 30-minute trek over the causeway to Dunedin.
The horde will follow him all spring and then to the new Yankee Stadium, analyzing every success, every failure. The fans who booed him in the past will continue, those who cheered him will likely do the same.
Will this controversy pass like all the others?
"You think about it, he’s been catching a hard time in New York, this is not that much different," said Gaston. "He’s always caught a tough time in New York and he’s still been able to perform under those circumstances so I don’t think it’s going to be any different for this guy.
"The way you’re going to quiet people is by going out and doing what he did today."
Notes: Rumours are swirling that Blue Jays assistant general manager Tony LaCava may end up the GM of the Washington Nationals if they choose to fire GM Jim Bowden. LaCava has interviewed for recent GM openings in Seattle and Pittsburgh but fallen short, although he is well respected in the game. … The Blue Jays have hired former shortstop Mike Bordick as a roving minor-league infield instructor. The 43-year-old played 14 seasons in the majors, finishing his career in Toronto in 2003. … None of New York’s three pricey off-season additions — Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and former Blue Jay A.J. Burnett — made the trip.
