Excerpts from the Esquire Article!

[ChillChaser]

I found this at esquire.com so it ends around the part where he talks about Derek, but it comes across really early in this article how highly Alex thinks of himself. There's this one part where Alex is talking about Mike Lupica on Sports Reporters, and how he dissed him on national TV and then "takes a guy like Jeter and just puts him way up there." That kind of pissed me off, but anyway. Its really interesting.

Jackpot!

The Alex Rodriguez Story

By Scott Raab

A note from the editors of Esquire: What follows is a passage from a feature article about Alex Rodriguez and Scott Boras to be published in the April 2001 issue of Esquire, on newsstands March 8. We have decided to post this excerpt to provide context for the news-making comments Rodriguez makes in the article about Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. If you are a member of the media and would like more information, please contact Bruce Bobbins at Dan Klores Communications. His phone number is 212-981-5190.


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NOBODY EVER MISJUDGED Alex Rodriguez—not Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks, not the scouts who saw him as a schoolboy, and surely not young A-Rod himself, who would look up from his geometry homework and see agents flitting across his lawn like geckos.
"They had to buy a new front door," says Scott Boras, the agent who last December bamboozled the Rangers into making the twenty-five-year-old Rodriguez an offer he couldn't refuse: $252 million over ten years, plus bonus and escalator clauses, exactly twice the dollar amount of the previous highest-priced player contract in the history of American sport. "I scratched off the first one. I came here nine times in two months. Alex was so busy with school and baseball that it was hard to get time."

Boras and Rodriguez are kicking back after the Heat–Lakers game, reminiscing. It's their first chance to toast the deal; Boras flew in today from Baltimore, where he completed a four-year, $28 million deal for another free agent, David Segui. He was here in Miami a few days before that, but he'd been busy hammering out a five-year, $35 million contract with the Florida Marlins for catcher Charles Johnson. The winter meetings ended a week ago (lost in all the A Rod hoo-ha in Dallas was pitcher Darren Dreifort, yet another Boras guy, signing for five years and $55 million with the Dodgers, which brings his grand total for the past ten days to, um, what's 5 percent of $370 million?), and Scott Boras has spent nine hours at home since.

"You remember the guy," Boras says, starting to giggle, "that one guy who brought you—he brought a bag."

Alex dissolves in laughter while Boras continues.

"This was the last couple of months of high school—that's when all the agents come because they hear it from the scouts."

Boras, of course, had been scouting Alex for three years by then.

The kid was hardly a secret: A three-time high school all-American, Alex was named U. S. A. Baseball's Junior Player of the Year and Gatorade's National Student Athlete of the Year. As a senior, he hit .505 with thirty-five stolen bases.

"This guy comes and takes you to lunch at Denny's. . . ."

"Not Denny's," Alex gasps. "It was Hooters!"

"What'd he whip out on the table? A batting helmet?"

"Batting gloves. Shoes. Bats."

"He brought the equipment bag with him."

Suddenly Alex isn't laughing.

"A lot of Latin kids have nothing," he says. "They love it. But to me it was insulting. The limos—they came into my living room trying to wow me with all these things. And Scott never once said anything like that. He was factual: 'Let me tell you why you and I make a great combination. Let me tell you why if you do your job, I can do mine.'

"Those other guys were just a bunch of baloney—they shot themselves in the foot. I don't want to hear stories. I want to hear facts. I don't need you as a friend. I need you as my attorney. The advantage I have with Scott—like I already told him, I can fire you now, because you've got your job done for the next ten years—but seriously, not only do I think that I have the best negotiator in the big leagues, but I have a good human being, a family man who sets a good example for me. The contract's over—now I'm paying for the advice he can give me on a daily, weekly, yearly basis as I go through my career."

Boras glows fondly. "The thing that made it easy was that Alex always loved baseball," he says. "That was our common love."

Alex gloves the lob and crosses the bag. "I have a love affair with the game of baseball that is so sincere and genuine—I don't know. I don't know where it comes from, to be honest with you."

Me: " 'The clarity and beauty of the game'—like you said before. That says it all."

"Hah. Tell Mike Lupica that," Boras says.

"He's killin' me, man," says A-Rod.

"Eleven times he left his job to go for higher compensation," Boras says.

"He kills me on national TV," says Alex, his voice rising. "On The Sports Reporters. I would like to ask that guy, What would you do if you had this guarantee? He's barkin', 'You wanna win? Seattle gave you a winner.' So what? I made a business decision. An economic decision. It was simple."

"The thing that bothers me the most," Boras says, "is that this guy doesn't understand baseball. He doesn't understand why Seattle won last year. This year he's gonna find out why they won."

Alex is unsmiling, hard-faced. "The thing about Mike Lupica that pisses me off," he says, "is that he makes me look like the biggest @#%$ in the world, and then he takes a guy like Jeter and just puts him way up there."

So much for the brotherhood of shortstops united under the fatherhood of Honus Wagner.

"There's a big difference," says Boras. "Jeter had seventy-one RBIs and fifteen home runs. Jeter and Nomar last year had fifteen and twenty-one home runs. You can have a golden bulldozer, but if there's no dirt to push . . ."

"Jeter's been blessed with great talent around him," Alex says. "He's never had to lead. He can just go and play and have fun. And he hits second—that's totally different than third and fourth in a lineup. You go into New York, you wanna stop Bernie and O'Neill. You never say, Don't let Derek beat you. He's never your concern."

"Remember," Boras says, "when the troops are marching, who's the first to die?"

"The leader of the pack," Alex answers.

"The leader. Being a leader, you're always gonna take the bullet. Whenever one of these contracts is done, it's the worst decision in baseball. This is part of the tradition of our game."

"But the 250 mark, Scott. How long do you think that will take to break?" Alex asks.

"Aw," Boras says, smiling wide, "gimme a week."


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For the complete article, pick up the April 2001 issue of Esquire, on newsstands March 8.

http://www.esquire.com/features/arti..._mfr_arod.html

[Dynasty2000]

Originally posted by ChillChaser
Alex is unsmiling, hard-faced. "The thing about Mike Lupica that pisses me off," he says, "is that he makes me look like the biggest @#%$ in the world, and then he takes a guy like Jeter and just puts him way up there."

Mike Lupica makes him look like the biggest @#%$ in the world????????? I think A-Rod is doing a pretty good job of making himself look like an A-hole all by himself.

This guy just keeps putting his foot in his mouth...it's actually pretty amusing. Why can't he just keep his big mouth shut?! He comes off like the most arrogant, conceited, immature spoiled brat in this interview...unbelievable!

He sounds so jealous of Jeter that it makes me laugh....he needs to grow up.

[Chris]

Alex gloves the lob and crosses the bag. "I have a love affair with the game of baseball that is so sincere and genuine—I don't know. I don't know where it comes from, to be honest with you."


It seems like the only positive things I ever hear about Alex Rodriguez comes from Alex Rodriguez.

I htink he and Boras have rehearsed their self written Arod/Jeter comparison script to the point that they may actually believe it.

The only point that I'm in agreement with is that Lupica doesn't know the game...but what does he care so much for?

[UWSgirl]

I'm nauseous.

[Luvtino]

Just when I thought it couldn't get worse...it does.

I wonder if Arod will actually turn green?!

[The Q Bomb]

"Mike Lupica makes him look like the biggest @#%$ in the world????????? I think A-Rod is doing a pretty good job of making himself look like an A-hole all by himself." So true, Dynasty2000!

What a putz! (I don't know what that word actually means - hope I'm not offending anyone - but I know it's bad enough to describe ARod!)

The only negative thing he could say about Jeter is his judgement in chosing ARod as a "friend"!

[seahorse]

It's funny. He has all this money yet he still envies Derek.

[1TonHumanHamsterWheel]

Originally posted by ChillChaser


"But the 250 mark, Scott. How long do you think that will take to break?" Alex asks.

"Aw," Boras says, smiling wide, "gimme a week."

Here Pay-Rod's asking how long it'll take him to get his batting average over the .250 mark. But it'll probably take more than a week, because $cott Bora$' propo$al really got to his head.

[CJM]

He says he wants to play for a winner and when Lupica calls him on it he says he made a business decision.

Boras thinks A-Rod is the only reason Seattle won?

Yeah,I guess they had to shed Junior's 50 HR to finally win.IT'S THE PITCHING SHMUCK!

2 major leage arrogant assholes.

[bombergirl]

A-wad has officially made me sick. Although the article does seem to show that he has been influenced a lot by Scot Boras; Boras is the one who first brings up Lupica's name, and starts to trash the other shortstops. Oh, and, proving the adage that even a broken clock is right twice a day, I agree with Boras on one thing, which is that Lupica does strike me as somewhat of a hypocrite at times, but that's mostly because he contradicts himself a lot.

What Esquire printed about A-wad's comments about Jeter make them sound even worse. Especially when they describe A-wad as "unsmiling, hard-faced" when he says Lupica "makes me look like the biggest @#%$ in the world, and then he takes a guy like Jeter and just puts him way up there." The prior comments that were printed, I thought perhaps were just said in a joking manner. But from this article, it seems that A-wad did indeed say those words out of spite and jealousy.

And what strikes me as very low, is that he seems to trash Jeter not just as a player, but as a person. A-wad didn't just say "Lupica trashes my play and hypes Jeter". He is angry about the way Lupica portrays his character, and he implies that Jeter doesn't deserve his good reputation. This is not what a true friend does. I'd never think of treating one of my friends this way.

Q Bomb, "putz" is Yiddish for a word that in English would rhyme with, well, "sick". Yeah, I think A-wad might indeed be deserving of the title. And I agree that perhaps one of the few negative things about Jeter is that he chose A-wad as a "friend". I wonder if Jeter will be staying at A-wad's place when the Yankees go to Texas this season?

B "argh!" G &po'd&

[mr.roy]

May I add, "Gag me with a spoon!" Nim-Rod is a stooge. Nyuk, nyuk.

[The Q Bomb]

Good thing Derek does seem to have a good head on his shoulders. Managing this "ARod thing" will be very tricky. As Bombergirl said, "I wonder if Jeter will be staying at A-wad's place when the Yankees go to Texas this season?" - you know the media will be following his every step and making a big deal out of whether he does or doesn't stay by ARod in Texas and vice versa. Derek better avoid hitting a double when playing against Texas because cameras will be zooming in on his pores to see how they react. What a putz (thanks for the explanation, bombergirl; I agree, I think the term is appropriate for Rodriguez!) ARod is to have created this whole situation. May his batting average rot in .250 hell!

[Monet]

I don't know know about this guy you want believe that he is like Derek and Nomar but I think as the season unfolds he will continue to show his true colors. Did anyone listen to Monday spring training game they has some interesting things to say about this whole situation.

[JeanC]

Payrod fits the mans image so well it makes me gag!

[Jen!!!]

Originally posted by Luvtino
I wonder if Arod will actually turn green?!

Wonder no more, we have proof!

[MrJack]

Originally posted by Jen!!!
Wonder no more, we have proof!

His skin is almost as green as his damn wallet.
That is hilarious Jen.

[sanfranciscojetergirl]

Just when you thought it would get worse!!! Like I said NO-Rod. I did not see you in Forbes this year. Did you all hear that he signed a contract with Radio Shack? Sign a 252 Mil contract and you can get is Radio Shack Please!!!!!!

Once again NO-ROD!!! YOU WILL NEVER EVER BE A LEADER LIKE DEREK JETER !!!!!!!

Also thanks Jen for posting the picture. I wonder if he will be red when Derek hit a homerum over his head!!!!!

[Jen!!!]

There's absolutely no need to wonder about these things! (I really need to get back to work!) Now if only Jeter would tighten his hold on the little punk...

[sanfranciscojetergirl]

Thank Jen for making my dreams comes true!!!