Which way you going, Slappy?
Words do not fail me. The English language fails me sometimes, but I have an expensive classical education and can draw upon other resources.
The word I want, which does not exist in English, comes from Germany, noted land of musicians and philosophers. The word is schadenfreude - the pleasure we take in the misfortunes of others.
It's an unworthy sentiment, no doubt. But here are some of the recent comments over at Bronx Banter:
...he obviously had his mind made up prior and never really had any intention of staying. What a jerkoff. Well, i guess the best medicine will be to just win it all without the mercenary next year.
We've won 26 world series without him and none with him.
That man is dead to me. I will boo him every single chance I get.
Alex Rodriguez isn't happy unless he's the center of attention. When he's not the center of attention, he does something stupid to rectify that.
Screw A-Rod. All ARod cares about is money and attention, and he doesn't even have the decency to sit down with the Yanks and listen to their offer
Arod is a money grubbing whore.
the Yanks won more playoffs and WS games with Brosius at 3rd than they ever did with A-Rod.
charlie hayes has a ring.
Buh-bye, greedy attention whore.
And, finally, my absolute favourite!
just let me add that Arod was never a true Yankee
Whee! The wailing, the weeping, the gnashing of teeth! Pure pleasure! Such bliss! If I can't enjoy my little bit of schadenfreude, can I at least say "HA!"
So, whither A. Rod? (We might want to have a poll on this one.) Here are some of the obvious candidates:
Chicago Cubs - The Cubs have truckloads of money - they could spend as much as the Yankees and Red Sox if they were so inclined. They played Ryan Theriot (OPS+ of 72) at shortstop last season and went to the post-season anyway. It's a fabulous park to hit in. Rodriguez has a very good relationship with the manager. And while failing to win with the Yankees taints his historical legacy, dragging the Cubs to glory after a century of failure would make up for it, no?
Los Angeles Dodgers - Rolling in money, and just being in the NL West makes you a contender. With Furcal in place, Rodriguez presumably slides in at 3b, making Nomar redundant and Andy LaRoche trade bait.
Los Angeles Angels - A contender, they're rolling in money and they're willing to spend it. The Angels have pretty good players at both spots on the left side of the infield, but could surely package Cabrera and get something very useful in exchange.
New York Yankees - Just because bridges have been burned doesn't mean they can't be rebuilt.
Boston Red Sox - I suppose it depends on how much John Henry wants to yank on the Yankee chain. But I think they'd really rather bring Lowell back. And besides - I know he's from Puerto Rico, but any player named Lowell is probably supposed to play in Boston.
New York Mets - They can pay the price, but I can't see them getting involved. Where would he play? I think the Mets would rather have Wright at third and Reyes at short than Rodriguez at either position. But apparently Wright might be willing to try second base, or they could move him to first and trade Delgado.
Is there anyone else who might get in on the bidding?
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=2007103022094765