Alex Rodriguez may have been referred to as "A-Fraud," but it was in jest, says former Yankee coach Larry Bowa.
Bowa - Torre's third-base coach with the Dodgers who filled the same role with the Yankees in 2006-07 - told The Post that former Yankee bullpen catcher and batting-practice pitcher Mike Borzello, a good friend of A-Rod, used to joke around with the star player by sometimes referring to him as "A-Fraud."That seems pretty harmless to me.Bowa, though, was adamant that it was always done as a joke, simply from one of A-Rod's friends. Never, Bowa said, was it done with malice.
"I have never heard players say it," Bowa said.
"When Alex walked in, [Borzello would] go, 'What do you got today?' "
If Rodriguez felt good, he was referred to as A-Rod. If not, it might be A-Fraud, Bowa said.
He added it might even depend on the opponent - that if, say, Toronto's Roy Halladay was on the mound, the joke might have been, "We might have a little A-Fraud today."
"It wasn't a malicious thing," Bowa stressed. "It was when you stretch and guys joke around with each other. It wasn't malicious at all."
If this is how it's explained in Torre's book are some of you still going to be as enraged as you have been so far?
16 Comments:
Oh stop it. Bow is Torre's boy and is just trying to fan the flames. Verducci himself said that Joe stands by everything in the book. Torre is being a real scumbag and using Arod's name to sell books.
Don Zimmer also said that Torre was actually held at gunpoint by Verducci to write this book and declared everything in the book to be "opposite" of what he wrote, once Mr. Verducci emancipated Joe from his firm grasp.
AP - Los Angeles
Joe Torre's foot has been seized by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig's office, and has admitted to putting everything in Joe's mouth.
After MLB took over his foot, Torre said, "it's good to have my foot out of my mouth finally; as you can all hear I don't sound like such a whiny pre-madonna anymore... unlike that two bit A-Fraud and Brian Crapman."
The book isnt even out yet! Can we knock it off already? I mean were talking about how a select few perceived the book and have just tacked on more and more and more opinions on something that no one even knows is fact yet. Does ANYONE really think that the Yanks dont piss off their personal from time to time anyway? Seriously. Its not like this is about a Illinois Governor trying to attain political gain and capital for an elected seat used to represent the people of his state.
And if Torre's book says all that we "think" it will....then what? Do we hate him for saying what most everyone already knows? This story is just ridiculous and it makes me feel like the Yanks just like throwing the press a bone to run with because they are getting bored.
I love the Torre loyalists just to see their reaction to things like this. I can not wait until someone like Alceves or Austin Jackson puts on #6. Can we imagine what kind of reaction will ensue? If the fans were so outraged by Morgan Ensberg "stealing" #21 from Paul O'Neill, what will happen here?
Odds currently are:
3-1 Assassination of said player.
5-1 Bleacher Creatures leave said player out of roll call.
10-1 Torre writes a book about it.
100-1 "Real" fans split from the "96ers", organizing a team of David Cone, Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Wade Boggs, Pat Kelly, Bernie, Paulie, Chad Curtis, ran by none other than St. Joe.
Have you guys read this book yet? Because you seem to think you know what the book is about.
If the book is bad it's bad, if it's not it's not. Wait until you read it to decide that. It's very sad that somehow even the suggestion of that makes me some sort of radical thinker.
Also, the post had been cut in half for some reason, anyway that's fixed.
To all the people with have you read the book yet, the bottom line is he as a manager broke the cardinal rule. And IT WAS ALWAYS HIS OWN RULE. WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CLUBHOUSE, STAYS IN THE CLUBHOUSE. His own author, Verducci was quoted as saying that Torre stands by all of the information in the book. The fact that there is a book with Torre's name on it and mentions what happened inside a locker room is a disgrace. Wake up people and get real!!! You just don't do that. You think his players in L.A. are going to trust him now?
http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3863381&name=olney_buster
From Buster Olney
"But here's the problem with that: It's Joe Torre's book. His name is on it. He got paid for it. He had a chance to read every word, every sentence, every paragraph. He had to approve every passage.
We talked to him about a lot of things today. I just sensed he was bothered by it. Not by what we said, but by how it came out. How much of it is actually what he said and how much isn't exactly what he said, I don't know. ... But there's no question: It has his name on it, and he has to be accountable for it.
-- Joe Torre, in 2003, about David Wells' ghostwritten book
He had the choice, for example, whether to include this, from page 245:
Back in 2004, at first Rodriguez did his best to try and fit into the Yankee culture -- his cloying, B Grade actor best. He slathered on the polish. People in the clubhouse, including teammates and support personnel were calling him "A-Fraud" behind his back."
From Buster Olney
"But here's the problem with that: It's Joe Torre's book. His name is on it. He got paid for it. He had a chance to read every word, every sentence, every paragraph. He had to approve every passage.
We talked to him about a lot of things today. I just sensed he was bothered by it. Not by what we said, but by how it came out. How much of it is actually what he said and how much isn't exactly what he said, I don't know. ... But there's no question: It has his name on it, and he has to be accountable for it.
-- Joe Torre, in 2003, about David Wells' ghostwritten book
He had the choice, for example, whether to include this, from page 245:
Back in 2004, at first Rodriguez did his best to try and fit into the Yankee culture -- his cloying, B Grade actor best. He slathered on the polish. People in the clubhouse, including teammates and support personnel were calling him "A-Fraud" behind his back."
I don't think he cares if people trust him in L.A. He was WRITING A TELL ALL BASHING BOOK all the while the team he was "managing" putters into the playoffs with 84 wins.
Here's another quote from another writer:
"Don't think for a moment this is by accident.
It doesn't matter whether the words come directly out of his mouth or bullpen catcher Mike Borzello's, or if they are couched in the carefully crafted, third-person narrative written by Verducci. The author of this book is Joe Torre, who managed in this town for 18 years, who played here for another two, who is quite familiar with the New York media and quite sophisticated in its manipulation."
And yet another sportswriter:
Here's the problem, though: Verd- ucci doesn't operate that way. I've known him for 25 years, and he's among the most reputable, reliable sportswriters in the business. He's not about splashy headlines and tasteless putdowns, but rather insights into character and the inner workings of a team. He and Torre worked together on the project; Torre has gone over the finished product several times. So there's no blindsiding along the lines of Charles Barkley, who once proclaimed, "I've been misquoted in my own book."
Anonymous, what you don't understand is that I accept that this all could be true and Torre could, in fact be a scumbag in all of this. I'm just waiting until I can read the book for myself before coming to that conclusion.
I'm not going to let Buster Olney, or the New York sports writers determine my opinion before I read the book. I suggest you don't let them either.
Joe. I would rather have a team with Jeter, Boggs, Pat Kelly, and Don Mattingly ran by Joe Torre anyway. All I've seen Girardi do is manage so as not to be shown up or fired, not to win. To all the anons out there trashing Torre's integrity, at least he put his name on what was written. Can any of you say the same while you anonymously rip him from behind the wall and safety of internet obscurity?
Here Danny Boy, I'll use my name Mike does that make you happy? Girardi managed a team with more than 2 thirds of the rotation hurt. Torre barely made the playoffs in previous years. He was 100 games under .500 before managing the Yankees and went to the playoffs once before. He won zero rings without Don Zimmer and he only made the playoffs because of Manny. They were on an 8 game losing streak and under .500.
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