A-rod still has a big defender on the "Cirque du Pinstripes"*

I avoid A-rod topics and I'm only bringing this up because the NY Times left someone fairly big out of the scenario. From Selena Roberts' column, "Cashman is the Answer to Multiple Enigmas, 2/18/07: (*"Cirque du Pinstripe" is Selena Roberts' terminology):

"There was one Yankee who bridged the differences between A-Rod and the team captain. There was one Yankee who could support Rodriguez without alienating Jeter.

• But Gary Sheffield is now a Detroit Tiger after an off-season trade orchestrated by Cashman. Out with the cantankerous Sheffield, in with fresh-faced options.

“Any time you play with someone for multiple years, you’re not just teammates, you become friends,” Jeter said.

“Shef was down here in Tampa, so we spent a lot of time together in the off-season. So, yeah, you’re going to miss Shef.”"

SELENA YOU MISSED ONE. A-ROD HAS ANOTHER WELL-PUBLICIZED BRIDGE ON THE TEAM--MARIANO RIVERA. This item was widely written about just 3 months ago. Or, is it the usual oversight of a long-time franchise player?

(From Newsday)'Speaking Thursday (11/2) at the upscale New Rochelle steakhouse that he co-owns, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera defended teammate Alex Rodriguez after another poor postseason by A-Rod and the team.

• "I love A-Rod," he said Thursday at Mo's New York Grill. "I love the guy. He's done a tremendous job. It's not easy being himself ... It's tough. They don't give the guy a break ... New York doesn't give him a break."

Rivera added, "If you ask me who has hit in the playoffs, I will name two or three guys. That's it. Alex is not ... the team. It is 25 players. It's not just one guy. If you put the burden on one guy, we'll never win like that." Rivera said he doesn't know a harder worker than A-Rod. "I tell him sometimes you have to stop," he said. "It's too much -- to go hit and videos and hit and hit and hit. I think he wants to be here and he wants to do the job here." Rivera also praised manager Joe Torre for shepherding the team to the postseason despite injuries to key players. "He kept us together," he said. "He kept us believing." This item posted by me on this blog 11/3/06.

• (Unless she believes Jeter doesn't like Mo. Anything's possible).

Article referenced is a Times Select article, NY Times, 2/18/07 by Selena Roberts.

• (Chazz Palminteri's picture is here in case you didn't see the post just before this one, regarding his support of Mo).

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