A-Rod Goes 0-for-2 Against Pitching Machine, New York Media Rejoices
And so it begins anew for Alex Rodriguez and the New York media.
On Monday, the Yankees played an intrasquad games with a pitching machine referred to as “Iron Mike’’ that fires the ball in at up to 90 mph on the mound. And, as reported gleefully by the New York Daily News, A-Rod finished the six-inning game 0-for-2 with a grounder to third and a fly out to right.
Tuesday’s New York DailyNews cover.
Never mind that multiple other Yankees also suffered similar fates when facing “Iron Mike.’’ According to the report from beat writer Mark Feinsand, Mark Teixeira, Didi Gregorious, Brian McCann, Garrett Jones and ex-Red Sox Stephen Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury combined to go 0-for-10 in the game. Outfielder Chris Young actually struck out.
But none of those players can even approach the lightning rod status of A-Rod, whose struggles against “Iron Mike’’ warranted the creation of a “Tale of the Tape’’ graphic. The categories up for comparison included the Cost to the Yankees ($3,000 for “Iron Mike’’ vs. $275 million for A-Rod), Runs Best On (oil for “Iron Mike’’ vs. PEDs for A-Rod), Top Skill (superb control for “Iron Mike’’ vs. lying with a straight face for A-Rod) and Way to Recharge (new batteries for “Iron Mike’’ vs. anti-aging clinic for A-Rod).
All this and the Yankees haven’t even played an actual game against another team yet. It’s going to be a long, entertaining year for A-Rod and the New York press.
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