IT'S ALL AARON BOONE'S FAULT

The other evening I was talking to a friend and fellow Yankee fan about contracts. The conversation went in the direction of ARod, of course, as if I could derail that thinking and it hit me.  All this nonsense, all of this crap with ARod, PEDs plaguing the Yankees and baseball for that matter, the drama, the cocky attitude, all the tweeting, whining, garbage... is Aaron Boone’s fault.  Yes, Aaron Boone. 

Hear me out, I’m not crazy, but I have had enough of the "ARod sucks" chants from Chi-Town to NYC to Beantown.  I can’t help but blame Boone for playing a pick up game of basketball in the 2004 off-season (clearly against his contract) and injuring himself. 

“It would have been the simplest thing, just to fib. Aaron Boone was rolling on a California basketball court, the ligaments in his knee a shredded mess. In the high-stakes world of baseball, such an injury is financial suicide. Big-money contracts forbid perilous off season pursuits like basketball for the very reason Boone was sprawled on the ground clutching his knee. One wrong step and an investment is lost,” stated the Seattle Times (HERE) back in 2004 when this all unfolded. 

“All Boone would have had to tell his employers, the New York Yankees, was that he slipped on a wet floor or fell down while running stadium steps. Anything but playing basketball. Had he done this, the Yankees wouldn't have had cause to terminate his contract and therefore wouldn't have had the money free to lavish upon Alex Rodriguez…” continued the article.

Did I want Boone to lie as the article suggested?  No, I am not stating that, but I’m bringing in another angle, like we do here at BYB.  This time it is the "what if" angle?  I guess I began contemplating this when an old friend came back to the Bronx this week in Alfonso Soriano.  I feel like the fire he has at the plate and in the field is pent up frustration for the last nine years when Soriano left the Bronx quietly.  In his heart though, he left kicking and screaming.  What if Soriano never left?  What if we converted Robinson Cano to a third baseman and we kept Soriano at second?

Then we would have had no need for ARod.  But then again, when it comes to the Red Sox, we never want to lose. 

So in conclusion, Aaron Boone played basketball when he should have just focused on getting ready for the upcoming baseball season.  The Yankees dumped him and had to go shopping.  But as I have said before, if we just had more faith in our up and coming stars, and shut our mouths when it comes to the Sox, we wouldn’t be in this ARod mess- Boston would be and that would be okay with me!

--Suzie Pinstripe, BYB Opinion Columnist
Twitter: @suzieprof




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