Lawyer Joe Pacopina has always been a sleazy character, but now that he’s defending A-Rod he’s proving just how sleazy. This story in the NY Times in which he hurls some pretty ballsy accusations against the Yankees, Randy Levine in particular, and at MLB, Bug Selig in particular, is mind boggling. How does A-Rod have the gall to step on the field and actually play for the team he’s accusing of every underhanded trick in the book? How does he dispatch his attack dog to speak to the media on his behalf and then look his teammates and manager in the eyes? Do I think the Yankees are capable of playing hardball? You bet. Tacopina invokes George Steinbrenner’s name in the article as if George didn’t hire Howard Spira to ruin Dave Winfield. But to say Levine forced A-Rod to play in the postseason last year knowing he had a torn labrum, just so he’d “look finished as a ballplayer?”
As for the game at Fenway today, it was ugly too. With Kuroda on the mound, the Yankees should have beaten the Red Sox, despite how well Lackey has been pitching, and I was thrilled not to have been blacked out by FOX for a change. Instead, the Yanks frittered away the opportunity with errors and limp bats (and some questionable calls). They looked helpless – a far cry from the team that’s been hot lately.
Tomorrow night takes on even more importance now. I sure hope CC is up to the challenge.
