Ripping on Alex Rodriguez has been a longtime tradition for Red Sox fans. He was reviled as a player, and now, he's loathed as a commentator.
One of the more entertaining subplots of this season has been the non-stop complaining about A-Rod whenever the Red Sox play on "Sunday Night Baseball." During three Red Sox telecasts this season, he's alternated between stating the obvious and outlandish. His most recent performance came Aug. 2, when kept identifying Bobby Dalbec as "Bobby Daubach."
While Red Sox fans are only forcibly exposed to A-Rod for a few games per season, it's important to remember he's in the booth every single week. On Sunday, former hurler Brandon McCarthy finally had enough.
The 13-year vet unleashed a Twitter beatdown for the ages.
"Just can't listen to these games anymore," McCarthy tweeted. "Baseball has to do better than this."
Later, McCarthy offered more specific criticisms of A-Rod's work.
"ARod doesn't speak like a person who's ever had a normal conversation," he wrote. "Tonally, inflection, the points he's making, and how he makes them…all of it pushes you away as opposed to drawing you in."
Bingo. One of the more circuitous exchanges between A-Rod and Matt Vasgersian happened during a Red Sox-Yankees affair in July, when Rodriguez pleaded the fifth on whether Rafael Devers had checked his swing.
"As a hitter, I would say I checked it," Rodriguez pointed out. "As a pitcher, you want that."
Wow.
Sunday's thread wasn't the first time McCarthy has lambasted A-Rod. Last year, when it was reported he advocated for a salary cap while trying to buy the Mets, McCarthy, who currently works for the Rangers, said players shouldn't speak to him.
"I hope to god he's shouted out of every clubhouse he attempts to enter in this and future seasons," McCarthy wrote. "Call him a self-serving liar and make him explain himself to a room full of his former peers if he wants broadcast content."
The Red Sox aren't slated to play on "Sunday Night Baseball" again this season, though their matchup against the Yankees on Sept. 26 doesn't have a start time yet.
You've been warned.
