<![CDATA[ESPN.com – MLB – Klapisch: Earning his stripes:
It’s been two weeks since George Steinbrenner summoned Alex Rodriguez to Tampa for a private meeting, but the ramifications of that summit linger. The Boss’ words were designed to startle A-Rod, whose 2004 numbers were respectable but failed to elevate him to Reggie or Mattingly or even Derek Jeter-status.
Steinbrenner has a theory why Rodriguez hasn’t yet swept up the Yankees with his Cooperstown talent: the third baseman was too worried about his friendship with Jeter. The Yankees prefer that A-Rod be a little less self-conscious, a little meaner, even if it calls for greater independence from the shortstop.
The message wasn’t lost on A-Rod, who acknowledges there’s still a “gap” between his career stats and what Yankee fans saw from him last year.
“(Steinbrenner) wants me to lead and lead by example and not to try to fit in,” Rodriguez said the other day. “He told me, ‘you already fit in, you’re a Yankee. Now is the time to do what you do best.’ “
Steinbrenner has never been the kind of guy you’d call a “good manager,” but he does occasionally push his people to be themselves (without facial hair, of course, because that makes you evil). I’ve never found an employer who was totally committed to my being myself while they were paying me top-dollar; they always seem to want me to give up something, which is why I haven’t had a single full-time job in a decade….]]>