The Pot is Stirring

Do Red Sox fans hate the Yankees?
Do Yankees fans hate the Red Sox?
Do the two clubs hate each other?

These questions have been asked over and over (and over and over) again throughout the past almost one hundred years. The Red Sox- Yankee rivalry is considered the greatest rivalry in sports. Since I’m assuming that most people know the details in this rivalry, I’ll skip over the history lesson.

Yesterday, Valentine took a few jabs at the Yankees, specifically at Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. Now, Valentine has said he “hates” the Yankees; he was the manager of the Mets at one time, after all. Did he say this to get the fans going? Probably. Is it a way for him to win over more Red Sox fans still bitter about the Francona situation? More than likely, since Francona never to cause problems between the two clubs (though, there were a few instances).

During Spring Training, Valentine has been having the players do more drills, like relays and cutoffs, than they had done in the past. It’s been mentioned a few times that the Red Sox had become accustomed to working out in the morning and golfing in the afternoon during Spring Training. Valentine’s trying to change that a bit, from what I could tell.

Anyway, Valentine was asked about Derek Jeter’s famous “flip play” in Game 3 of the 2001 ALDS. Valentine’s reply was:

“We’ll never practice that. We'll never practice that. I think (Jeter) was out of position.  I think the ball gets him out if (Jeter) doesn’t touch it, personally… That was amazing that [Jeter] was there. I bet it’s more amazing to say they practiced it. I don’t believe it.’’

As a Red Sox fan, I have a lot of respect for Derek Jeter. I may criticize his playing from time to time, like his range at the shortstop position, and insist that Nomar was always a better Shortstop than Jeter ever was (Nomar just broke down before Jeter), but I have a lot of respect for the guy. Unless Jeter does completely outrageous (I’m still on the fence about the whole “pancake” thing), I will continue to have respect for Jeter.

With that said, I think Jeter’s response to questions regarding Valentine’s comments were very respectable but maybe with the slightest hint of bite:

"Yeah. I don’t flip it home when we practice it. I’m the cutoff guy. He’s the cutoff guy to get the runner at third. We do practice it, but not the flip home. Am I supposed to convince him (Valentine)? I don’t know Bobby well enough to tell you what he’s trying to do. I could care less; I guess that’s the best way to put it. I just don’t know why it’s being brought up. I don’t know what to tell you."

The fact that Derek Jeter needed to say “I just don’t know why it’s being brought up” is enough to show that Jeter has a little edge on him. Was this directed more to the reporters asking the questions? Maybe. But, maybe it was saying something about the Yankees captain. Maybe.

Now, Valentine also took a jab at Alex Rodriguez yesterday when he was discussing Varitek’s retirement. If you don’t want to scroll down to see exactly what Valentine said, here it is:

"From afar, he (Varitek) was everything that you want in a guy who wore a 'C' to be. He was a man's man. He was a big hitter when needed. He was the leader of the pitching staff. He was able to beat up Alex. All that stuff is good stuff. He was exactly what he was supposed to be.”

“He was able to beat up Alex.” Classic. Again, I’m not an Alex Rodriguez fan, never have been, never will be. I think Valentine brought this up because people not familiar with Varitek’s contributions to the Red Sox
probably know Tek most for his fight with A-Rod.

Rodriguez also had a reply to Valentine’s remark, in which he said:

"I'm not going to win many battles here when it comes to words -- especially against Bobby. I have my new press secretary that should be landing in the next couple days -- Reggie Jackson -- so I’ll let him handle that."

In my own fantasy land, I would like to think that Reggie Jackson wouldn’t defend Rodriguez. But, Jackson is a big part of the Yankees organization; and at this poin, so is Rodriguez. From people I’ve talked to and comments I’ve read, many Yankees fans do not like Alex Rodriguez. I’m not sure if they like the fact that Varitek “beat him up” though.

Is the pot stirring? I’m not sure. It appears to be that way, and from where I stand now, it appears Valentine is doing most of the stirring. In the past, I’ve tended to let most of the Yankees-hate stuff go by me without much thought, since again, I do respect many of the Yankees players (Jeter, Rivera, Cano, etc.). This year, however, it may be hard to let some things go by quietly.

UPDATE: Gary Tuck, the Red Sox bullpen coach and a former Yankees coach, informed Valentine that the Yankees do indeed work on the flip. Valentine owned up to his mistake:

"Total mistake on my part because they do practice it, that’s for sure. It’s hard to practice that because why are we going to practice a bad throw? That’s not what we’re doing here. But I get it. I get it... I want it on record that I love Derek Jeter as a player... It was not a slight towards him. I love him as a guy, too.”

Maybe the pot won’t be stirring so much now.

*Quotes from The Boston Globe