J.K. Rolling

Author: Jeff Klein

Breaking news from inside the New York Yankees' clubhouse! Several members of the team, whose names are being withheld at this time, were seen repeatedly punching a life-size inflatable A-Rod, yelling insults such as "You overpaid piece of ----" and "How about a freakin' hit every once and a while!"

OK, I'm kidding. But several members of the Yankees apparently have had enough with A-Rod's untimely hitting and have started to do their own kind of hitting.

Some have decided to voice their opinions, too. In a recent issue of Sports Illustrated, Jason Giambi is quoted by Tom Verducci as saying that Rodriguez has a "false confidence" and that manager Joe Torre should "stop coddling him."

But the drama doesn't stop there. Verducci's article goes on to say that after Giambi told Rodriguez he needed to get the big hit more often, Rodriguez responded, "What do you mean? I've had five hits in Boston." To which Giambi retorted, "You [expletive] call those hits? You had two [expletive] dinkers to right field and a ball that bounced over the third baseman! Look at how many pitches you missed!"

Giambi's not the only one fed up with A-Rod, though. Another teammate told SI that A-Rod "ought to get his eyes checked. I'm not kidding. I don't think he's seeing the ball. And another: "I honestly think he might be afraid of the ball." Ouch.

I want to discuss this issue on two levels. First, what the heck was Giambi thinking calling out his teammate, especially at this point in the season? Sure, Rodriguez seems to fail miserably every time he's up in a crucial situation, but Giambi hasn't exactly been lighting it up either. Far from it. During a stretch in early September, he mustered a pathetic four hits in 31 at-bats. He has been downright awful as of late.

Giambi's criticism of A-Rod's play would be like Barry Bonds publicly condemning every MLB player who has tainted the game for using performance-enhancing substances. Oh, and speaking of performance-enhancing substances, Giambi…

Still, I do not buy the argument that this dispute between the two corner infielders is going to have an effect on their playoff push. Clubhouse chemistry is important, don't get me wrong, but the team isn't going to let this latest soap opera divert its attention from winning a world championship. If nobody else, Yankees captain Derek Jeter will not let this issue impede the team from its ultimate goal.

In New York, five years without a championship is way too long. Expect the Bronx Bombers to make a swift recovery from this incident and be tough as anyone to defeat in this year's postseason.