Confessions of a She-Fan
Page 27
Next, Cashman presents Girardi with his brand-new Yankees jersey. Joe will be wearing number 27 this time out, to symbolize the 27th World Championship he will endeavor to bring to the franchise. He puts the jersey on over his shirt and tie, along with a Yankees cap, and stands for more photographs. And then he steps to the podium to make a statement before taking the media’s questions.
“I know you didn’t take this many pictures of me when I played,” he says with a laugh.“I can’t tell you how honored we are to put on this uniform for the third time. This is the place to be. For the Girardis, this feels like home.”
Okay. He has a nice folksy manner with his Midwestern vowels—I love how he says “coach,” with the elongated “O”—and he seems genuinely thrilled to have gotten the job. But if this is all the emotion he shows, it will be a long season.
“Just on a personal note,” he continues, “my father hasn’t spoken in a month.” He pauses, choking up. “And when the lady who takes care of my father—he has Alzheimer’s—showed him the picture of me as the new Yankee manager, my father said, ‘Oh, yeah.’ This means a lot to our family, our whole family.”
I am moved. There is more to this man than I realized.
“How surreal of a moment is this for you?” a reporter asks. “You’re just getting emotional speaking of your father. So when you think about I am the Yankees manager …”
“It’s something,” says Joe. “I got a call from Yogi last night. And you realize the stature of the position when Yogi calls you at your house and says, ‘Do I still get to come to spring training?’”
Everybody chuckles. The new Joe makes jokes, like the old Joe.
“It just really puts it in perspective,” he goes on, “because that’s someone who we’ve all looked up to over the years. Yogi Berra called me at home on Halloween! It was really amazing!”
“Joe, you had a successful year in 2006 managing the Marlins,” comes the next question. “And you voluntarily took a year off. Was there a concern to manage this year somewhere?”
“We had kind of made a commitment as a family that I was going to spend time with my father. And ultimately this is where we wanted to end up. We didn’t know when it would happen, but it was a dream of ours. Was I worried? No. Because of our faith, I believe that if you’re meant to manage, you’re going to manage.”
Our faith. There is that word again.
Baseball is just a game. But like religion, it has rituals. I need rituals. I need traditions. traditions. I need something to believe in,whether I worship in a church or a stadium. I believed in the Yankees and then divorced them and came all the way back to believing in them again, and what I have learned, if anything, is this: My belief—my faith—transcends individual players and is deeper than the outcome of any game, any season. It is unshakable.
“Last month hasn’t been an easy one for the Yankees,” says Sweeny Murti, posing the next question. “There’s been a lot of upheaval.”
“In every organization there is going to be change from time to time,” Joe says. “That’s just the nature of the business. But this is the New York Yankees. It’s not going anywhere. It’s going to be here long after we’re all gone. This is the New York Yankees.”
I sit up straighter in my chair.
I have no idea if Joe Girardi will be a great manager or even a good one. But he has me in his corner.
Epilogue February 14, 2008
A-Rod’s eyes narrow. He looks very sharp in his open-collared white shirt and dark blazer and slacks, very Master of the Universe. He is the picture of success, in fact—a man in total control of himself. And yet his mouth twitches.
“Are you worth it?” I ask again about the mammoth 10-year deal he signed with the Yankees in November. He will be paid $27.5 million per year and earn $6 million for reaching the home-run totals of Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Barry Bonds, plus another $6 million for breaking Bonds’s record. These are not incentives; they are revenue sharing in “historic events.” The deal came about after he finally had a face-to-face meeting with the Steinbrenner boys—without Scott Boras in the room. He and C-Rod persuaded Hank and Hal that his clumsy opt-out during the World Series was all a misunderstanding, that they really do love New York.
“I’m not sure,” he says. “I mean, that’s not my job to evaluate or appraise players. I love to play baseball.”
“But if you love the game, why did you opt out of your contract on baseball’s biggest night? Can you understand why so many people found that incredibly offensive?”
His mouth twitches again. We are sitting directly across from each other. I can see his every movement, even the bobbing of his Adam’s apple when he swallows. “Absolutely. If I was a sportswriter, if I was a fan, I would have been very, very, very upset.”
“That’s a lot of verys.”
“Well, it was very, very, very difficult. I was in my living room watching the game. game. I got white like a ghost.”
“You got hammered by the press. A number of respected writers called you, among other things, Pay-Rod in Pinstripes. My husband, Michael, called you a big phony jerk.”
“Please apologize to Michael and tell him that what happened was unacceptable. And inappropriate.”
“Thank goodness Warren Buffet set you straight, billionaire to billionaire, and you ditched Boras,” I say. “You did ditch him, right?”
A-Rod takes even more time answering this one, so I turn to C-Rod, who is next to him.
“Cynthia, do you think Alex has changed as a result of this?”
“He wasn’t used to having to take such initiative.” She is not wearing a “Fuck You” tank top. She is dressed in a chic little black sleeveless number. “He actually had to pick up the phone, make the calls, make some decisions, and stand behind them. It was a huge growing experience.”
“What about your marriage, though? How did you weather the tabloid reports about an alleged extramarital affair?”
I expect the question to anger A-Rod, but he says very calmly and resolutely, “It was a challenging time. And, you know, we’ve learned from it. We’ve regrouped. We’ve stood up. And now I think we’ve become much closer because of the whole situation.”
I move on to what everybody in the country is talking about: yesterday’s Congressional hearings. Last month, George Mitchell released his investigation into what he termed “the steroids era” in Major League Baseball. The report named names, including those of Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.
“Who do you believe?” I ask. “Roger or Andy?”
“Jane, you’re putting me in a tough spot. I mean, these are guys that I played with. Andy is still my teammate.”
“For the record, have you ever used steroids, human growth hormone, or any other performance-enhancing substance?”
“No.”
“You never felt like ‘This guy’s doing it. Maybe I should look into this, too? He’s getting better numbers, playing better ball’?”
“I’ve never felt overmatched on the baseball field.”
I clear my throat and look him dead in the eye. “Just one more thing before I let you go.”
He wipes a bead of sweat from his glossy upper lip. “Sure.”
“Are you a true Yankee?”
Another bead of sweat begins to form. His mouth does a double twitch.
“Jane! Jane! Come on. Wake up.”
Someone is tugging at my arm. I open my eyes. Michael stands over me, the morning sun streaming in from the window behind him.
“Time to get up. You have a book to write.”
“What?”
“You were having another Yankee dream.”
I sit up and shake off my grogginess. “I got an exclusive with A-Rod.”
“Don’t you ever just sleep?” Michael smiles. “Do you know what today is?”
“Spring training. Pitchers and catchers report.”
He wraps me in his arms. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Index
/>
Aaron (husband of Jane Heller’s niece), 1
ABC Sports, 1
Abraham, Peter, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Abreu, Bobby, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Adams, Russ, 1
Adversity in baseball, 1
Afterman, Jean, 1, 2, 3, 4
ALCS, 1
ALDS (New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians)
Game 1, 2
Game 1, 2
Game 1, 2
Game 1, 2
AL East standings
April 1, 2 3, 4 5, 6 7, 8
August 1, 2 3, 4 5, 6 7, 8
July 1, 2 3, 4 5, 6 7, 8 9, 10
June 1, 2 3, 4 5, 6 7, 8
May 1, 2 3, 4 5, 6 7, 8
September 1, 2 3, 4 5, 6 7, 8 9, 10
All-Star break, 1, 2
AL pennant race (2007), 1, 2, 3
Amaro, Ruben, 1, 2
Anaheim Angels, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Angel Stadium, 1
Araton, Harvey, 1, 2, 3
Arizona Diamondbacks, 1, 2, 3
“A-Rod.” See Rodriguez, Alex
Ashburn, Richie, 1
Babe Ruth Museum, 1
Baker, Dusty, 1
Baltimore Basilica, 1
Baltimore Orioles, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Bandwagon fans, 1, 2
Banks, Ernie, 1
Bannister, Brian, 1
Barb (baseball groupie), 1, 2
Barry (Boston Red Sox fan), 1, 2
Baseball fans, general, 1, 2
Baseball pluses over other sports, 1
Beck, Bruce, 1
Beckett, Josh, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Beckham, David, 1
Bedard, Erik, 1, 2
Belkin, Steven and Joan, 1
Bell, Marty, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Bellezza Vita (hair salon), 1
Beltre, Adrian, 1
Berra, Yogi, 1
Berson, Eric, 1
Betancourt, Rafael, 1, 2, 3
Betancourt, Yuniesky, 1
Betemit, Wilson, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Betty (hair stylist), 1
Bice (Cleveland restaurant), 1
“the Big Hurt.” See Thomas, Frank
Bigotry of Tiger fans, 1
“Big Sloppy.” See Ortiz, David
Blake, Casey, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Blake, John, 1
Bob (brother-in-law of Heller), 1, 2, 3
Boggs, Wade, 1
Bonderman, Jeremy, 1, 2
Bonds, Barry, 1, 2
Boog’s Barbecue, 1, 2, 3
Boras, Scott, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Borowski, Joe, 1, 2
“the Boss.” See Steinbrenner, George
Boston Red Sox
ALDS (2007), 1, 2
AL pennant win (1967), 1
AL pennant race and win (2007), 1, 2, 3
Anaheim Angels vs., 1, 2
Cleveland Indians vs., 1, 2, 3
“collapse” of (2007), 1
fans, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Gagne acquisition by, 1, 2
Minnesota Twins vs., 1
New York Yankees vs., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
panic of fans of, 1
personality of team, 1
rivalry with Yankees, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Toronto Blue Jays vs., 1, 2
World Series (2007), 1
Boston Strangler, 1, 2
Bowa, Larry, 1, 2
Brenna (girlfriend of Michael Forester’s nephew), 1
Brett, George, 1, 2
Britten, Brian, 1
Britton, Chris, 1, 2, 3
Brooks, Larry, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Brower, Jim, 1, 2
Bruce (hair stylist), 1
Brunet, George, 1
Bruney, Brian, 1, 2, 3, 4
Buffett, Warren, 1
Burke, Michael, 1
Burkons, Howard, 1
Burnett, A. J., 1
Burres, Brian, 1, 2
Byrd, Paul, 1, 2
Cabrera, Asdrubal, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Cabrera, Daniel, 1, 2, 3
Cabrera, Melky, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Cafe Luxembourg (New York restaurant), 1
Camden Yards, 1, 2
Camp Birchmere, 1
“Canadian soldiers,” 1, 2
Cano, Robinson, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
Canseco, Jose, 1
Carmona, Fausto, 1, 2, 3
Carson, Johnny, 1
Cashman, Brian, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Cerrone, Rick, 1, 2, 3
Chamberlain, Harlan, 1
Chamberlain, Joba, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
“Cherry Sisters,” 1, 2
Chicago White Sox, 1, 2, 3, 4
Chivlelli, Mike, 1, 2, 3
Clark, Howie, 1, 2, 3
Clarke, Horace, 1
Clemens, Roger (“the Rocket”), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23
Cleveland Indians, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 . See also ALDS
Clinton, Hillary, 1
Clippard, Tyler, 1
Cobb, sculpture of Ty, 1
Colorado Rockies, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Comerica Park, 1, 2
Conigliaro, Tony, 1
Connie Mack Stadium, 1
Contagion in baseball, 1
Contreras, Jose, 1
Cora, Alex, 1
Couples counseling essay, 1
Crawford, Carl, 1, 2, 3
Crede, Joe, 1
Crisp, Coco, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
“C-Rod,” See Rodriguez, Cynthia
Crying in baseball, 1
Daily News, 1, 2, 3, 4
Dalrymple, Clay, 1
Damon, Johnny, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Dan Klores Communications, 1
Darr, Dorothy, 1
Davies, Kyle, 1
Deborah (friend of Jane Heller), 1
de L’Arbre, Charles, 1, 2, 3
Delcarmen, Manny, 1
DeSalvo, Albert, 1, 2
DeSalvo, Matt, 1, 2
Detroit Tigers, 1, 2, 3, 4
Diane (baseball groupie), 1, 2
Diaz, Cameron, 1
“Dice-K.” See Matsuzaka, Daisuke
DirecTV, 1
Divorcing the Yankees essay, 1, 2, 3
e-mail responses to, 1, 2
Dorothy (friend and neighbor of Jane Heller), 1, 2, 3, 4
Drew, J. D., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Duncan, Shelley, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Easter vigil, 1
Eisner, Lee, 1
Ellsbury, Jacoby, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Epstein, Theo, 1
Escobar, Kelvim, 1
ESPN, 1, 2, 3
Faith, 1
Fans
bandwagon, 1, 2
baseball, general, 1, 2
Boston Red Sox, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Cleveland Indians, 1, 2, 3
Detroit Tigers, 1
fair-weather, 1
groupies, 1, 2, 3
Kansas City Royals, 1, 2, 3, 4
loyalty of, 1, 2
New York Yankees, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
She-Fans, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
sports, general, 1
Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 1
Tiger, 1
Farnsworth, Kyle, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
Feinsand, Mark, 1, 2, 3, 4
Feinstein, John, 1
Female sports writers, 1
Fenway Park, 1, 2, 3
Fischel, Bob, 1
Florida Marlins, 1
Floyd, Cliff, 1
Forester, Michael
in Baltimore, 1, 2, 3, 4
Baltimore flight of, 1
in Boston, 1, 2, 3
brother (Geoff) of, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
at Camden Yards, 1, 2
Cashman’s pitching strategy and, 1<
br />
in Cleveland, 1, 2, 3
Cleveland flight of, 1
at Comerica Park, 1
Crohn’s disease of, 1, 2, 3, 4
decision to go on road trip covering Yankees, 1, 2
in Detroit, 1, 2
Detroit flight of, 1
driving to Yankee Stadium, 1, 2
Easter vigil and, 1
at Fenway Park, 1, 2, 3
at Jacobs Field, 1, 2, 3
in Kansas City, 1
Kansas City flight of, 1
leaving for road trip covering Yankees, 1
Los Angeles flight of, 1
Maris story of, 1, 2, 3, 4
nephew (Jake) of, 1, 2
Newark flight of, 1, 2
in New York City, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
New York flight of, 1
Other Jane Heller and, meeting, 1
personality of, 1, 2, 3
photographic project of, 1, 2
returning home from road trip covering Yankees, 1
at Rogers Centre, 1
sailing stories of, 1
in Scarsdale, 1
sister (Lawsie) of, 1, 2
in Toronto, 1, 2, 3
Toronto flights of, 1, 2
wife of
argument in Spuntini restaurant, 1, 2
divorcing the Yankees essay and, 1
meeting and dating, 1
passion for baseball and, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
at Yankee Stadium, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Zaca Fire and, 1
Francesca, Mike, 1
Francona, Terry, 1, 2, 3
Freddy (Yankee fan), 1
Fregosi, Jim, 1
Friend, Brenda, 1, 2
Fultz, Aaron, 1
Gagne, Eric, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Garko, Ryan, 1, 2
Gates, Gary Paul, 1
Gehrig, Lou, 1
Gelfand, Bruce, 1
Geoff (brother of Michael Forester), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Giambi, Jason, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Girardi, Joe, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Glavine, Tom, 1, 2
Goodbyes in baseball, 1, 2
Gooden, Dwight (“Doc”), 1
Goodman, Matt, 1
Goodman, Tom, 1, 2
Gordon, Alex, 1, 2
Grad, Laurie and Peter, 1