The Two Books of Alex Rodriguez

If there is one big secret amongst writers, this is it: we don't like to work. We wanted to be writers so we didn't have to get a real job. So naturally, your common sports writer will take the easiest road possible, not the one less traveled. We claim our predictions before research, trying to find stats that backup our words. We write books before the ending is clear.

This is basically what Alex Rodriguez's public career has become. If you were to write his biography now, it would be summed up like this: great regular season, horrible postseason. Writers who feel they are clever would say the "A" in A-Rod stands for April.

But the 2009 postseason has changed things. Rodriguez has been Jeter-esque in his clutchness. He has carried the Yankees to the World Series. And this does not sit well with the sports media.

You see, these lazy sports writers have already written the book. It's a very nice strategy. Usually, what you see is what you get, and there is no need to imagine that things might change. But things have changed for A-Rod. He is no longer the wannabe Derek Jeter who can't perform in the clutch. He has rewritten his career. He has caused change.

Writers hate this.

Believe me, every non-Yankees fan will want the Phillies to win, not just because they loathe the Bronx Bombers, either. They also want A-Rod to fail, to fulfill the destiny they themselves have already written about. Because if Rodriguez were to carry the Yanks to the title, maybe even win World Series MVP, they would have to admit to being wrong. The book of A-Rod would have to be rewritten. That does not set well with writers.

To quote Mark Twain: "The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is that you really want to say". Most writers have already finished what has not really begun. Let's wait and see, shall we? Perhaps A-Rod can write the another book, or at least another chapter. It will probably be more interesting than what you read in the papers.