Dodgers lose to Yankees, 2-1, on Alex Rodriguez home run
While the Dodgers took their final rounds of batting practice on Friday, Manager Joe Torre posed for pictures with the visiting manager, Joe Girardi, who happened to be his former catcher and bench coach.
Torre was soon greeted by his former closer, Mariano Rivera. Then his former shortstop, Derek Jeter, and another of his former catchers, Jorge Posada.
One player who stretched on the grass nearby wouldn’t so much as look Torre’s way.
That player was Alex Rodriguez.
Rodriguez’s silence was followed a couple of hours later by the thunderous crack of his bat, which sent a sixth-inning fastball from Vicente Padilla into the left-field pavilion and Torre’s Dodgers to a 2-1 defeat at Dodger Stadium in the manager’s reunion with the New York Yankees.
Rodriguez’s 593rd home run broke a 1-1 stalemate and ultimately dropped the Dodgers’ record in interleague play to 3-10.
Torre said he wasn’t bothered that he was ignored by Rodriguez, who also doubled and scored the Yankees’ first run in the second inning.
“I don’t look at that as disrespect,” Torre said. “Trust me. I don’t know what to say, but I don’t want to dump on Alex. He was doing other things. He was busy stretching and talking to other people. If we had come close enough, I’m certain we would’ve shook hands.”
Rodriguez, who was portrayed in an unflattering light in a book Torre co-wrote, said that he didn’t see his former manager.
“I’m sure we’ll get the chance to meet up,” Rodriguez said. “If he wants to talk, I’m more than welcome to talk.”
But Rodriguez acknowledged that he doesn’t have the kind of relationship with Torre that Jeter, Posada and Rivera have.
“I’d be lying to you,” he said. “Those guys have a 10-, 12-year history, won a lot of championships together. But overall, I think our experience was good.”
In complimenting Padilla for almost matching Yankees ace CC Sabathia, Torre indirectly praised Rodriguez, saying, “A home run to Alex is not an error.”
Only six days removed from his reinstatement from the disabled list, Padilla had the best of his six starts this season, limiting the Yankees to two runs and six hits in seven innings. Sabathia was better, serving up a run-scoring single to Manny Ramirez in the first inning but nothing else of consequence.
Padilla and Sabathia each hit a batter, Padilla plunking Robinson Cano on his backside in the fourth inning and Sabathia retaliating an inning later by hitting Padilla on his leg. Sabathia said something to Padilla, who walked about a third of the way to first base with his bat in hand and Posada by his side.
Tempers also flared when Mariano Rivera struck out James Loney looking for the final out of the game, which led to Loney’s arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi. Loney’s protest earned him a postgame ejection, which made him wonder aloud, “Why would you eject somebody when the game’s over?”
Torre sided with his player, saying, “Mariano, I can tell you from personal experience, doesn’t need any help.”
Facing the team he led to four World Series titles for the first time since taking over the Dodgers, Torre admitted the night was a special one for him.
“It got emotional,” he said.
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