A-Rod: The View from Boston

Kevin Cullen, who I first came to appreciate for his insightful coverage of the Northern Ireland violence and peace process over the last 15 years, chimes in with this analysis of how classless Alex Rodriguez is.

Winning with Class.

Some take-aways:

1. "Winning with class is more important than winning at all costs." A-Rod and his agent, Scott Boras, apparently were absent from class the day that lesson was taught.

2. "Statistically, A-Rod is the best baseball player in the world...But statistics don't win big games. Character does. And Mike Lowell has more character, if less money, than A-Rod ever will."

The stats argument also was highlighted in The New York Times' "Bats" blog last Thursday, under the attention-grabbing title of:

The Most Amazing Stat You'll Ever See.

One comment that should be highlighted: "The point is, you can spin stats against A-Rod, or you can spin stats that make him look better. The only question that matters is what someone is willing to believe."

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You've got to think that A-Rod has provided the Sox with ample evidence that while his stats are great, he has no class. So, how is that for tying in two different articles?!