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Arod is a unique character, you either love him or hate him.
As a lifelong Yankees fan, I'm glad he's on my team. I think his problem is that the media dumped so much hype on him when he came here that it has been hard to overcome. He has the huge contract, the stigma of an expected high return, plus sharing the spotlight with Jeter, et al.
Arod wants to win, pure and simple. He is without a doubt the best overall player in baseball, hands down. "Manny being Manny" is a nice way to excuse his antics, but he can't hold a candle to Arod, imho.
Jim
Other than his numbers being down slightly this year from his career averages, I would like to throw a vote in for Albert Pujols as being the best overall player in baseball. Over the first six seasons of their careers Pujols has actually had better overall numbers that ARod. We will see how this plays out as Pujols career moves forward.
Not sure why A.J. is always brought up in these things. During his time here with the White Sox he has always acted professional. Even when Barret sucker punched him. I love that Zambrano wailed on him.
Brian Schneider (Nationals) - he's another quiet leader who is a class guy
Manny Acta - if you ever have the chance to watch his post game press conference, he acts the way a manager should, win or lose.
Barry Bonds - He's a bum
I wanted to share a long story with you about the overall attitude with the Nationals team. Ownership and Manny Acta have let the players know that "fan friendly" means not only being nice to the fans, putting on a smile, but also being as accessible as possible.
On one occassion, I took my 13 year old team I coach into the stadium before it opened and Manny Acta, Pat Corrales and Coach Rodriguez all greeted the kids and gave them a talk. Ryan Zimmerman and Dmitri Young signed every players cap and ball too.
Last night vs. the Giants I followed thru on a promise to a fellow Forum member JasonHalliburton that if he drove the 8 hours from Knoxville Tenn to DC, I would take him to the game and see Bonds (well there was no Bond sighting). We got into the stadium prior to batting practice. Brian Schneider came over to talk to us. When I say "talk", I mean talk. He and Jason had the State of Tennessee in common as a lot of Brian's family lives there. After the Nats first season in 2005, I purchased all of Brian's catchers gear. I told him I would be interested in purchasing any gear this year too and he said he has been donating it to needy kids in the Dominican Republic (classy guy). After BP, Brian brings me his "away" catchers gear autographed and a bunch of sweat bands. Check out what game the chest protector was used in:
By the end of BP, 7 of the starters came over to talk to us and I took pictures of each player and Sgt. Halliburton. Nook Logan autographed his BP used batting gloves for him too.
For anyone who hasn't been to a Nationals game, check it out. It has the vibe of a Minor League game with hustling players and good attitudes!
Congrats to ownership and Manny Acta and his players and many thanks!
Schenider is quickly becoming one of my favorites for being a classy guy. I just picked up another bat of his. If you have any items you are looking to sell, let me know.
ps - do you know his bat habits/model numbers? I have questions.
Jim - I don't want to Post for Sale in the Game Used Discussion so please call me at 202-716-8500 or email me at GameUsed@Nationals.net
Brian Schneider was almost exclusively black LS during 2005 and 2006 and this year switched to blonde/natural bats. He uses light pine tar on the mid-handle and some bats will show deep spike marks on the end of the barrell.
I want everyone on here to know that Andrew Lang is a first class guy. He does things that he in no way has to do. Doing it out of the goodness of his heart. Next to my father, I do not know a better man. I urge everone to buy from him because he will treat you like royalty!
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