amNewYork – Jason Fink – The Yankees’ season is about to get a lot more interesting.
With injured star Alex Rodriguez set to return within a week, experts say the Bombers will have their hands full, as the controversial slugger and his teammates cope with the onslaught of negative publicity over the explosive tell-all bio published Monday.
Besides alleging more extensive steroid use than A-Rod has admitted to, the book portrays him as insecure superstar whose jealousy of teammate Derek Jeter borders on obsession.
“It’s a gossip cauldron and it could turn into a fire pit if not properly managed,” said John Murray, a sports psychologist. “Everybody will say it doesn’t matter and talk is cheap but this is the biggest stage in the world and these players know what’s being said about them.”
In one telling scene from “A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez,” author Selena Roberts describes how on the night of the 2008 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium both players hosted parties with celebrity guest lists.
“Not even Madonna stopped by (A-Rod’s party), and most of Alex’s teammates skipped the bash in favor of the All-Star celebration hosted by Derek Jeter,” Roberts writes. “Alex was last seen sitting in a back booth at the 40/40 Club with his mother.”
A-Rod, 34, was constantly comparing himself to the team captain, Roberts writes, revealing something of an inferiority complex.
When out at nightclubs, according to the book, A-Rod would ask women: “’Who’s hotter, me or Derek Jeter?’”
“’The Jeter thing ate Alex alive,’” a friend of Rodriguez told Roberts. “’It was always about Jeter.’”
In what could prove a continuing distraction, Roberts writes that the rift between the two stars split the team.
“The tension between Jeter and Rodriguez escalated to the point where the clubhouse – and management – began to take sides,” the book says. “In the middle was a team that, (outfielder Gary) Sheffield says, ‘didn’t know what to think about the soap opera.’”
All of this has left fans wondering whether the team, which has battled tabloid stories about A-Rod before, can ignore the sideshow.
“It’s never good to have rivalry within the team,” said Mike Cioli, 36, of Manhattan. “I think they will be distracted but I don’t see how it will affect the performance.”
Sports psychologist Robert Udewitz, who practices in Manhattan, said the hype surrounding A-Rod’s off-field peccadilloes – which include a highly publicized divorce and alleged affair with Madonna, as well as the steroids admission – may well hurt the team.
“These little stressors become bigger and bigger,” he said. “You don’t see too many teams who thrive on adversity.”
Melinda Hsia contributed to this story