Now you feel like a jerk, don't you?

[Providence A's]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playof...ory?id=2193739

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Alex Rodriguez played poorly in the Yankees' American League Division Series loss in part because he was saddened by the death of the uncle who raised him, the slugger's mother said in an interview published in a local newspaper Sunday.

Lourdes Navarro said her son kept the Sept. 30 death of his uncle to himself because he was committed to helping his team win.

"I think he should speak with the team and tell them that his uncle, who was like his father because he raised him since he was 8, died in a hospital in Miami," Navarro told Listin daily newspaper.

Navarro didn't say what caused the death of Augusto Bolivar Navarro, who was her last surviving brother.

Rodriquez was hitless in last Monday's 5-3 loss to the Anaheim Angels that sent the Yankees home for the year, and finished the five-game series with no RBI and a .133 batting average.

"I know how much he suffered from the death of his uncle without being able to do anything, from listening to me crying and not being able to be there," she said, suggesting some New York fans were being unfair to her son.

"I would like ... for the baseball fans to know that my son is a great human being, that they're seeing a human and not a robot, that he can fail, especially when there are reasons like this," she said.

Navarro said Rodriguez spoke with his uncle for three hours by phone the day before he died.

"We buried him in Santo Domingo ... [Rodriguez] didn't come because of the high sense of responsibility that Alex has for his work," she said.

Rodriguez, baseball's only $25 million-a-year player, is a strong MVP candidate after batting .321 during the regular season with 48 homers and 130 RBI.

If this Uncle raised A-Rod like a father, then one can understand how he was feeling about his death and how this may have effected him.

[General]

Bullshit.

[joek]

No wonder the poor soul passed away. Talking to Arod for 3 hours. Arod probably bored him to death talking about his stats.

[nyjunc]

I don't feel bad at all, this is still not an excuse. I don't mean to be insensitive but this is just an excuse, many players have played when losing parents or other loved ones. If he suits up he has to perform and his Uncle died on 9/30 yet after that he had a 2 for 4 game w/ a HR so it's all just an excuse as to why he was atrocious. I send my condolences and wish his family the best but this does not absolve him for his awful performance.

[Hammer]

No wonder the poor soul passed away. Talking to Arod for 3 hours. Arod probably bored him to death talking about his stats.

im dead... thats the funniest post ever.