Spring training had officially begun. There was the media, that he had been trying to avoid the entire off-season, and there was his teammates. Seeing his teammates again, putting on that uniform was worth the aggravation of dealing with smartass reporters who couldn�t wait to get a rise out of them.
�Bernabe.�
�Don�t you ever get tired of that?�
�Calling you by your name? Never.� They shook hands and hugged briefly walking into the locker room where most of their teammates were already talking, hugging and laughing. At least there wasn�t an air of misery hanging over their heads from the previous year.
�Jeet, Bernie.� Gary walked over and hugged them both.
�Hey Sheff.�
As much as he said he admired and looked up to Derek, Derek�s admiration for Gary Sheffield was right up there with all the players Derek had ever had the honor of playing with. He had heard the talks about his attitude and ego but Derek was one of his biggest cheerleaders.
�Ready to get this thing going?�
�More than ready. Let�s just start the season now.�
Gary looked him over, �You do look ready. You look a little bigger this year.� He noted as he patted him on the chest and stomach.
�Yeah, just a little; can�t complete with you and Alex though.�
He made his round around the locker room saying hello, welcoming the new faces and giving a little pep talk to his teammates. It was what was expected of the Captain but he didn�t do it because of the title it was something he always he did. He wanted to mentor players just like the ones before Derek did for him. He wanted them to feel free to come to him and ask for advice about matters on the field and off.
**
�Derek, how tough was it to see the Red Sox celebrate not only in Yankee Stadium but all off-season?�
Fucking lovely, he shouted�on the inside but like the prize pupil of public relations that he was he simply smiled,
�There were tougher things to watch on TV like soldiers dying but if you want me to talk about the Red Sox celebrating I can�t. I didn�t really see too much of their celebrations; it was a pretty busy off-season.�
�Are you surprised by the backlash you received from the fans?�
�No, they had every right to be upset. I understand their frustration.�
�Did you guys get a little too comfortable and think you had it in the bag?�
�No, you never do that; especially against a team like Boston. After game three, even with that lopsided score we didn�t get too excited. Mr. Torre let us know that we still had some work to do. We�re professionals, we know its anybody�s game on any given day. They were just the better team.�
�A better team four games in a row where you guys only needed one to get back to the World Series?�
He wanted to throw his water bottle at the dude.
�You know, you don�t go out on the field with the intent to lose. We give it our all every time we step out on the field; no one can say otherwise.�
�The Red Sox have had some harsh things to say about A-Rod and none of you guys seemed to have stepped up and defended him. You said its basically between them and A-Rod.�
He just looked at the reporter, �What's your question?� He asked with a deadpan expression on his face.
�The question is why aren�t you guys defending your teammate or do you agree with the Boston sentiment that he isn�t a real Yankee?�
He glanced over at the PR handlers; he wasn�t sure why they were there. He could bullshit these reporters on his own; with no help.
�Defend him? If he gets jumped in the parking lot we�ll come to his rescue but I don�t think Alex needs our help fighting off words.�
�Do you consider him a Yankee?�
�He�s wearing pinstripes isn�t he?�
�Does that make him a real Yankee?�
�I don�t know. What's a real Yankee?�
�A guy with championship rings?�
�So you're saying Don Mattingly isn�t a real Yankee?�
There was silence and he raised his eyebrows, �You see where I�m going with this?�
He wasn�t going to let this jackass get the better of him. He dreamed of the day someone would ask an original and thought provoking question; until then he�d let them get frustrated by his boring interview routine.
He finished his press conference effectively giving them absolutely nothing to use. He smiled, if they got to take shots at him and his teammates he could fuck with them too.
**
He was taking groundballs while Alex, Gary and Jorge were taking part in their press conference. As the Captain, they had him do his with Mr. Torre. They knew the questions would be brutal and plentiful after last year so every press conference, interview and even the workout schedule was calculated to make things as easy for them as possible. But the truth had to be faced, no one was going to get off their backs until the Yankees won another World Series.
�Double play ball.� Sojo called out. He charged the ball, flipped it to Tony and the ball was thrown safely into Tino�s glove.
�Again.�
The second wasn�t quite so successful as Derek made what was his first error of the 2005 season. Thankfully, it meant nothing.
042 | No Ordinary Girl