Alex Being Alex

You sort of got the sense after the whole opt-out drama that Alex Rodriguez finally got it. That he realized that he was putting perhaps a bit too much trust in his handlers. That his overly-studied and defensive dealings with the press were perhaps counter-productive, and that coming back to Earth a little bit and just being himself would be a better idea. Then you read this bit from his big interview with Men's Vogue magazine, and all of that is put to rest:

Even Rodriguez seems unsure of how best to present himself to the world. After sitting for a photo shoot for this magazine and agreeing to let a reporter visit him at his house in Miami, Rodriguez decided he'd be more comfortable answering questions e-mailed to his new handler, Guy Oseary, a man better known for managing the affairs of Madonna and Lenny Kravitz. Still, Rodriguez refused to respond to a handful of queries on such subjects as his reputation among his peers and his well-documented insecurity.

While I can understand not wanting to answer questions on certain subjects, a perusal of the Men's Vogue back catalogue isn't going to reveal a pile of ambush interviews. I mean, if they let you pose on your yacht for the photo shoot as they do here, they're going to let you fend off a couple of questions that hit too close to home and generally treat you nicely.

Why hide behind handlers? Why make life so complicated? You can read this interview with interest based on the reporter's strong research and a subject that, despite his fame, fortune, and renown, remains surprisingly intriguing and enigmatic.

But you still feel distanced from the guy that we may one day be calling the greatest ever, and it's that distance that will, ironically, keep Rodriguez from achieving a level of acceptance and adulation that his deliberate public relations initiatives seem calculated to achieve.