The Boss can get job done

NEW YORK -- Think George Steinbrenner has lost his touch? Think again. Whether it's Costanza's calzones, putting coaches on notice, or embarrassing superstars, the Boss knows how to motivate. Given the choice, George would rather be feared than loved.

And so last night, Alex Rodriguez -- ripped in the tabloids by the Boss yesterday -- broke a 3-3 tie with a monstrous fifth-inning home run off Curt Schilling that propelled the Yankees to a 7-3 series-evening victory over the Red Sox.

A-Rod (2 for 4) was due. Boos were raining down on his handsome head after he took a called third strike in the first inning, then when he popped up in the third. These failures advanced the theory that he regularly chokes against Boston, and Yankees fans wondered if the reigning American League MVP was pouting in the wake of Steinbrenner's subtle blast late Tuesday night.

''I always hear the boos," Rodriguez admitted after last night's win. ''If I was out there in the stands, I probably would have been booing, too. No one in the world is going to expect more out of me than me . . . I'm judged just the way I should be judged. I make an awful lot of money and I'm a talented guy. I put myself in this situation and I can handle everything that comes with it."

Getting blamed by the Boss is something of a time-honored tradition in Yankee lore. Through the years, Steinbrenner has made a habit of shredding stars and scrubs alike. From Dave Winfield to Tucker Ashford, few have been spared.

George once said that young pitcher Ken Clay ''spit the bit." He mockingly referred to Winfield as ''Mr. May," the antithesis of ''Mr. October." In spring training in the '80s, Steinbrenner told the world, ''We've seen enough of Tucker Ashford," and years later, after a couple of his hurlers were routed at Yankee Stadium, he announced, ''Dave Righetti and Brian Fisher should have gone home with the vendors."

Stadium regulars claim King George, now 75, is mellowing and maybe even slipping a little, but that didn't stop the Boss from firing a shot at A-Rod during Tuesday's 14-3 loss. Three New York reporters caught Steinbrenner leaving the building in the eighth inning and the Boss admitted, ''I'm upset with a lot of them," then added, ''the third baseman."

Rodriguez had made two errors, helping the Red Sox score six unearned runs that night and Steinbrenner's dig was all the rage in the tabloids and on talk radio yesterday.

A-Rod seemed a little hurt when he stood by his locker before going out for batting practice yesterday.

''I heard about it," said the $252 million man. ''He's the Boss. He can say whatever is on his mind. He pays the checks. We were pretty bad all the way around and it bothers everyone, but we can't lose perspective because we're playing pretty well. We need to come back tonight and try to win the series."

The Rodriguez-Steinbrenner relationship is highly impersonal, typical by today's standards. You don't see a lot off father-son pairings like the old days in Boston when Ted Williams, then Carl Yastrzemski were Tom Yawkey favorites. A-Rod said Steinbrenner had no personal input during the wild recruiting winter of 2003-04. He said he spent ''about 10 minutes" chatting with George after he came to the Yankees, but that was it.

A-Rod was asked if he was bothered by George's reluctance to refer to him by name. ''Third baseman," seems a little harsh and impersonal. Ken Clay might have been compared to a four-legged beast, but as least George ripped him by name.

''It doesn't really matter," said A-Rod.

When the New York scribes pressed him on how he learned of the Steinbrenner shot, Rodriguez said, ''Torre [Torre?] just told me when I walked in. I guess he had a conversation with the Boss. I was surprised."

Yankees manager Joe Torre said, ''I spoke to George today. He just called me to basically let me know that if anything came out, there's nothing going on as far as being angry at anyone. If I find he said something bad, my response would be, 'We stunk last night.' "

Torre did not claim that Steinbrenner was misquoted, but allowed, ''He didn't say anything other than he was supporting us and he wanted me to know that it didn't happen. He said he didn't criticize my player . . . When he tells me what he said, that's more important to me. What I got out of it was that he said he was not getting on my team. And I didn't say, 'Well what about this?' Do you think I'm nuts?"

The manager allowed that Rodriguez might be pressing against Boston.

''Alex is not always going to own up to what's bothering him . . . Alex has to be perfect to satisfy himself and the fans, too. It's unfortunate, but there's not a whole lot you can do about it . . . It's not that he hasn't made great plays under pressure, it's just that [Tuesday] night was one of those ugly days. I don't think there's any long-term damage here."

Rodriguez disputes the notion that he fails against Boston.

''I played my best baseball against Boston last year . . . I come through all the time. I don't think anyone can drive in 130 runs and not come through. It's mathematically impossible."

Rodriguez's homer came on a 2-and-1 Schilling meatball and put the Yankees into the lead for keeps.

''It was awesome," A-Rod said. ''There was some tension in the ballpark today and this was a nice way to bounce back."

It was his first homer at Yankee Stadium this year. We can't say for sure, but the man in the owner's box must have been smiling.

Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. His e-mail address is dshaughnessy@globe.com.