Henry seeks friendlier feud
An end to the Evil Empire? Call him a magnanimous winner, but John W. Henry, the principal owner of the Red Sox, wants to declare a ceasefire in the war of words between the Sox and Yankees.
"I'd really like to see this Red Sox-Yankee thing go forward," Henry said yesterday. "I don't want to see this rivalry decline, but I would like to see some of the mean-spiritedness on both sides end. I'm not necessarily talking about just George [Steinbrenner] and myself, but I would include George and myself.
`At this point, it would be nice to reduce the vitriol that occurs with the fans and [management]. It doesn't really happen to the players, but everyone surrounding the players. I wouldn't mind seeing that reduced."
Sox general manager Theo Epstein, after the Sox' win in Game 7, made frequent mention of the Yankees' "class, from Steinbrenner to the 25th man on the roster, and especially [Brian] Cashman." Those remarks, Henry said, were spontaneous, but he heartily endorsed them.
"We all have a lot of respect for Brian Cashman," Henry said.
Henry, a former limited partner of the Yankees, said he has not heard from Steinbrenner since the Sox completed the greatest comeback in postseason baseball history, but noted he has read a number of comments in the papers, from the Yankees' owner, Cashman, and manager Joe Torre, that were very positive in tone. That's a dramatic departure from the exchanges that occurred last October, when Yankees president Randy Levine savaged the Sox for their handling of the bullpen brawl involving a Fenway Park groundskeeper, and the Sox fired back.
The hard feelings continued through the offseason, cresting when the Yankees traded for Alex Rodriguez after the Sox had spent two months trying to acquire him, Henry complaining of the Yankees' seemingly limitless capacity to spend and Steinbrenner mocking Henry's comments as sour grapes. Henry tried to defuse that exchange with a joke, saying Steinbrenner's insults shouldn't be taken any more seriously than those of comedian Don Rickles, but Steinbrenner retaliated by comparing Henry to the Scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz."
And of course, there is a backdrop of long-running animosity between Steinbrenner and Sox CEO Larry Lucchino, the first to call the Yankees "the Evil Empire."
Hot corner
Henry also was disturbed by the blistering criticism directed at Rodriguez after his illegal karate chop that knocked the ball out of the hands of Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo in Game 6. Umpires called Rodriguez out for interference, but he was ripped widely for the play. Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, on ESPN radio, called it a "junior high" play, and Kevin Millar said the play showed no class.
Henry said the shots came in the "heat of the moment." The piling on in the media?
"It shocked me," he said. "The people taking shots at him are much lower than anything he did on one instinctive play. He's getting skewered unfairly.
"I think I know what kind of guy Alex Rodriguez is. That was an unfortunate moment. We all make mistakes. We all make mistakes in judgment from time to time. It's unfair that he should have to carry it forward."
Ready to talk
While Nomar Garciaparra took the time to call some of his former Sox mates, including Jason Varitek and Trot Nixon, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune, the future of the former Sox shortstop remains highly uncertain. A likely scenario, according to sources close to Garciaparra, is he may seek a one-year deal this winter as a free agent in order to reestablish his market value. He could return to the Cubs, but there is some talk the Dodgers might consider moving shortstop Cesar Izturis to second to make room for the native southern Californian . . .. The Sox are planning to take their full-time office employees, around 80 to 100 strong, to St. Louis for Games 3 and 4.
