Feb 19, 2005 4 min read

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) – Add two more Red Sox players to the chorus of A-Rod critics. Pitcher Bronson Arroyo, involved in two tangles with Alex Rodriguez last season, said Friday the Yankees third baseman “was out of line” when Arroyo hit him with a pitch on July 24 and his reaction helped spark a brawl.

And catcher Jason Varitek said, “I don’t need to boast” about workout habits. That’s what Rodriguez did in an interview last month.

There was one soft voice that tried to play down the byplay.

“It’s just natural,” Boston owner John Henry said during Friday’s first official workout for pitchers and catcher. “The rivalry is the biggest in sports and you’re going to have people on both sides saying things, like myself, like I’m prone to do. I’ll try to avoid that today.”

And he took the safe course: “I don’t want to inject myself into that brouhaha.”

General manager Theo Epstein, manager Terry Francona and other players have talked about their respect for New York.

But the spring training sniping at A-Rod began last Tuesday when Boston right fielder Trot Nixon said Rodriguez was not a “Yankee type.”

Nixon also knocked Rodriguez’s comments last month about his rigorous workout routine.

“There are 650 or 700 players who are sleeping or taking their kids to school,” Rodriguez said at the time. “But there’s no way they’re going to be running the stairs or doing what I’m doing.”

Nixon’s response: “Well I’m not a deadbeat dad, you clown. That’s what I said to myself. What’s wrong with me taking my kid to school and then going to work out?”

Curt Schilling had criticized Rodriguez earlier in the offseason.

The Red Sox and Yankees face each other March 7 in Fort Myers. New York manager Joe Torre said Friday most of his regulars won’t make the 123-mile trip from Tampa.

Arroyo’s first run-in occurred July 24 when he hit Rodriguez with a pitch. Rodriguez began talking, Varitek shoved his glove in Rodriguez’s face and a brawl followed. Varitek and Rodriguez were ejected, but Arroyo remained in the game.

Then, in Game 6 of the AL championship series, Rodriguez hit a soft grounder along the first-base line. Arroyo fielded it, but Rodriguez slapped the glove off the pitcher’s hand and the ball rolled out. Derek Jeter crossed home plate before the umpires called Rodriguez out for interference and sent Jeter back to first.

“The (July) 24th incident and knocking the ball out of my hand, I think had a lot to do with people’s perception of the way he plays the game,” Arroyo said Friday. “I think people could perceive him as a little bit of a dirty player and not as likable as maybe he once was.”

Arroyo said he doesn’t consider Rodriguez to be a dirty player and understands that Rodriguez slapped at the ball – “he was lining it up before he hit my arm” – because he wanted to help overcome a 4-2 deficit in the eighth inning.

“When I hit him, I thought he was out of line just because I wasn’t throwing at him,” Arroyo said. “But as far as the play at first base, I wouldn’t fault him for it. You do what you’ve got to do to try to win.”

The Yankees season ended in Game 7 when they lost their fourth straight game in the AL championship series. Rodriguez then moved on to his offseason regimen. Varitek couldn’t start his until Boston had won the World Series.

“As far as defending what work that I have to do and I do in the offseason and be able to still be a father, I don’t need to boast,” said Varitek, who has two daughters. “I know what work I do and I know how hard I work and I don’t have to worry about what someone else does.”

Arroyo has more important concerns then fueling the rivalry.

The pitcher hopes to build on the progress he made in his first full season as a starter and throw 200 innings. But if newcomer Wade Miller makes a speedier recovery than expected from last season’s arm problems, Arroyo go to the bullpen.

He also wants to do a better job pitching inside. Rodriguez was one of 20 batters he hit with pitches.

Arroyo doesn’t think Rodriguez would have objected had he been hit by Schilling or Pedro Martinez rather than a young pitcher.

The next time he faces Rodriguez, Arroyo doesn’t expect trouble “as long as I don’t hit him” in the ribs. “If I do, I definitely think that he’ll think I was throwing at him on purpose on July 24 and then we’ll probably have problems.”