Mr. "Increased-Air-of-Seriousness" will be guest starring on UPN's Girlfriends in a few weeks.

Monday, Feb. 6 (9:00-9:30 PM, ET/PT) GIRLFRIENDS -- When Joan lands the cover of a trendy magazine as the "It Girl" of LA, she fears that it was only because she slept with the reporter (guest star Wayne Brady). Oakland A's Barry Zito guest stars as himself.

WARNING: You may not want to read this.
I don't think Bob Cook likes A-Rod.

Now that Rodriguez has chosen the United States, Americans can rest easy knowing their entrant in Major League Baseball's Real World Series has filled its need for a power-hitting star who melts under pressure. The Dominican Republic team must be relieved Rodriguez chose the U.S, given that, in Vladimir Guerrero, it already has one big-name player who can consistently hit weak grounders with two men on base in a playoff situation.

Had Rodriguez not committed, the U.S. team, in desperation, might have had to fill its need for a narrow-throated superstar by picking up Peyton Manning.

Here's the list of American third basemen: Jones, Eric Chavez, David Wright and Morgan Ensberg. At shortstop, the U.S., on its provisional 60-man roster, has Derek Jeter, Jimmy Rollins and Michael Young. The Dominican Republic, which has historically produced shortstops like Milwaukee produces beer, is strong with Miguel Tejada, Juan Uribe, Rafael Furcal, Jhonny Peralta, Julio Lugo and Neifi Perez.

But check out third base -- Adrian Beltre, Aramis Ramirez and Pedro Feliz. Hardly a slouch, but not as strong as the U.S. lineup, meaning Rodriguez would be counted on much more. If the Dominican Republic was up by four runs, great. Needing a big hit? Not so much, particularly from a player who couldn't make up his mind whether he really was committed to the event, much less any team.

I understand that indecisiveness is not an appealing trait. However, the ridicule heaped on A-Rod for it is mind-boggling. It seems like the media (and it's not just the media) wants to pick on something...anything that he does or doesn't do. Not very long ago, he was seen as too calculated, too scripted, and generally a fake. Now, he's flip-flopping back and forth, can't make a decision to save his life, feeling uncertain about himself, and he's still hated. He's behaving in a manner that many people can relate to, and I would bet that some of the same critics who are so willing to trash A-Rod are just as insecure and indecisive.

I despise the "he has no heart" and "he isn't clutch" arguments, but I would rather listen to that than the attack of A-Rod on the WBC issue. The way he handled this was very messy. And I know that people have strong feelings about which country he should choose. But the reaction is far too extreme. Nobody seems to care so much about Mike Piazza or Mark Mulder. Or that Danny Haren is on two different rosters. I believe Marco Scutaro is also still undecided. <gasp>

Because the world revolves around the Red Sox...
Theo Epstein to rejoin Red Sox
Theo's back
Change of heart
Billy Beane and Ken Macha have made it impossible for me to poke fun at another team's soap opera. Well, at least one that is similar to our own A's saga.