N.Y. Daily News: A-Rod says critics are off base

“One thing I learned from Joe Torre and Lou Piniella was that a manager will never get mad at you for playing the game right, hustling and making an aggressive mistake,” Rodriguez said before Wednesday night’s win over Toronto. “They’ll get mad at you if you don’t push the envelope.”

A-Rod’s hustle - or lack thereof - was a popular topic on sports radio Wednesday, as replays showed the third baseman pause before leaving the batter’s box. Rodriguez shot down the theory that he wasn’t going all-out, explaining his momentary hesitation.

“There was a delay because I didn’t know where the ball was,” Rodriguez said, adding that he initially thought it was a foul ball. “Usually when there’s a lack of hustle, it’s not in the ninth inning down by one. Whoever is saying that doesn’t know about baseball. That doesn’t bother me one bit.”

But I’m sure it bothers the dissolving liver snaps out of Gene Collier…