Rodriguez insists he is not bitter, though his words suggest otherwise. "You cannot mix relationship with a job. They're two different sides," he says.
Nor, he says, is he upset with the Angels, the team that signed him as a 17-year-old, giving him a way out of the dangerous, drug-infested Caracas slum where he lived with his grandparents and 13 siblings.
"They gave me the opportunity," he says. "And I respect them a lot and I really care about that. . . . I still have people there that I care about. And they treated me well, I can't deny that."
But he's a Met now, which not only means new teammates but also a whole new league to learn. It's a transition Rodriguez has made seamlessly, says Mets catcher Brian Schneider.
"He pitches to his strength. And his strengths are pretty good," Schneider says of Rodriguez, who has given up an earned run in only six of 41 appearances. "The thing with him is, you can't look for one pitch. He has four-plus pitches. So, as a hitter you're going to have your hands full."
As for Rodriguez, he just wants the game to be fun again. And for that to happen, the Mets (42-45) have to play better.
"I'm not the kind of the guy that worried about just my numbers," he says. "I like to win. Obviously, right now we're not doing well. Hopefully, we can turn it around and start doing better."
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Times staff writer Bill Shaikin contributed to this report.
kevin.baxter@latimes.com
