Yankees' Carlos Rodon working to 'suck less' after controversy

New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon knows he must turn things around to get back on the good side of a fan base that may let him hear it on Wednesday night. 

"I’m not happy with my performance, but I don’t think it’s one of those things where, 'Oh, panic! I suck now,'" Rodon told Greg Joyce of the New York Post. "No, I suck in this moment. I suck right now. I do. I know that. So what do I need to do to not suck or suck less? That’s kind of what this week [has been about]." 

Rodon inked a six-year, $162M contract to join the Yankees this past offseason but then missed roughly half of the ongoing MLB campaign due to forearm and back issues. In his first three starts with the big-league club, the 30-year-old went 0-3 with a 7.36 ERA across just 14.2 innings of work. Perhaps more noteworthy, Rodon generated negative local and national headlines when he blew a kiss toward a jeering Yankees fan during a loss at the Los Angeles Angels last Wednesday. 

Rodon quickly expressed remorse regarding that response and did so again while speaking with Joyce. 

"Look, I was p----- off," Rodon said about his reaction. "The guy screaming at me was p----- off. Good. But I’m not just going to walk around like a robot. It gets to a point where you’re p-----. I’ve had three bad starts, I’m 0-3. I’m not gonna make an excuse for myself. I’m human like you are. I’m going to screw up. I screwed up." 

Individuals such as Bob Klapisch of NJ Advance Media have since openly questioned if Rodon is "a hothead given to blow-ups when things don’t go his way" while playing for a team that calls the country's largest sports market home. The two-time All-Star selection was concerned about other matters while preparing to pitch against the New York Mets at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night. 

"Granted, the thing that p----- me off is when like seven years from now, my son Bo watches that, like, 'Dad, why did you blow a kiss at someone?' That’s when it looks like crap," Rodon acknowledged. "That’s not good. That’s not what I want."