Should We Be Worried About Alex Rodriguez?
If
I were to tell any Yankees fan last winter that Alex Rodriguez would bat .265
with 24 HRs, 63 RBIs, and an .873 OPS in 2015 would they believe me? Chances
are they would not. Many fans thought it was impossible for a forty year old
with two hip replacements who hasn’t played a full season in about five years
to perform anywhere close to his former self. Fortunately, the numbers stated
above are A-Rod’s stats in mid August. Most fans would have signed for those
stats in a heartbeat for the entire season. Rodriguez has been an integral part
of this team, both on the field, and also as a leader in the clubhouse. That
being said, he’s a huge part of the reason we currently sit atop the division.
On the Yankees most recent road trip, A-Rod went 2-22. A-Rod hasn’t hit a home
run since July 27th, his fortieth birthday. He’s also batting .152
in his last twelve games. While many fans are deeply worried about Rodriguez,
I’d like to explain why I am not.
A-Rod
has been lost at the plate lately. It seems as if he is in an 0-2 hole every
single at bat. Once he gets into that hole, it’s almost guaranteed he won’t get
anything to hit, unless the pitcher makes a drastic mistake. While Alex has
always been a patient hitter, and that is one of the many reasons for his
success, he needs to swing at the first pitcher every now and then. Pitchers
are taking advantage of this tendency and giving him a fastball right down the
middle to open many counts. If A-Rod would swing at some of these pitches, then
perhaps the pitchers will have to make adjustments when dealing with him. He
also has been swinging at a lot of pitches out of the strike zone of late.
Since he insists he feels fine physically, I don’t want to jump the gun. We can
only hope and pray he turns it around soon.
Aside
from the interests of the Yankees, Alex Rodriguez is one my favorite players of
all time so I have a personal stake in his success. Throughout his entire
career, it seems as if A-Rod always performs best when he is doubted the most.
Whenever he is expected to succeed he usually doesn’t. From 2004-2008, despite
putting up truly remarkable numbers, he was ridiculed by many fans for his
failure to produce in clutch situations. After his first PED confession in
2009, it appeared as if Rodriguez got the big hit whenever he was called upon.
His postseason that year was truly remarkable. It’s amazing to me that after
his suspension in the Biogenesis scandal, many Yankees fans abandoned him, and
completely forgot that he basically carried this team to a World Series
Championship in 2009. After returning from his season long 2014 suspension, and
being counted out by just about everyone, Rodriguez put up All-Star worthy
numbers in the first half, and continued at his torrid pace through much of
July. Unfortunately, he has cooled off like a popsicle in August.
I’ve
been one of Joe Girardi’s biggest critics when it comes to resting players, but
in my wholehearted opinion, A-Rod needs rest, and he needs it NOW. I think
giving him a day off in Toronto was a wise decision, however I believe he needs
to be given a series off. With three or four consecutive days off, Rodriguez
would have adequate time to give his body a breather and make much needed
adjustments at the plate. From what I’ve gathered, there is nobody in the game
who works harder than Alex Rodriguez. There’s a real possibility that A-Rod is
just done. All those years of taking PEDS may have finally caught up to him, or
maybe it’s just natural for a forty year old to decline.
Say
what you want about him, but Alex Rodriguez has proven why he is a necessary
member of this team. His production this year, along with that of Mark
Teixeira, helped carry the Yankees for the first couple of months before the
rest of the bats got going. Rodriguez is also a media magnet, so he has been
able to take much of the attention away from younger players like Didi
Gregorius. Had the media not had Alex Rodriguez to focus on, they may have
excoriated Didi for his horrendous beginning to the season, the successor to
our beloved Derek Jeter. Who knows if he would have been able to turn his
season around if he was constantly being attacked on the back pages of the New York Post everyday.
Despite
his age and possible fatigue, I have no reason to believe Alex Rodriguez simply
forgot how to hit a baseball. Every player goes through stretches like this, so
we can only hope A-Rod will rebound from it because believe it or not he is
necessary for an October push. Rodriguez’s current struggles sort of remind me
of what Mariano Rivera would go through each August towards the end of his
career. He would always have a stretch of bad outings, which led many to
question whether or not he could still perform at the level we had all grown
accustomed to him performing at. Time and again Mariano proved his detractors
wrong. I’m only hoping A-Rod can do the same thing. A-Rod’s struggles began
during the series against Toronto at Yankee Stadium last week. For the last
week or so the entire team has been in a slump. It’s unfair to blame the
offensive struggles of the entire team on A-Rod, even though he has hit into
quite a few rally killing double plays lately. With the exceptions of Jacoby
Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran, both of whom have been swinging the bat very well
of late, our offense has been anemic for the most part.
It’s
very sad to witness a star athlete struggle towards the end of their career. We
sort of had to endure this with Derek Jeter last season, but since the team wasn’t
really in the playoff picture, his struggles weren’t as pronounced. I really
hope this isn’t what we are seeing with Alex Rodriguez.
Considering how hard he
was pounding balls last month, it’s hard for me to believe he’s begun a
sporadic decline mid-season. Every player goes through slumps, and
unfortunately when a forty year old with two hip replacements goes through his
slump many people begin to panic. Girardi should rest A-Rod for the upcoming
series against the Twins, and then insert him back into the lineup this weekend
against the Indians. If he continues to struggle, he should be moved down in
the lineup into the fifth or sixth hole, until he can overcome said struggles.
While many members of the Yankees universe are panicking over A-Rod’s recent
slump, I am patiently sitting back and waiting for him to return to the
dominant force he was for this Yankees team until recently. I for one have
complete faith in Alex Rodriguez. I just hope I’m not letting my personal bias
cloud reality.
Article
by Steven Eareckson
Follow
me on Twitter: @SEareckson
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