2012 Alex Rodriguez Performance Thread

[Yankeesfan924]

Doesn't come through in the clutch. Worst possible excuse for a ballplayer. Send him to Trenton.





[/sarcasm]

[Black Sabbathia]

When A-Rod was up in the 9th I knew he would be out ahead of pitches, foul off stuff up in the zone, and be prone to popping out, which is exactly what he did.

I like Alex, but holy christ it is frustrating to watch him sometimes. There is a book on him, he's become too predictable and easy to pitch to in a lot of situations. When he gets his it's more often a mistake than him turning on a good pitch

[bomber999]

The Yankees need another middle-of-the-order hitter, and ARod needs to be moved down in the order. He is simply not effective enough anymore to justify such a prominent place in the lineup, regardless of his contract.

I know this won't happen anytime soon. But it needs to.

[YankeeFan1421]

Would you prefer labeling this as damning him with faint praise?

I said that he had a huge 2009 postseason. The first two rounds he basically carried the offense. I said also that the Yankees probably, or very likely, would not have won that World Series without him. (or some mythical replacement replicating what he did...which was, of course, unlikely)

His World Series performance alone that year, however, was a bit uneven. As mentioned, he struck out 6 times and went 0 for 8 in the first two games.

All of this is in the context of what A-Rod has done and is projected to do over a 15 year Yankee career, being paid something like $400 million.

If he ends up with one big time postseason (which, again, 2009 certainly was in total) and one ring, then, yes, I think it's perfectly reasonable for Yankee fans to be pretty down on A-Rod's time in pinstripes.

I know a lot of people look up to these players and form emotional attachments to them, based on their ability and memories they've generated for people. And that's great...that's what being a fan ultimately is about.

But I guarantee you nobody in the Yankee front office is at all optimistic about what A-Rod's contributions will be overall and nobody is thinking that money couldn't have been more effectively spent elsewhere.

[NoodleRay]

He was in a 1-2 count, Jepsen threw a 98mph pitch on the high inside corner, it would have been nice if he fouled it off but Alex keeps a lot of his contact in play. Also he's been playing a little better of late, an if it were Cano up instead of Alex they would have stayed with Downs.

As far as the 2009 post season, I have never seen such a display of clutch hitting, against tough pitching with the game on the line over an over again. So he will never measure up to those numbers and challenges again. Even so I'm glad he did it, an I'm glad that I got to see it!

I try not to consider his contract, because it was after his amazing post season, so timing played a role. His agent must have been behind him opting out, and the Yankees offered him more money, should he have turned it down??

[Benefactor]

More proof as to why Cano belongs in the three-hole.

[Art Vanderlay]

I'm sure Kevin Long forgot more about hitting than I'll ever know, but I'm not a fan of A-Rod's leg kick as the pitch is being delivered. If his timing is just a fraction of a second off, he's lunging at the ball resulting in popups and weak grounders. Hitting a round ball coming in over 90MPH with a round bat is extremely difficult and I believe the less moving parts the better, especially for a 37 old whose reflex's are slowing down. I would love to see him scrap the leg kick in favor off a little wider stance with a short stride.

[Jace]

When A-Rod was up in the 9th I knew he would be out ahead of pitches, foul off stuff up in the zone, and be prone to popping out, which is exactly what he did.

I like Alex, but holy christ it is frustrating to watch him sometimes. There is a book on him, he's become too predictable and easy to pitch to in a lot of situations. When he gets his it's more often a mistake than him turning on a good pitch

Jepsen destroys righties when he's on, which he was. There isn't a right handed hitter on our team that would have a good shot in that situation.

This may be isolated to today and too few other days, but I thought he looked good at the plate

As for Cano hitting third, he definitely should be. NoodleMan is right that Scioscia probably sticks with Downs if Cano is up, but its still better odds for the Yankees

Edit: honestly the lineup isnt taht bad. Cano's a little low, but managers love those righty/lefty alternating guys, and while i'd swap Granderson and Cano, the traditional managers book also says speed should be early in the order. Really Arod just needs to be better, or switch him and Tex (i havent paid enough attention to Tex's RHH numbers tho)

[YankeeFan1421]

I'd agree. An overpay, but shoot, this is the Yankees.

Yeah, who cares if they overpay. It's not our money!

[NYYankeesFan92]

The Yankees need another middle-of-the-order hitter, and ARod needs to be moved down in the order. He is simply not effective enough anymore to justify such a prominent place in the lineup, regardless of his contract.

I know this won't happen anytime soon. But it needs to.

Alex Rodriguez, meet the #6 spot in the lineup.

[Yankees13]

He should bat 2nd. He still has some of the best OBP skills on the team. If Teixeira continues to hit well I'd go Jeter-A-Rod-Cano-Tex-Granderson. He used to bat 2nd frequently when he first came here so I don't think it's far-fetched to suggested he do it again.

[wat]

His World Series performance alone that year, however, was a bit uneven. As mentioned, he struck out 6 times and went 0 for 8 in the first two games.

Congratulations. This may just be the funniest thing I've read thus far on this board.

[wat]

As far as the 2009 post season, I have never seen such a display of clutch hitting, against tough pitching with the game on the line over an over again. So he will never measure up to those numbers and challenges again. Even so I'm glad he did it, an I'm glad that I got to see it!

No, no, no...don't you get it? A-Rod's performance was uneven. He didn't hit the late-inning "clutch" bomb in every single postseason game, he struck out whole a bunch of times and he actually had a couple of 0-fers in the World Series.

Your eyes were lying to you.

[YankeeFan1421]

Congratulations. This may just be the funniest thing I've read thus far on this board.

Yeah, well, it's not quite as funny as people saying .250 with 1 home run, 3 doubles and one single in 26 PA and 20 AB's is somehow a great World Series.

I'm going to take a wild guess and think most saying that don't watch much baseball besides the Yankees.

[NoodleRay]

Yeah, well, it's not quite as funny as people saying .250 with 1 home run, 3 doubles and one single in 26 PA and 20 AB's is somehow a great World Series.

I'm going to take a wild guess and think most saying that don't watch much baseball besides the Yankees.

I thought that the goal was to win, well without him (A-rod) we don't even come close to getting there. Nobody was killing it in the World Series, and yes we seen Freese and how great he was, but it wasn't every game in whole post season. Also he was more of a hero then Pujols, at least to me he was!

[Mr. Mxylsplk]

I try not to consider his contract, because it was after his amazing post season, so timing played a role.

The only amazing thing about the Yankees' post-season that year was the midges.

[wat]

Yeah, well, it's not quite as funny as people saying .250 with 1 home run, 3 doubles and one single in 26 PA and 20 AB's is somehow a great World Series.

EDIT: I misread the earlier posts...A-Rod had a .973 OPS in the World Series. His 2009 post-season OPS was 1.308. So, yeah, even without taking into account his ridiculous DS and CS, his World Series was pretty damn good too ... unless you have ridiculous standards, that is.

[Yankees13]

Yeah, well, it's not quite as funny as people saying .250 with 1 home run, 3 doubles and one single in 26 PA and 20 AB's is somehow a great World Series.

I'm going to take a wild guess and think most saying that don't watch much baseball besides the Yankees.

I'd love to know what your standard for a great WS is, if a .973 OPS and the two biggest hits in the series doesn't qualify. His double off Lidge essentially won the WS.

[NoodleRay]

The only amazing thing about the Yankees' post-season that year was the midges.

What is it with you? Do you look for every little crack in what I write, so I was wrong about the year he signed. I really didn't bother to look it up, I don't dwell on his contract there's nothing we can do about it! OK??

Sorry, but I don't read every little thing, maybe your just too smart. I didn't go to college or graduate high school, does that mean I can't post? Or that I haven't got a valid opinion? Maybe that's why I don't bring up numbers or get into percentages too often, I have no problem with debating with you, but it seems like all that your interested in is finding my mistakes!



Everyone in here that knows me knows that I'm down for an argument, but that's not what this guy is all about. I don't mind if he comments on my opinions, but to just look for any an every little mistake in the way it's written. Lets put it this way it would be nice to hear his opinion, or just correct my work and move on...

[Jace]

Yeah, well, it's not quite as funny as people saying .250 with 1 home run, 3 doubles and one single in 26 PA and 20 AB's is somehow a great World Series.

I'm going to take a wild guess and think most saying that don't watch much baseball besides the Yankees.

That was a great world series, he and Matsui were the single best 2 offensive players

[YankeeFan1421]

I'd love to know what your standard for a great WS is, if a .973 OPS and the two biggest hits in the series doesn't qualify. His double off Lidge essentially won the WS.

Okay, you're right. It was nothing less than a TREMENDOUS World Series for ARod! 5 for 20, with a home run, three doubles, a single, 3 walks and 8 strikeouts is probably one of the top ten World Series I've ever seen!

I don't know what I was thinking when I thought it was a fairly pedestrian, or average, World Series for a middle of the lineup hitter. It really was a mind-boggling World Series.

Imagine in 26 plate appearances, the Yanks'cleanup hitter had a home run and three doubles. Hard to even envision. I used to think it was okay, but nothing spectacular. I stand corrected.

[grizy]

Top 10 world series performances out of how many players in the world series?

[dabomb2045]

Okay, you're right. It was nothing less than a TREMENDOUS World Series for ARod! 5 for 20, with a home run, three doubles, a single, 3 walks and 8 strikeouts is probably one of the top ten World Series I've ever seen!

I don't know what I was thinking when I thought it was a fairly pedestrian, or average, World Series for a middle of the lineup hitter. It really was a mind-boggling World Series.

Imagine in 26 plate appearances, the Yanks'cleanup hitter had a home run and three doubles. Hard to even envision. I used to think it was okay, but nothing spectacular. I stand corrected.

A .973 OPS...and two of the biggest hits in the series? Thats much more then "okay"

[dabomb2045]

I actually thought Alex looked good today...drilled a outer half pitch by Weaver to RC and lined another single up the middle. He didnt look awful in the Jepsen AB. Dude was throwing gas and Alex just missed a few, and then was a little late on the one where he popped up. Jepsen is tough on righties.

[conkermaniac]

Jepsen destroys righties when he's on, which he was. There isn't a right handed hitter on our team that would have a good shot in that situation.

A-Rod fouled off and then popped up two fastballs that were high and right down the middle of the plate. True, Jepsen was throwing gas, but the A-Rod of 2 or 3 years ago would not have missed those pitches.