2012 Alex Rodriguez Performance Thread

[sweet_lou_14]

It's weird how good he looked after the injury and how bad he looks now. I just hope he gets hot again for the playoffs.

[JSG]

Moment of silence for the magic 2009 talisman.

[SatchelPaigeYankee]

If I'm an opposing pitcher trying to navigate this lineup, I go right after A-Rod and dare him to hit my fastball. He probably won't.

splits this year...
against power pitchers: .313 .424 .651 1.075
against average pitchers: .269 .368 .407 .775
against finesse pitchers: .251 .287 .360 .647


last year, he crushed finesse pitchers for a .946 OPS and hit .731 against power pitchers. this tells me that this isn't merely a case of losing the ability to hit the fastball. it's a stance/approach/batting eye thing.

[sweet_lou_14]

splits this year...
against power pitchers: .313 .424 .651 1.075
against average pitchers: .269 .368 .407 .775
against finesse pitchers: .251 .287 .360 .647


last year, he crushed finesse pitchers for a .946 OPS and hit .731 against power pitchers. this tells me that this isn't merely a case of losing the ability to hit the fastball. it's a stance/approach/batting eye thing.

Very interesting stats, thanks. I don't know how those pitcher types are being defined, but nonetheless it's a bit surprising.

Anyway, these days I see him getting beat by every kind of pitch -- made to look old and slow by fastballs, made to look completely lost on off-speed junk. It ain't pretty.

[YankeeFan1421]

If she had stayed on a few more years and they had won a few more, I think we're talking plaque in Monument Park.

[YankeeFan1421]

splits this year...
against power pitchers: .313 .424 .651 1.075
against average pitchers: .269 .368 .407 .775
against finesse pitchers: .251 .287 .360 .647


last year, he crushed finesse pitchers for a .946 OPS and hit .731 against power pitchers. this tells me that this isn't merely a case of losing the ability to hit the fastball. it's a stance/approach/batting eye thing.

That's surprising...but I wonder what the splits are against specific pitches rather than pitchers. He looks overmatched on hard stuff...so I just wonder if he's jumping more on power pitchers off speed stuff, which isn't their best pitches. likewise ,I wonder if his bat has slowed to the point where he's having trouble even with fastballs from finesse pitchers...which gives him nothing to hit against them..

I don't know this...just speculating as the numbers don't match the eye test...

[False1]

That's surprising...but I wonder what the splits are against specific pitches rather than pitchers. He looks overmatched on hard stuff...so I just wonder if he's jumping more on power pitchers off speed stuff, which isn't their best pitches. likewise ,I wonder if his bat has slowed to the point where he's having trouble even with fastballs from finesse pitchers...which gives him nothing to hit against them..

I don't know this...just speculating as the numbers don't match the eye test...

He's definitely not killing fastballs like he used to. His career is about 2 runs above average per 100 fastballs. This year it's less than 1 run above average, easily a career low. It has been trending down for the last 3 years.

[Jax Teller]

Hate y0 face, bro

[dabomb2045]

I thought off the bat he crushed that ball in the 9th. But it just didnt go anywhere, I guess he got it off the end of the bat. Sigh.

[2JAY]

As much as Arod has been hurting the Yankees with his bat, his poor decision to field the Davis "foul" ball really hurt the Yankees dearly today. With the speed of Davis, and how close that ball was to the line as it was moving away from him, I was surprised that Arod tried to make that play.

[YankeeFan1421]

He's definitely not killing fastballs like he used to. His career is about 2 runs above average per 100 fastballs. This year it's less than 1 run above average, easily a career low. It has been trending down for the last 3 years.

Yeah, that's a pretty big decrease.

I don't know what it is as fans, but we tend to wonder 'what's wrong' with a guy who is now 37 years old and who has played in 2500+ games. As your data suggests, it's pretty obvious that he's just slowing down and can't do it anywhere near the same level anymore.

Not to say that the number of games neccesarily directly correlates to diminished bat speed, but it probably contributes to it with scar tissue building up in the wrists and the like, and with the rest of the body not quite as quick as it was before.

In the NBA, they talk about guys like Garnett and Kobe who came out early and who are older than their age as it relates to wear on the body. There's really no reason that shouldn't apply to baseball too...A-Rod started playing full time MLB when he was 20...of course, most guys are playing roughly the same number of games in the minors anyway, but A-Rod was pushing himself to the peak earlier than most...stands to reason he may well be near the end of his shelf life as an everyday, All Star caliber player...

[YankeeFan1421]

As much as Arod has been hurting the Yankees with his bat, his poor decision to field the Davis "foul" ball really hurt the Yankees dearly today. With the speed of Davis, and how close that ball was to the line as it was moving away from him, I was surprised that Arod tried to make that play.

Honestly, I've never thought of A-Rod as having great baseball instincts across the board. It sounds funny to say because at his peak he was one of the most devastating overall players in any era, and by all accounts a baseball junkie, but the 'little things' (such as being heads up enough to let a ball like that go foul) just seemed to elude him.

And now, as he's not delivering massive offensive performances any longer, things like that ball just seem to be magnified. Also, there's a belief that relaxed people seem also to be the 'luckiest'...it's not that they truly are luckier, but that there calmness and confidence allows them to see things that others are too stressed or preoccupied to notice. Jeter is a great example, I think.

A-rod never seemed to be particularly lucky on anything...and he has never seemed relaxed, even at the height of his ability. Now with his skills eroding, it's almost like he's snowballing down hill.

These are all observations from afar, but he's not the kind of player that seems to make really intelligent or fortuitious decisions. Not that he was a dumb player, he wasn't, but somehow that ball is something that Jeter would know to let go by him...

[Young Steinbrenner]

will A-Rod hit another home run this season?

[2JAY]

will A-Rod hit another home run this season?

Will he even reach 60 RBI's?

[Young Steinbrenner]

he is essentially a singles hitter now who can work a walk

his power has disappeared

60 rbi is wishful thinking

[enozlac]

Love those opt-out clauses Cashman puts in everyone's contract. Towards the end of their deal they just opt out and get a fatter deal in which they are being paid way past their prime. Let's just keep shoving opt-out clauses in everyone's contract!

[bomber999]

It's sad to see a once-great player reduced to almost a non-factor. It's even sadder that we are only half-way through his contract and will be paying him an utterly ridiculous sum of money to be a non-factor for years to come.

[LIYanks]

It's sad to see a once-great player reduced to almost a non-factor. It's even sadder that we are only half-way through his contract and will be paying him an utterly ridiculous sum of money to be a non-factor for years to come.

A-Rod's last AB today is a reminder of things to come. This future HOFer probably should've retired in 2009 so that he could go out as a winner.

[Jax Teller]

It's sad to see a once-great player reduced to almost a non-factor. It's even sadder that we are only half-way through his contract and will be paying him an utterly ridiculous sum of money to be a non-factor for years to come.

Yup, and he will be hitting 3rd or 4th while playing everyday because of that contract. Got to love guaranteed salaries.

[awy]

about a hgh short of the fence on that last swing

[bomber999]

Love those opt-out clauses Cashman puts in everyone's contract. Towards the end of their deal they just opt out and get a fatter deal in which they are being paid way past their prime. Let's just keep shoving opt-out clauses in everyone's contract!

I am no Cashman apologist. I am not a big fan of his. However, to be fair, ARod's opt-out clause was put in by Texas. Soriano's opt-out clauses were put in by the Steinbrenners (Cashman didn't want him and was overruled). Cashman did give CC his opt-out clause, but given CC's reluctance to sign here, despite being offered Monopoly money, he likely would not be in pinstripes without it.

[89FoxBody]

Honestly, I've never thought of A-Rod as having great baseball instincts across the board. It sounds funny to say because at his peak he was one of the most devastating overall players in any era, and by all accounts a baseball junkie, but the 'little things' (such as being heads up enough to let a ball like that go foul) just seemed to elude him.

And now, as he's not delivering massive offensive performances any longer, things like that ball just seem to be magnified. Also, there's a belief that relaxed people seem also to be the 'luckiest'...it's not that they truly are luckier, but that there calmness and confidence allows them to see things that others are too stressed or preoccupied to notice. Jeter is a great example, I think.

A-rod never seemed to be particularly lucky on anything...and he has never seemed relaxed, even at the height of his ability. Now with his skills eroding, it's almost like he's snowballing down hill.

These are all observations from afar, but he's not the kind of player that seems to make really intelligent or fortuitious decisions. Not that he was a dumb player, he wasn't, but somehow that ball is something that Jeter would know to let go by him...

I don't think you'll find too many people who agree with this assessment. Even his detractors will tell you that A-Rod is one of the smartest players in the game, and his instincts are second to none. He made a mistake. It happens.

[YankeeFan1421]

I don't think you'll find too many people who agree with this assessment. Even his detractors will tell you that A-Rod is one of the smartest players in the game, and his instincts are second to none. He made a mistake. It happens.

It's probably true that most of his detractors would say that. But, then, most people don't really know baseball very well.

[bomber999]

It is clear that ARod is obscenely overpaid based on his current value as a baseball player. It is also clear that his contract will prevent moves being made which could help the team in the future. However, if the Yankee organization lets his salary dictate his playing time, rather than what makes baseball sense for the Yankees, they have no business holding their jobs. The money they are paying him is sunk cost, for which the Steinbrenners have only themselves to blame. They need to make him the full-time DH next year in order to preserve his health and whatever is left in his bat for as long as possible. They also need to move him out of the middle of the order, either to the 2-spot or the bottom third.

[89FoxBody]

Never seen a guy hit so many "almost" home runs.