2012 Alex Rodriguez Performance Thread

[NoodleRay]

Hey guys no matter how bad we looked against Detroit's pitching, we still had a very good season..

And to say that Alex and the boys looked bad, would be too kind... I will say that we have faced some pretty tough pitching, and that as good as our pitchers were we couldn't hold a tie.. All season long we had problems in close games..

Also if we are to keep Alex, he might have to try a new approach at the plate.. Because since his hip surgery he has struggled to swing hard and make solid contact. As bad as some of us may feel for him, in our hearts we know it's true..

Can Alex come back and be the Alex of old?? I think we know that he can't, yet with his frame there's room to become stronger in his arms and upper half.. He can become an arm hitter, with enough power to still hit homeruns.

Also if three players from the Yanks can hit a breaking ball, that would be a-lot.. Kevin Long has to go. Remember the whole team struggled mightily, and don't forget that most of our team was left hand hitting against right hand pitching.. Yet we were at their mercy when having two strikes...

[justtxyank]

The thing is, he was healthy this year. He had a good spring training. People in here were talking about him going into beast mode again this year. He was talking about how great he felt for the first time in years.

And then he was a shell of himself. Barely any power even before the injury. The bat speed just isn't there.

He is still a decent player and that is why I don't want to dump him to save 10 million, but the expectations when building this team should be that he is going to be your 6th or 7th best hitter.

[yankees2010]

Bin Laden attacked Iran?

Boy I blew that one. That should have been had not when

[False1]

Did we find out that Olberman was Bobcat or did your post whoosh right past me?

whoosh.

[False1]

Even with the salary the Yankees would have to eat to move him, I just can't see that many clubs lining up to sign him. Rumors have been swirling about a deal with the Marlins - mostly because that's his home - but the lasting image any GM has right now is how terrible he looked. I have no doubt that he will put in a ton of work this off season, but will that be enough? I don't expect to ever again see the same player who was off the charts during 2009, but I also don't want to see the automatic out machine either.

Who would you like to see replace him if a deal is made?

I agree. The salary they'd have to absorb in all likelihood is still an obstacle to the $189MM considering they'd have to replace him. If they had some cost-controlled stud 3B ready to move up, so be it. But they don't.

Here are your potential FA targets for '13. The majority with an asterisk (team option) are likely to stay with their current team.

Geoff Blum, ARI
Miguel Cairo, CIN
Eric Chavez, NYY
Mark DeRosa, WAS
Brandon Inge, OAK *
Kevin Kouzmanoff, KC
Placido Polanco, PHI
Mark Reynolds, BAL *
Scott Rolen, CIN
David Wright, NYM *
Kevin Youkilis, CWS *

Chase Headley (rightly so IMHO) is a name you'll hear bandied about as a trade target. There aren't any other big name 3B this year that make sense as trade targets, so they'd probably have to try and find a situation like the D'Backs shrewd acquisition of Chris Johnson, or trade elite mL talent for someone else's elite mL 3B.

[Yankeesfan924]

It's an odd numbered year. .280 35 homers.

[ArodEra]

whoosh.

Yeah...figured it out later. Didn't know that Olbermann was the (or a) source of the ARod to Miami rumors till afterwards. Didn't follow it closely, probably because I didn't believe it.

[ArodEra]

Bin Laden attacked Iran?

Well, yesterday, Joe Biden had our troops serving in Iran, so anything is possible.

[mr.roy]

His performance next year (good or bad), in the media crap alone, will make the Yankees money.

It is and will be making headlines.

[False1]

So much (thank the heavens) for A-Rod for Bell.

I'm all for trading A-Rod, but not just to swap bad contracts AND kick in $$.

[YankeeFan1421]

So much (thank the heavens) for A-Rod for Bell.

I'm all for trading A-Rod, but not just to swap bad contracts AND kick in $$.

It's sort of six in one hand and half a dozen in the other.

I don't see how any other team takes more than $10mm of the $100mm (or $120mm) Arod is due. So, why would any trading partner give up, say, $50mm in bad contract for $100mm of Arod's contract?

There has to be some kind of incentive to take Arod that is unique to the situation...like Seattle drawing an additional 200,000 fans, plus some reasonable and inexpensive major league talent (like Gardner or Nova). Or the Astros, desperate for attention and moving to a DH league...

It's kind of fascinating...the only thing more farfetched than ARod being traded is ARod staying with the Yankees....

[grizy]

A broken hand is healthy. Excellent.

He hit .315 with .860 OPS in July before breaking his hand on a HBP.

After that HBP, he just wasn't the same (though still productive) with .261BA and .710OPS.

The kind of attention ARod draws isn't the kind of attention that draws paying fans to ball parks.

[HondaCop]

I say the Yanks release Arod, afterwards file for bankruptcy and then try to sign David Wright. Or we should setup a PayPal account and start taking donations in order to come up with the money still owed on his contract, so we can pay him and get him out of town. lol

[ieddyi]

A broken hand is healthy. Excellent.

He hit .315 with .860 OPS in July before breaking his hand on a HBP.

After that HBP, he just wasn't the same (though still productive) with .261BA and .710OPS.

The kind of attention ARod draws isn't the kind of attention that draws paying fans to ball parks.

And

.244/.769
.314/.814
.232/.790

the months preceding

I think he's better than the post injury Al, but he's clearly on the downslope. There were many balls that he would normally send into orbit that barely made the warning track in the early part of the year

[grizy]

And

.244/.769
.314/.814
.232/.790

the months preceding

I think he's better than the post injury Al, but he's clearly on the downslope. There were many balls that he would normally send into orbit that barely made the warning track in the early part of the year

He changed his approach this year to hit more LDs. The transition started last year when it became obvious he couldn't just power all the FBs out of the park anymore (at least in part due to a scaled back workout schedule).

It worked. His LD% was up, propping up his BABIP, BA and OBP. Going forward I think he's trying to become a higher BA contact hitter with a some power, basically a right handed Cano but with more walks. With any luck, he might clearance to work out as hard as he likes to and even the power might come back.

He just wasn't the same guy after the broken hand. It's actually pretty amazing he could do as much as he did with obviously subpar physical condition.

[ieddyi]

He changed his approach this year to hit more LDs. The transition started last year when it became obvious he couldn't just power all the FBs out of the park anymore (at least in part due to a scaled back workout schedule).

It worked. His LD% was up, propping up his BABIP, BA and OBP. Going forward I think he's trying to become a higher BA contact hitter with a some power, basically a right handed Cano but with more walks. With any luck, he might clearance to work out as hard as he likes to and even the power might come back.

He just wasn't the same guy after the broken hand. It's actually pretty amazing he could do as much as he did with obviously subpar physical condition.

I remember that after the hip surgery, he was told he would have to scale back his exercise routine. I wish we knew more about the specifics. I can understand limiting running, but there are many other alternatives that wouldn't strain his joints. He could run on an underwater treadmill. There are weight routines like " Slow Burn " that strengthen joints and increase flexibility. He's had shoulder and knee issues and it seems like a program could be easily designed to meet fitness goals w/o causing joint issues. His production before his hand injury was far from "amazing". Yes, he's making solid contact but w/o power. I'd love to see him go to a well designed program to try and regain power and prevent the increasingly more frequent DL trips

[grizy]

He needs to work with a real specialist, not the jokers we nominally employ.

Cashman seems to have learned that with sending CC straight to Andrews for what he claims to be a routine check up.

[GordonGecko]

He needs to work with a real specialist

IMO he needs more of a brain specialist than any bone or muscle specialist

[MoVaughnEatsAlot]

3000 hits and 660 HR on deck for next year, it will be interesting to see how all that pans out.

[awy]

my impression is that what happened is just very bizarre. it's like all logic and reasonable care was throwing out of the window and girardi just winged it, as though he's got nothing to lose.

[JSG]

IMO he needs more of a brain specialist than any bone or muscle specialist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M68GeL8PafE

[sweet_lou_14]

3000 hits and 660 HR on deck for next year, it will be interesting to see how all that pans out.

Yeah, he's at 2901 and 647 now ... but I guarantee you, nobody's really going to care. I predict awkwardness for all concerned.

[SatchelPaigeYankee]

Yeah, he's at 2901 and 647 now ... but I guarantee you, nobody's really going to care. I predict awkwardness for all concerned.

even the hits record?? people dont attach as much of a PED-stigma to hits collection, rightly or wrongly

[Chairman-of-TheBoard]

As opposed to the genius you apparently are for not knowing that ballplayers flirt with women all the time. It's only an issue because it's A-Rod and they print it hoping that the simple-minded amongst us will not realize it for the BS non-story it is.

Mission accomplished. Way to think for yourself.

Spoken like someone who has never played organized sports in his life. Flirting during the game -- you're okay with that? A player who is mired in a three-year postseason slump is trolling for poontang during a playoff game (while soaking up a gargantuan salary) and you're cool with this? Count me among the many Yankees fans who are thrilled that Hank isn't quite as naive as you. Roidriguez embodies everything that has gone terribly WRONG with this organization since the retirement of Paul O'Neill. And do your best not to be so amateurish as to compare the 2009 World Series-winning team with the less talented (and less paid) squads that captured the 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 Championships and then battled through the most inspiring (yet heartbreaking) postseason effort of my lifetime: 2001. Those teams had heart. Alex is unfortunately a cancer on this team, reminiscent of Sheffield and Rickey Henderson. Even you can't be that much of a "company man" that you don't see this... or maybe you are.

Oh, did you notice that the Yanks are supposedly listening to any offers for him? But, I'm sure that means they're just as ecstatic with his output and team chemistry contributions as you are, right?

[Mr Coffee]

Spoken like someone who has never played organized sports in his life. Flirting during the game -- you're okay with that? A player who is mired in a three-year postseason slump is trolling for poontang during a playoff game (while soaking up a gargantuan salary) and you're cool with this? Count me among the many Yankees fans who are thrilled that Hank isn't quite as naive as you. Roidriguez embodies everything that has gone terribly WRONG with this organization since the retirement of Paul O'Neill. And do your best not to be so amateurish as to compare the 2009 World Series-winning team with the less talented (and less paid) squads that captured the 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 Championships and then battled through the most inspiring (yet heartbreaking) postseason effort of my lifetime: 2001. Those teams had heart. Alex is unfortunately a cancer on this team, reminiscent of Sheffield and Rickey Henderson. Even you can't be that much of a "company man" that you don't see this... or maybe you are.

Oh, did you notice that the Yanks are supposedly listening to any offers for him? But, I'm sure that means they're just as ecstatic with his output and team chemistry contributions as you are, right?

Yeah, Cashman is willing to listen to offers. So what? That's kind of his job, Columbo. Did you actually understand what he said or does your reptilian brain exclude everything except that which pertain to A-Rod? He said he'd listen to anyone who wanted to talk to him about anybody. He was trying to put the rumors to bed.

And yeah, a baseball player hit on a woman during a game in which he was not playing. Big deal.

"Hey Joe-- did you hear that a professional ballplayer hit on a woman in the stands during a game?"

"While he was in the field?"

"No, he wasn't playing-- he was on the bench."

"So what?"

"It was A-Rod!"

"OMG call The Post!"

Now I know how The Enquirer and celebrity gossip sites stay in business.

Also, anyone who says 'trolling for poontang' isn't getting any. That's a fact.