Is Benching A-Rod Tonight More or Less Drastic Than Torre Hitting Him 8th in 2007?

[DiMaggio5CF]

We all remember Joe Torre batting A-Rod 8th in Game 4 of the 2006 ALDS at Detroit, down 2 games to 1 and facing elimination. The Yankees lost that game and the series.

Tonight, Joe Girardi has benched A-Rod in favor of Eric Chavez, who is playing 3B and batting 9th in tonight's lineup. In each of the past two nights, Girardi pinch-hit for A-Rod in the 9th inning of one-run ballgames -- first for Raul Ibanez, who hit a game-tying solo homerun, and then for Eric Chavez, who lined out to end the game. Tonight, they play deciding Game 5 and are facing elimination or advancing to the ALCS.

So which move was more drastic?

As evidence of tonight being more drastic, A-Rod, who had been hitting third, is being benched after being pinch-hit for in back-to-back games (after being dropped from third to fifth in last night's starting lineup) rather than just being dropped in the order. Also, A-Rod is being benched against a starting pitcher whom he hits very well (8-22, 4 HR, 3 BB, 4 K) in favor of a guy who hasn't hit that pitcher well (1-6, HR, K).

As evidence of 2006 being worse, A-Rod hit .290 with 35 HRs, 121 RBIs, a .392 OBP, and a .523 slugging percentage in 572 at-bats over 154 games and was the AL MVP the year before in 2005 -- whereas this season, he hit .272 with 18 HRs, 57 RBIs, a .353 OBP, and a .430 slugging percentage in 463 at-bats over 122 games.

EDIT: I realize the Torre move happened in 2006, not 2007; I got it right in the thread, but wrong in the title and the poll. If a mod can change it, please do so. I was in a hurry to post this before the game started.

[Hitman23]

Obviously benching a guy who makes 27 million in game 5 of the divisional series trumps moving him in the lineup 100 fold.

[Battingly]

This is way more drastic.

I'm on record, I would have started Arod tonight, but you know what, he sealed his own fate last night when he K'ed with a runner on 3rd and less than two outs. If he hits a fly-ball in that spot we win in regulation and we're preparing for the ALCS with CC starting Game 1.

That, combined with his recent struggles, sealed his fate for tonight and he has no-one to blame but himself.

[Young Steinbrenner]

more

benching him is worse than dropping him in the lineup

A-Rod's confidence is now completely gone thanks to Girardi

[montrealer]

No comparison........this is the deciding game of your season.

[dabomb2045]

2006 was worse IMO. ARod was an elite player at that time. Even in what was termed a down year between his two MVP years, he still had a slash line of .290/.392/.523 with 35 HR's. Did he do nothing the first 3 games vs Detroit? Yes. But it made no sense to move him down to 8th then and doesnt now. I still believe that was a personal thing Torre did.

2012...ARod is only ARod in name. The days of him being elite or anything close to it are gone. He is so lost right now and I dont see any hope of him getting it back for however long the rest of this season lasts for us.

IMO sitting him is the correct move. In 2006, moving him down in the order wasnt.

[Yankee Fan in Boston]

2006 was worse IMO. ARod was an elite player at that time. Even in what was termed a down year between his two MVP years, he still had a slash line of .290/.392/.523 with 35 HR's. Did he do nothing the first 3 games vs Detroit? Yes. But it made no sense to move him down to 8th then and doesnt now. I still believe that was a personal thing Torre did.

2012...ARod is only ARod in name. The days of him being elite or anything close to it are gone. He is so lost right now and I dont see any hope of him getting it back for however long the rest of this season lasts for us.

IMO sitting him is the correct move. In 2006, moving him down in the order wasnt.

I think 2006 was more drastic as well. In 2006 he was an elite player who had a few bad games; now is a good player who hasn't hit RH's well all year. I'd still probably put him out there tonight, but there's a logic if you look at it as a baseball move and not the back of the baseball card.

[Hitman23]

That is a good point and there is a lot of merit to it. I still pick this though. With his ego, salary, and status as a #4 hitter, benching him in the game that either ends or continues your season is just huge.

Good thing about this though.... I suppose it's better he sits than goes 0 for the game and gets boo'd all night. That never helps anything.

[NYIndian2005]

I think in both instances ARod has been singled out unfortunately. I remember going into the 2006 postseason the Yankees offense was refered to as Murderer's Row and Cano. They were equally bad in that series against Detroit as they are now. Equally lost at the plate swatting/flailing at stuff with no plan whatsoever.

Having said that, I still have to support Girardi on this move given his argument that he would rather stack the lineup with lefties against a RHP. Also, I think Girardi will bring ARod into the game when there is a pitching change for a LHP. I do really believe Girardi only took ARod out of the lineup given the matchups. His only other alternative was to remove Jeter which was not gonna happen.

Going into the must-win game in 2006, I had no confidence in this team. Jeter made all these statements pre-game about how they are going to come ready to play and just take care of business. They came no where near ready to play and continued to swing at crap and lost the game. Unfortunately, I don't feel much better about the team today, save for Ibanez and Chavez being in there.

[spikeowenfan]

Arod was one of the best hitters in the game in 2006. His backup is now clearly a better hitter than him against RHP. Sitting him isn't a drastic reaction at all.

[dabomb2045]

I wonder what this board would have been like if it were around in 1977 when Martin benched Reggie for Game 5 vs KC.

[awy]

Arod was one of the best hitters in the game in 2006. His backup is now clearly a better hitter than him against RHP. Sitting him isn't a drastic reaction at all.

this is more or less the case.

[NYYankeesFan92]

I wonder what this board would have been like if it were around in 1977 when Martin benched Reggie for Game 5 vs KC.

I wonder what this board would've been like around the late '60s & early '70s when the Yankees actually stunk.

[Chacon]

more

benching him is worse than dropping him in the lineup

A-Rod's confidence is now completely gone thanks to Girardi

Quit this BS. A guy who has been in the league for 15 plus years does not need to be coddled. He has been performing horribly and needed to take a seat for the betterment of the team.

[GordonGecko]

Benching him was a stupid move, Girardi is basically singling him out and you can't do that to a guy like a A-Rod when guys like Swisher & Granderson are doing just as badly. I swear Joe really has it in for Brett Gardner

[Col. Jacob Ruppert]

2006 was worse IMO. ARod was an elite player at that time. Even in what was termed a down year between his two MVP years, he still had a slash line of .290/.392/.523 with 35 HR's. Did he do nothing the first 3 games vs Detroit? Yes. But it made no sense to move him down to 8th then and doesnt now. I still believe that was a personal thing Torre did.

2012...ARod is only ARod in name. The days of him being elite or anything close to it are gone. He is so lost right now and I dont see any hope of him getting it back for however long the rest of this season lasts for us.

IMO sitting him is the correct move. In 2006, moving him down in the order wasnt.

This, the quicker people realize this the quicker they will get over it.

[False1]

Tough call.

Getting benched for Chavez after getting PH for by Ibanez and Chavez in back to back key spots is about as drastic as it gets.

Ultimately I went with '06 though, simply because A-Rod was at that time still considered amongst the elite hitters in the game, was 6 years younger and wasn't coming off a broken wrist.

[1936-1939JoeNLou]

And that's why you dont bench granderson!

I told you all so.

[False1]

And that's why you dont bench granderson!

I told you all so.

Did you literally just copy/paste this into every thread in the forum?

[Yankee Fan in Boston]

And that's why you dont bench granderson!

I told you all so.

Who has time to think about that? I'm worried about the Red Sox making their run

[frostdude1]

2006 was far more drastic

[DanB]

i loved seeing Arod up on the steps as the first one congratulating Raul the other night. He didn't sulk, go sit in the clubhouse, punch a window and break his hand, etc. I think his confidence is fine.

I don't remember how much money the 2010 SF Giants had sitting on their bench through the playoffs but a guy named Zito was getting a fat paycheck to not pitch that fall. I'm pretty sure Burrell and Panda took turns on the pine as well. I equate this benching to those. The game is about more than the feelings of your highest paid players.

I'm not a baseball genius...not by any means...but to me Arod looked silly in his at bats last night. Weak swings, behind the ball, not dialed in at all. Sitting him was the right thing to do, for the team and probably for him. He's a student of the sport and I'm sure that he's reviewed his ABs and knows what he needs to work on. I've heard that more ABs is what you need to break out of a slump, but in this case the team can't afford it.

[oneill96]

2006 was definately more a head turner. Now it should be no brainer. Arod
playing in the lineup now adds nothing. He should take the whole postseason
off and dedicate himself to coming back healthy and productive. Arod is
lucky to be a Yankee and not the other way around!

[fredgmuggs]

Tough call.

Getting benched for Chavez after getting PH for by Ibanez and Chavez in back to back key spots is about as drastic as it gets.

Ultimately I went with '06 though, simply because A-Rod was at that time still considered amongst the elite hitters in the game, was 6 years younger and wasn't coming off a broken wrist.

I tend to agree. Back in 2006 ARod was still "ARod". Now I believe this signifies he isn't viewed as "ARod" anymore. It's going to be a new era and teams will never fear him like they once did. This series has been a rite of passage, of sorts.

[NelsonMuntz]

2006 was worse IMO. ARod was an elite player at that time. Even in what was termed a down year between his two MVP years, he still had a slash line of .290/.392/.523 with 35 HR's. Did he do nothing the first 3 games vs Detroit? Yes. But it made no sense to move him down to 8th then and doesnt now. I still believe that was a personal thing Torre did.

2012...ARod is only ARod in name. The days of him being elite or anything close to it are gone. He is so lost right now and I dont see any hope of him getting it back for however long the rest of this season lasts for us.

IMO sitting him is the correct move. In 2006, moving him down in the order wasnt.

^ This.