$25M could buy lots of arms

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$25M could buy lots of arms
A-Rod: Stats but no rings
June 12, 2007

In 1996, the Yankees got four home runs, 54 RBIs and a .308

batting average out of Charlie Boggs, the two-headed monster that held down
third base that year.

In 1998, the third baseman's name was Scott Brosius and the numbers were 19,
98 and .300. In 1999, Brosius again: 17, 71, .247. In 2000: 16, 64, .230.

The Yankees won the World Series in every one of those years and in fact, won
14 World Series games in a row, stretching from Game 3 against the Braves in
1996 through Game 2 against the Mets in 2000.

During the previous three seasons, the Yankees' third baseman has averaged 40
home runs and 119 RBIs and batted just about .300. Two seasons back, he won
the AL MVP, and this season he has a great chance to put up the best numbers
of a career that already is a first-ballot ticket to Cooperstown.

And with him, the Yankees have won precisely nothing.

It will be worth remembering this at the end of the year when general manager
Brian Cashman is faced with the agonizing choice of burning more cash on Alex
Rodriguez or bidding him a fond farewell.

To lose A-Rod would do me no good at all - who on Earth would I write about
when the Yankees are slogging through some meaningless August tilt with the
Devil Rays - but it might be the best thing the Yankees can do to right a
ship that be sinkin', slowly, for the past seven years.

You can argue successfully that without Rodriguez, the Yankees would be even
worse off than they are right now. You also can point out that without the
burden of his salary, they can start shopping to fill the real needs of this
team. Now as in their recently departed glory years, production from the
third baseman was never the problem.

The question of whether he will opt out of his contract isn't even worth
discussing. The clause, written into the 10-year, $252-million deal Rodriguez
signed with the Rangers in 2000, is there for a reason, although over time,
that reason has evolved.

Originally, it was included to provide Rangers owner Tom Hicks with an
ejector seat to escape from what remains the richest contract in the history
of sports. Now it serves as a way for A-Rod and his agent, Scott Boras, to
further cash in on what so far has been a phenomenal season.

And for all his missteps this season, from choosing the wrong time to praise
Lou Piniella to choosing the wrong moment to shout "Ha!" while running the
bases to choosing the wrong trip to Toronto to bring along the cumare, on the
issue of the opt-out clause, A-Rod's timing has been impeccable.

To think Rodriguez and Boras won't invoke it at the end of this season, no
matter what its outcome, is to believe that Donald Trump will wake up
tomorrow and say to the latest Mrs. Trump, "Honey, I'm loving you so much,
I'm gonna forget all about that pre-nup."

Ain't gonna happen.

Right now, the Yankees are like the rest of baseball vis a vis Rodriguez,
helpless to do anything but sit back and watch the price for his services
beyond 2007 soar higher than his home runs.

And when the time comes to say deal or no deal, the Yankees would be wise to
remember the lessons of 1996 and 1998 and 1999 and 2000. Those championships
weren't won by slugging third basemen, or designated hitters built like
Schwarzenegger, or prima donna starting pitchers who show up when the season
is half over.

Those teams were built on small ball - incredibly, Bernie Williams' 30 homers
in 2000 represents the peak of Yankees power for that era - on timely
hitting, on role players who worked together like the cast of "The Sopranos,"
and on pitching.

Mostly, on relief pitching.

That was the one area in which the Yankees were ahead of everyone, even the
1996 Braves, who had a Murderers' Row of starters - Smoltz, Maddux and
Glavine - but couldn't keep up once the games went to the bullpens.

And these days, more than ever, that is where Yankees games are won and lost.
In fact, throughout baseball, that is where most games are won and lost, with
starters going six innings and managers jumping for the bullpen phone when
the pitch clicker nears 100. For all the brilliance of Mariano Rivera, it is
the grunts, the middle relievers, the Sean Henns and Brian Bruneys and Scott
Proctors and Kyle Farnsworths, who have become the most important pitchers on
the Yankees' staff. Too often this year, they have been much too important
and not nearly good enough.

Saying goodbye to Rodriguez would be a gutsy and risky move, because he is
one of the few players about whom it can be said there truly is no other. But
they have done without his likes before and they can do it again.

And surely for every Rodriguez, there are dozens of Mike Stantons and Jeff
Nelsons and David Weatherses out there. What the Yankees need to do now is
take the money they will save on A-Rod and go find them.



Bank-breaking numbers

If A-Rod keeps up his current pace, these are his projected numbers for 162
games:

Hits 186

Runs 149

HRs 64

RBIs 167





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◆ From: 218.174.213.83
推 cerruti1881:凹嗚，在酸 A-Rod
推 ypw:現在的洋基跟以前連霸時的特性不大一樣..棒子大很多
→ ypw:rotation站穩一季30場  150+ IP的卻變少  一直在測試誰好用
推 leddy:這光頭佬Wallace Matthews本來就最酸A-Rod,看久就習慣了
推 whgamicat:換這麼多，也只有一個位子可以上= =
→ leddy:去年打不好也酸,打好了也酸季後賽打好再說
推 promessa:今年打好也可以說明年不一定好 XD 說不完的
推 leddy:這在打到嚇嚇叫,就說統計數字拿不到冠軍戒子
→ leddy:現
推 ypw:How about Robin Ventura & Aaron Boone？
推 Fallanakin:翻譯:廢文
→ asdfzx:歹泥冬 搞肖郎 (關電視)
推 miketsai45:錢拿的太多別人一眼紅就酸....
推 ted10:看那個標題就不會想看本文了ˋ(′_‵||)ˊ
推 LMakoto:等到冠軍戒指拿到了又酸人家全壘打沒有755支
推 niceta:好像酸來酸去都那幾句  是在跳針唷
推 Schnell:真是老梗了
推 Greatgenius:這梗...我看都已經碳化了...
→ DK2s:又是Matthews...