A-Rod's difficulties in NY. Someone needs Dr. Phil

[ESPNFan]

If the Yanks do not win it all this year (god willing;) ) There was little doubt as to who the public whipping boy would be.

This Tom Verducchi article seals that deal.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/magazine/09/19/arod0925/index.html

BTW my favorite line fron the whole article:

But then Rodriguez has long been the major league equivalent of the prettiest girl in high school

LOL that was classic.

[KCGHOST]

Why don't sharks attack NY media types?? Professional courtesy. :D

[Hammerin Hank]

A-Rod hasen't had difficulties in New York. He's having an All-Star, Silver Slugger year this year and had an MVP last year. So he's not as good as he was five years ago. Some players peak early, some later.

A-Rod's difficulties are a creation by the media for the sake of just causing conflict to make things more interesting in the boring lives of Yankee fans.

[hubkittel]

thanks for posting the article. a couple of things after reading it:

-is anybody really surprised by any of this?
-while most of the yankees were on the record, a couple of arod's teammates took anonymous shots at him; that's pretty gutless
-this whole thing goes away if the yankees win the world series
-arod answering his door at one in the morning in a pefectly pressed suit, tie, and coat was kind of creepy; at one in the morning, i'm answering the door barefoot, droopy eyed and muttering, wearing boxers and a sleevess t-shirt

[EvanAparra]

-arod answering his door at one in the morning in a pefectly pressed suit, tie, and coat was kind of creepy; at one in the morning, i'm answering the door barefoot, droopy eyed and muttering, wearing boxers and a sleevess t-shirt

Thats just the way he is. I dont fault him for it, hes just trying his best at all times. Kind of weird, yes, but respectable.

[bama50]

I wish I had A-Rod's problems. This guy is awful with 34 homeruns and 116 RBI's. NOT!:D

[trosmok]

No one is as hard on Alex as he is on himself. Lots of perfectionists suffer from this common malady, and frequently internalize it to the point of self-absorption. He has sought help from professionals for this, but strangely too few of his fellow pinstripers. His post-season prowess is going to be analyzed to pieces again this year, and I thought the most telling part of the article was the difference between his performance before and after the 2004 LCS Game 4. Like Jeter said, the Yankees are about winning it all, and you only look at the stats afterwards, but the look back is pretty ugly: In 22 games prior to the major meltdown, Alex had hit a remarkable .372 with a whopping .640 SLG%; truly the makings of the second coming of Mr. October, eh? Since then, the Yankees are 2-7, Alex has gone 4 for 32, .125 BA, .250 SLG% :lookitup

Small wonder the radio blatherers and newspaper scribblers have been using him for kindling. He has relaxed noticably in the last two weeks, and it shows through on the field and at the dish. The post-season could bring back the funk, but like Torre was trying to tell Alex, he really is needed most when it is win or go home time. I hate the Yankees, always have, and I've never been a fan of A-Rod's, from Seattle through Texas and now the Bronx. I don't dislike him, either, and when it comes right down to it, the only thing I don't like about him, he has no control over. That is the fact that MLB allows Texas to pay him gazillions of dollars to play for the Yankees!:grouchy That sort of nonsense should never have been allowed to happen, and smacks of chicanery of the worst sort. Best of luck to all that make the post-season, and the Yanks can clinch a spot tonight with a win in Toronto, can't they?

[Mattingly]

Why does a team need a whipping boy? Who's Boston's whipping boy? Who's Baltimore's? Who's Anaheim's?

I'm still wondering why people are fixated on using Alex Rodriguez as their whipping boy. Anybody notice he's been hitting well lately?

As to Jason Giambi, perhaps he could look to October 2004 and see that he happened to have been excluded from the playoff roster, due to his inabilityt o get any hits, despite countless opportunities as a 1Bman, DH & PHer.

[VTSoxFan]

I don't think ESPNfan was saying that a team "needs" a whipping boy... but with a team loaded with high expectations, passionate fanbase and a rabid media, that's what often happens. If the NYY don't do well this postseason, someone's going to be looking for a scapegoat, and if A-rod happens to fall into a slump and hit into some DPs and pop out at a crucial juncture, or throw a ball a little too far to one side of first base.... he's gonna have a bulls-eye painted on him.

Victories are often "team victories" while failure often falls on one person's head.

[ssbguyincognito]

Giambi hasn't homered in a month. His OPS in September is 600. He should shut the hell up.

LOL that was classic.
Don't be angry just because your team has absolutely nothing left

[Mattingly]

I don't think ESPNfan was saying that a team "needs" a whipping boy... but with a team loaded with high expectations, passionate fanbase and a rabid media, that's what often happens. If the NYY don't do well this postseason, someone's going to be looking for a scapegoat, and if A-rod happens to fall into a slump and hit into some DPs and pop out at a crucial juncture, or throw a ball a little too far to one side of first base.... he's gonna have a bulls-eye painted on him.

Victories are often "team victories" while failure often falls on one person's head.
Let's see what ESPN Fan has to say himself. If he can post a thread, I presume he can reply to those who disagree.

Lots of teams fail, and every postseason has a team that fails in the first round. Last season, many blamed Alex Rodriguez for not hitting well in the playoffs. Neither did Vlad Guerrero, the 2004 MVP.

I personally don't see why anyone has to be a lightning rod. As I'd also mentioned, if one team has a scapegoat, then who's to blame for the others? Who's Boston's? Who's Anaheim's? Who will it be in the AL Central?

I also think that as much criticism as Jason Giambi has deserved, he should be the last person stoking the fires in another player's direction. Not only do we need a defensive replacement for Giambi in the 8th or 9th inning, we don't have any PED controversy for Rodriguez. If it's just a weird personality, I'll deal with it. These aren't my personal buddies, they only play for the team I root for.

Giambi hasn't homered in a month. His OPS in September is 600. He should shut the hell up.

Don't be angry just because your team has absolutely nothing left
Dude, chill out sometime.

[ESPNFan]

I really don't see what the big deal is here. A-Rod has very simply become the whippingboy for the New York Media and the more "reactionary" portion of its fans. Now that this Verducci article comes out with his own teammates basicly throwing him under the bus, it makes ithe results of this post season an all or nothing proposition for A-Rod in terms of his public persona in NY.

BTW IMO Giambi should NEVER open his artificially enhanced abnormally enlarged jaw in any why shape or form when it comes to pointing out people not coming through when the team had needed them as Matt pointed out.

And I don't think there needs to be a scapegoat when a team fails. Its a Team sport for a reason. Bill Buckner is a perfect example. Nobody talks about Calvin Schiraldi or Bob Stanley doing their best Polyerster Molotov Cocktail impersonations to blow the lead and tie the game or the fact that defensive replacement Dave Stapelton should have been in the game in the first place. A very good career was marred buy one feilding mishap.

But The press feeds the need of the more irrational and quick tempered sports radio fans out there and we get stuck with the fallout.

I think there is a direct corrilation between Manny and A-Rod. Both are very much individuals with unique personality quirks who have the ability to produce on the field at a hall of fame pace. Boston went through a long adjustment period for Manny and ultimately understand and accept his episodes as a trade off for his skills, and his performance in 2004's post season helped a great deal. I think the all or nothing mentality of NY in reguards to the Yankees combined with A-Rods persona, his salary and the expectations of him it makes a combustible combination when a championship is not realised, and even more so when a disaster like the 2004 ALCS happens.

And as everyone has seen today the News is not about the Yanks being one win away from clinching the American League East but if there is more A-Rod related drama in the Yankee clubhouse.

[Mattingly]

ESPN Fan:

I'd thought that *YOU* were saying that the Yanks need a whipping boy. So you're saying that the sports media is the driver behind all this? If so, I'd agree.

I've never understood Yankee fans booing him. I can understand in Texas, but debatable whether he or Hicks are at fault because of that humongous contract (signed before Manny's or Jeter's).

Despite Giambi's BALCO troubles, as he did play in California, he seems to be in favor of discipline and taking the game seriously. Please note his reference to Tejada that he shouldn't have arrived late for a game.

I don't think that players should be discussing everything that's said in the lockerroom. I always thought it was like one of those "What's said/done in Vegas stays in Vegas" types of things. Who knows what a pitch coach, catcher & pitcher discuss on a mound conference?

From my having skimmed the article, I felt it was inappropriate, regardless of Giambi's prior PED usage, to say that a teammate doesn't know who he is. I wouldn't even like it if my own family said that to the media. However, I got the gist that he was saying that it was Alex' turn to "show us something", not just capabilities, but getting those big hits when we need them. Not a rinky dink, but a booming double, clear the bases when we're down by 2 runs, tie the game. Something to bring us closer or put the game out of hand if we're only up by 1-2 runs.

As to myself, regardless of team and/or player, I don't think that anybody should be the whipping boy.

As to Buckner, I think that himself and Clemens (re the alleged "asking out of the game over a blister after 7 innings") were given the poor treatment. Schiraldi had one strike before he'd have won the WS on a few occasions, but couldn't heave strike 3 anytime.

[Mattingly]

I'm not too sure about the correlation between Manny and A-Rod. Both were born in NYC, I believed, and Manny went to school in Washington Hts (just above Harlem in Manhattan) right where the Yanks used to play eons ago, by Hilltop Park (Columbia-Presbyterian Med Ctr is there now).

I'm not sure Manny's slumped this season. Perhaps in the earlier part of the season, but he's been mashing well, right? If Manny boots a ball or dives right past it, it's viewed as "Manny being Manny". Remember that crazy play where Damon threw it and Manny blocked the ball? That was *HOWLINGLY* hilarious. If A-Rod does that to intercept a cutoff play, he'll be in the frying pan.

Manny seems to an overall goofy personality. It's like a big guy who won't hurt you. He's not stupid, but he's not a genius either. No insult intended. However, Alex overthinks too much to me. He thinks a bit too much about himself also. Sometimes I just wish he'd "see the ball, hit the ball, go home" thing. No delving into his mentality, no drama. Just hit the ball and ignore too many requests into his persona. I figure these guys are paid to play baseball, not be great humanitarians.

[cardsfanatic]

All of this is just more reasons why I like Derek Jeter. Giambi, who was being trashed and was down and out last year for his steroid abuse, has the unmitigated gall to slam another guy when he's down and out? I mean, I guess Giambi needed tough love last year instead of how supportive his teammates were. They all came to his defense last year. A-Rod included.

And then A-Rod playing the race card... the sex symbol card... man, there's plenty of Yankee players to hate for their immense idiocy, that's for sure.

[ESPNFan]

Matt,
Yes basicly what I was saying was that If A-Rod wasnt the public whippingboy of the fans and the press before the article was the last nail in the coffin.

As for the Booing, Yankee fans booed Jeter and Rivera which to me is vastly more puzzling than the booing of A-Rod. A-Rod has yet to win anything, is glaringly obvious and painfully calculating in the way he comports himself publicly and has somehwat underperformed since arriving in NY.

What would Giambi feel like if Tony Clark had come out after the ALCS and said, "If Jason had layed off the sauce he would have been there for us when Olerude went down and we would be playing for a wold series right now!" Jason my be right about how to act but he blows it by going on record to Verducci. Team drama needs to stay inhouse. If you can't trust your teammates with the press how can you trust them on the field? Giambi just makes my skin crawl.

[ESPNFan]

As far as Manny goes there have been many many issues, Multiple dead grandmother related MIA's. The infamous Faringitius incedent where teatment consisted of drinks with Enrique Wilson. Not running out a ground ball. It took a while for Boston to accept the "manny being manny" mantra and the championship was a huge part of it.

And your right he is sort of a big lovable goofy oaf. But that will only get you so much leway. You have to produce if your going to have as many issues as Manny.

[Dasperp]

All of this is just more reasons why I like Derek Jeter

You mean the guy who is refusing to defend A-Rod to the media despite coming to the aid of Giambi when he was suffering from steroid withdrawl and Knoblauch when he was having throwing problems?

Funniest part of the article is when Verducci asks Jeter whether A-Rod's booing has been worse than Knoblauch's and Jeter replies "I don't know, i'm just concerned with winning". Almost like an SNL sketch

[W_Marone]

Ill take him in Philly

[cardsfanatic]

You mean the guy who is refusing to defend A-Rod to the media despite coming to the aid of Giambi when he was suffering from steroid withdrawl and Knoblauch when he was having throwing problems?

Funniest part of the article is when Verducci asks Jeter whether A-Rod's booing has been worse than Knoblauch's and Jeter replies "I don't know, i'm just concerned with winning". Almost like an SNL sketch

Why should any player air dirty laundry, though? Jeter has no reason to get involved in this because it shouldn't be an issue to begin with. Just be quiet and play baseball... and if things like this occur, for the love of god, take care of it in house.

[Jose Reyes]

Who does Giambi think he is talking to A-Rod like he did? Even though A-Rod's having the worst year of his life he still has a higher batting average and more RBIs than Giambi. Anyway this is why a team of overpaid superstars with no chemistry doesn't work out. However the Yankees still have the best record in the AL so who knows.

[Imapotato]

I wouldn't take him in Philly

and it took the rest of the baseball world 5 years to catch up with me on Rodriguez

He fails against good to great pitchers and feasts on guys who would be in AAA if their were 4 less teams

Yes his numbers look pretty at the end of the year, sort of like a gorgeous woman with ugly feet...but very little of them are from winning a game or any significance. Then many cite his playoff stats...not even looking at the score when he hit and when he didn't

I find it ironic that Giambi called him out, because Giambi is a guy (steroids, HGH or not) that when the spotlight is on him...he hits ...despite the fact that he barely hits over .250...his 75% of success comes against good pitchers at opportune times

Reyes, its the same irony that your avatar name is Jose Reyes and going by STATS like OBP and SLG Reyes is the 6th or 7th best leadoff man in the game, yet when IN the game and outside of the pocket protector, Reyes is the best leadoff man in the game

I also love how many Rodriguez supporters blow away his teams lack of success on coincidence and say "it's a team game" yet when you knock him for not hitting within the context of the game they say "but look at his individual numbers"

Can't have it both ways...

Alkex Rodriguez is just not one of the best players of all time...not many how mnay VORP, Win Shares or LMNOPs he accumalates

[EvanAparra]

Yeah, i guess a guy who plays USUALLY plays GG defense and has hit 52 HRs from the SS position couldnt be one of the best players of all time. It doesnt take Win Shares and VORP to see it. Youre looking too much at this year and not enough at his past.

[Astro]

Send him to Houston, Astro fans would appreciate one of the best players of all time

[hubkittel]

He fails against good to great pitchers and feasts on guys who would be in AAA if their were 4 less teams

Yes his numbers look pretty at the end of the year, sort of like a gorgeous woman with ugly feet...but very little of them are from winning a game or any significance.

i honestly could care less about arod and the yankees but he's hitting against the same pitchers that everybody else in the league is hitting against so i think it's unfair to penalize him for his success just because baseball has expanded a few times in the last 30 years. and of couse he hits less against the great pitchers-so does everybody else. that's what makes them great pitchers.

as for the importance of any individual rbi, if you look at the breakdown you can see that he isn't getting all his stats in blowout situations or against kc and tampa bay. he was 33 rbi w/ risp and 2outs-the definition of a clutch situation. he's hitting .500 with the base loaded with an ops of 1.35-again the definition of a clutch situation. he has three rbi in 7 ab in extra innings. he has 13 rbi against boston, 6 in 6 games against chi, 11 against min, 10 against oak, 14 against tor, and 10 against the mets-that's 64 rbi against some of the best teams in baseball (in a total of 60 games). i couldn't find a list of mlb leaders in game winning rbi, but i saw one about a month ago that had him at third or fourth. are these all insignificant rbi?

everything you said about arod, that i quoted above, you could say about every other player in baseball, if you wanted to. i've watched albert pujols play about 90% of his games this year and i couldn't begin to tell you how many times i've seen him fail in clutch situations, how many times i've seen him leave runners on base when the cards desperately needed those runs. but he also leads baseball in game winning rbi. it's easy to cherry pick situations and say "well, he didn't drive in this run or that run in this game or that game so he's not clutch and his hundred odd rbi are really meaningless." nobody drives in 100 game winning rbi a year against nothing but future hall of fame pitchers. you drive in runs in blowouts and against crappy pitchers and with the bases loaded/two outs in tie games.

i don't care if people boo arod or if his teammates don't like him or if he's peaked as player and is now on the downside of his career. i know i wouldn't want him on the cardinals at his currant salary-i wouldn't want babe ruth at that kind of money (well, maybe if he played rf AND pitched every fifth day). but you can't just dismiss his numbers as being insignificant-unless you actually do have statistical evidence that all his numbers come in 10-2 blowouts and against the royals.

[Mattingly]

I'm not too much into "park factors" and such, but isn't that park in Arlington, TX considered a bandbox? I figured that since he'd played there, he would have fewer offensive numbers. Plus he's playing in a LH hitter's paradise, but batting righty.

In that article, there was something (I only got to pg 4 or so) that he may need to get his eyesight checked. I remember seeing something I couldn't believe. He'd done what some rookies would get spoken to by the manager:

swinging away at a pitch just a little high and just outside the zone. Not a bad pitch, perhaps a bad-ball hitter could use it, but definitely not a strike. Then the pitcher would throw a perfectly flat meatball down Broadway that's belt-high and he sits on it. It's like he was waiting for his ship to come in, and the Queen Mary blew the foghorns!

He's struck out a lot more than before, so perhaps there's something he's hiding after all. Between his insistence, from what I'm reading in the article that nothing's wrong, to his seemingly not understanding the full outlook of the situation, with that being that the Yanks need him to swat the ball well if he's batting cleanup or 5th. Abreu and Giambi can get a big hit, but we'll need Alex to hit very well. I'll take a dinky single, but I also want to see a nice double to drive a man home from 1B.

Giambi's situation is funky. Other than the well-reported leaked testimony of his PED usage, then his agent's insistence that the word "steroids" not be used in his Yankee contract ($120m/7 yrs), he has forever hidden under the radar for critique. Meanwhile, Alex is like an electro-magnet that literally attracts harsh criticism and nasty signs and boos from fans. What honey is to a bear, criticism and negative reactions are to Alex Rodriguez.

It's hard to explain, but like when the hated ex-Red Sox, Roger Clemens (he wasn't even considered an ex-Blue Jay when he came aboard), fans remembered that he'd hit the Yanks on a few pitches. His wearing of the pinstripes was considered very awkward, as if the enemy had donned our outfits. However, it was said during the 1999 WS, when he'd pitched Game 4 (despite being the ace), that with that win, which was almost a shutout, he had finally become a true Yankee.

With Giambi, I still think it's that game in the rain around May 2002. Yanks down by 3 runs (after Sterling Hitchcock gave up 3 runs in the top of the 14th), 2 outs, bases loaded. What does he do? He smacks one outta there for the win. Only Ruth had done that. After he'd been booed mercilessly, that seemed like his official "You've earned your pinstripes" moment. To anyone who remembers his 2002 season, when he'd been booed for replacing the very popular Tino Martinez (who himself was booed for replacing Don Mattingly), I think that one swat bought him a lot of deflection of criticism, like he's made of Teflon or something.

After Giambi missed the 2004 playoffs, where we surely could've used his heavy bat, perhaps he should try piping down somewhat and just make sure that we know who he is, and that we know he can produce. I'll accept his clubhouse advice, but in the end, he'll have to mash them taters, and knock the gravy (and the sauce) out of them too! :D :p

[shinco]

I never liked A-Rod just for the fact that I wanted to see Soriano and Jeter together for the next X ammount of years. Oh well...

Now it's just not fun because I get clumped into the whole mob of TradeRod.

I atleast had a reason. It seems alot of people do it because it's cool to do it..

[SHOELESSJOE3]

I wouldn't take him in Philly

and it took the rest of the baseball world 5 years to catch up with me on Rodriguez

He fails against good to great pitchers and feasts on guys who would be in AAA if their were 4 less teams

Your kidding. Are you saying that A-ROD's good, damn good, great career numbers are what they are simply becuse he has put them up against sub par pitchers. Can anyone show that AROD faced more bad pitching, had more opportinities against poor pitching than other in the batting order while with Seattle, Texas or the Yanks.

First place, how could he be in any batting order on any team that he has been with and have the advantage of facing poor pitching more times than the other hitters in that line up, how could that be. If there was a "B" pitcher or less on the opposing team in the game for say 6 innings, would not the whole batting order be facing him, not just A-ROD.

You can't put up the career numbers he put up by pounding pitching alone and struggling against the good pitching, impossible.

[EvanAparra]

Your kidding. Are you saying that A-ROD's good, damn good, great career numbers are what they are simply becuse he has put them up against sub par pitchers. Can anyone show that AROD faced more bad pitching, had more opportinities against poor pitching than other in the batting order while with Seattle, Texas or the Yanks.

First place, how could he be in any batting order on any team that he has been with and have the advantage of facing poor ptching more times than the other hitters in that line up, how could that be. If there was a "B" pitcher or less on the opposing team in the game for say 6 innings, would not the whole batting order be facing him, not just A-ROD.

You can't put up the career numbers he put up by pounding pitching alone and struggling against the good pitching, impossible.

Yeah that was a pretty ridiculous comment. Lets see the stats where he just kills every pitcher with an ERA over 5 in the season, and just gets mowed down by pitchers with a 3.5 ERA or less. I mean hes bound to do better against the bad pitchers, just like EVERYONE else in the history of baseball, which is what makes bad pitchers bad. But i mean how can you possibly back up that comment with anything concrete.

[Mattingly]

Here's Alex' batter vs pitcher link. Please select a team, then see how well he does against aces as well as meatball hurlers.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/bvsp?playerId=3115&teamId=9

[EvanAparra]

.412 against Sabathia.
.385 agaist Cliff Lee
.318 Bonderman
.526 Rogers
.444 Colon
.385 Escobar
.250 Santana
2-3 off Nathan
.359 Hudson
.385 Wickman
.438 Bedard
.375 Freddy Garcia
.385 Garland
.313 Arroyo
.377 Clemens
.302 Pedro
.259 Mussina
.273 M. Rivera
.338 David Wells
.250 Halladay
.300 Mulder
.250 Carpenter

Then some guys that he hasnt done well against.

E. Santana
Kazmir
Zito
Buerlhe
Pettitte


So yeah, those comments have no foundation. A-Rod is a great hitter, even against great pitchers. Period.

[cardsfanatic]

Your kidding. Are you saying that A-ROD's good, damn good, great career numbers are what they are simply becuse he has put them up against sub par pitchers. Can anyone show that AROD faced more bad pitching, had more opportinities against poor pitching than other in the batting order while with Seattle, Texas or the Yanks.

First place, how could he be in any batting order on any team that he has been with and have the advantage of facing poor pitching more times than the other hitters in that line up, how could that be. If there was a "B" pitcher or less on the opposing team in the game for say 6 innings, would not the whole batting order be facing him, not just A-ROD.

You can't put up the career numbers he put up by pounding pitching alone and struggling against the good pitching, impossible.

If anything, it's more likely that A-Rod has faced tougher pitching in his career than weaker. Guys who his 1-4 in a lineup typically face the ROOGY and LOOGY arms in a bullpen, which is the opposing teams best situational pitchers. Ie. toughest to hit. Most managers won't waste their best arms on a 8 or 9 hole hitter.

Unless A-Rod is knocking around a worthless starter everyone else gets their hacks at, too... he's facing the cream of the bullpen crop, I'd lay my bottom dollar to it.