Nothing excites Yankees fans more than a discussion on A-Rod and his ability – or inability, depending upon one’s viewpoint – to hit in the clutch. A-Rod’s detractors claim he is a choke artist and point to this play in the 2004 ALCS. His proponents will now just refer anyone who is anti-A-Rod to Cody Ransom. Meanwhile, John Beamer, a Braves fan and analyst for The Hardball Times, has used Leverage Index, a variant of Win Probability Added, to assess A-Rod’s clutchiness. He determines that the much-maligned slugger isn’t all that bad in the clutch. For the statistically minded among us, Beamer’s piece is a nice bit of research. Check it out.
A-Rod closer to return after live BP session
Cody Ransom has earned himself the dubious distinction of being the first Yankee to make an error at the new Yankee Stadium and the first to end a game by hitting into a double play. He also went 0-for-5 and left nine baserunners on today. I can’t wait for the Cody Ransom Era to end.
To that end, some good news after a bad day: A-Rod is taking batting practice. According to the AP, A-Rod took 49 swings off of live pitching. Three of those went for home runs, and the rest of his hacks seemed to be strong. He also took some grounders and took some soft-toss swings. While the Yankees are hewing to a May 15th return for A-Rod, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back in the bigs by the end of the month.
A-rod a-head of schedule
With apologies for the groan-inducing headline, let’s get to the worst-kept secret in Yankee baseball. According to his doctor, Alex Rodriguez is responding well to treatment and should return ahead of schedule. “We don’t want to rush too much,” Dr. Mark Philippon told reporters this week, “but according to Alex, his coordination, his motions, his muscle memory is coming back really fast. He told me yesterday that he felt better than he felt earlier at Spring Training, when he got started. We’re five weeks out, and I think it’s on schedule – actually, slightly ahead of schedule.”
While Philippon noted that A-Rod’s hip could face some inherent dangers, particularly on sliding plays, this season, he told Tyler Kepner that A-Rod may not even need the second surgery. While that’s certainly getting ahead of ourselves, A-Rod is likely to return earlier than May 15th. No word yet on the corresponding move from Selena Roberts’ publishers.
On A-Rod’s ‘tunnel vision’
With the Yanks in Tampa this week and A-Rod’s arrival at the Yanks’ complex yesterday, yesterday was a great day to check in on the rehabbing slugger. For the most part, A-Rod’s day was largely uneventful. The third baseman played catch, took a bunch of swings and participated in some other baseball activities.
At one point, A-Rod stopped to talk to the gaggle of reporters who gathered to watch him work out. It had, after all, been a while since A-Rod had faced the press, and outside of some gossip about A-Rod’s latest fling, his name hadn’t found its way into the press, bold-faced or otherwise.
There is, it seems, a reason for it. A-Rod is trying to put on his blinders and enact his own version of baseball tunnel vision. “In a funny way,” A-Rod said, “Colorado has been unbelievable. It’s been a blessing in disguise. Not only did I go down there to get my hip fixed, but I also got an opportunity to relax and take a time out to re-think, re-evaluate and re-focus my career and what’s important. It also gives you an opportunity to cut some of the fat. I understand my responsibility and I’m excited to face the challenge.”
There’s an initial tendency to make a lot out of this statement. After all, shouldn’t A-Rod have “cut some of the fat” a long time ago? Shouldn’t he already have baseball blinders on? Does he really need a six-week rehab to gain that tunnel vision focus?
But reality is not that simple. Like the rest of us, A-Rod is human, and over the last year, he’s been through a divorce and some fairly stunning steroid allegations. We expected a man making $280 million to be better than all of that, but it will wear down on A-Rod as much as it would wear down on the rest of us.
For eight months, professional baseball players partake in a grueling game. We call it a marathon and not a sprint, but it’s closer to a slog than anything else. It’s emotionally and physically taxing, and while we sit and enjoy it, the players life out its ups and downs every day.
I appreciate what A-Rod has to say. If he’s truly intent on focusing on just baseball this year — as Selena Roberts’ book comes out, as crowds gear up to boo him — then good for him. But with over 155 games left in the year, that’s a tough claim for anyone to make.
A-Rod expected to head to Tampa on Monday
Via Bryan Hoch, Alex Rodriguez is expected to report to Tampa on Monday, where he will continue his rehab from hip surgery and begin baseball activities. A-Rod has been rehabbing in Colorado under the watch of Dr. Marc Philippon, where he rode a stationary bike and simulated his swing with a broom handle. He’ll start swinging an actual bat in Tampa, where he’ll meet the rest of the team when they come in for a series against the Rays. The Yanks are sticking to their May 15th return date, but I don’t think I’m alone in saying I hope he comes back sooner.
Now, why would Selena Roberts’ publisher do that?
I love the Associated Press. While the newswire is trying to wage war against search engines and news aggregators, its reporters are proving to be fairly clueless. To whit is a story that went out over the wires earlier today. Selena Roberts, unauthorized biographer of All Things A-Rod, has delayed the street date of her upcoming tell-all. Ostensibly, the delay is due to the fact that she “need[ed] more time for the book.”
But who is Harper Collins trying to fool? Any reporter worth his or her salt would have noticed that the new release date — May 13 — ensures that A-Rod will either be off the disabled list or on the verge of being activated when this supposedly explosive book arrives. I certainly understand the business rationale behind this one, but talk about a blatant marketing ploy. How could the AP not pick up on that?
A-Rod heading to Tampa on Monday
Good news for the Yanks courtesy of Bryan Hoch: Alex Rodriguez will be arriving at the Yanks’ facility in Tampa on Monday to ramp up baseball activities. A-Rod underwent surgery on March 9 to temporarily repair a torn labrum in his right hip, and in a text message exchange with Joe Girardi yesterday, A-Rod said he was feeling good. In fact, he was spied riding a stationary bike while watching the game yesterday. The Yankees, meanwhile, are holding true to their May 15 expected return date for A-Rod, but the whispers of a late April or early May return continue to grow louder. That day can’t come soon enough.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 80
- 81
- 82
- 83
- 84
- …
- 108
- Next Page »