Over the last few weeks, as the Yanks have slipped in the AL East and Wild Card standings, Yankee fans, looking for a scapegoat, have found their favorite target in Number 13. A-Rod, as everyone knows by now, isn’t hitting well with runners in scoring position this year, and for some reason, this is reason enough to blame an entire disappointing season on the $27-million-man’s shoulders. While we’ve always been on Alex’s side, David Pinto points out a trend: A-Rod’s strike out rates with runners on base are significantly higher than they are with bases empty. With no one on, A-Rod strikes out 15.4 percent of the time; with runners on, that number nearly doubles to 28.2 percent. As Pinto writes, “He’s not even giving the runners a chance to advance 1/4 of the time.”
Sign with big Hollywood agency; hit a home run
Maybe a few more Yankees should think about signing with hot-shot talent agencies. A few hours after word got out that A-Rod had inked a deal with the powerful William Morris Agency, the Yanks’ third baseman kicked off a 12-run rout of the Twins with a two-run home run in the first.
Word of the deal first broke in the Wall Street Journal last night. Matthew Futterman’s article, available here only for WSJ subscribers, talks about A-Rod’s decision to sign up yet another management company:
The decision reflects the growing importance of Hollywood in athletes’ attempts to turn themselves into enduring brand names that can attract corporate sponsorships in addition to their big-ticket employment contracts. Major agencies, meanwhile, see star athletes as a growth niche. As TV ratings dwindle and movie box-office stagnates, sports-rights fees and the value of sports teams are growing. The marketing prowess of golfer Tiger Woods has become the envy of celebrity handlers…
For Mr. Rodriguez, the move marks the latest turn in his relationship with Scott Boras, one of baseball’s most successful and controversial agents. It was Mr. Boras’s decision to announce during last year’s World Series that Mr. Rodriguez would opt out of his contract with the Yankees. That move dented the future Hall of Famer’s reputation and forced him to pursue a new deal directly with Yankees brass.
Mr. Boras, who has represented Mr. Rodriguez throughout his career, said he will continue to represent the slugger in any baseball-related negotiations. “I do Alex’s baseball work,” Mr. Boras said Monday. Now, with what is likely the final contract of his sports career complete, Mr. Rodriguez is turning to William Morris to burnish his image as an athlete with appeal beyond his sport.
Right now, while A-Rod is one of the highest paid players in any sport with a guaranteed contract of at least $275 million over the next ten years, he lags in endorsement deals. According to Bloomberg News, A-Rod earns just $6 million a year in endorsements, putting him 20th on a recent Sports Illustrated list of top-grossing athletes by endorsements.
The agency, with offices in New York, LA, Nashville and London, will look to expand the reach of the A-Rod image, and the Yanks’ slugger, destined for the Hall one day, will also see his earnings reach new heights. It’s just another day in As The A-Rod Turns.
Open Thread: Derby drinking games and the A-Rod Question
Mike and I will be enjoying the Derby tonight from Section 31 of the Tier Reserve (fair territory!). So let’s roll with an open thread. Ostensibly this is about the derby, but use this to discuss trade rumors, the terrible state of the Yankee offense, Brian Cashman’s head on a silver platter and anything else that tickles your fancy. If you’re over 21 (of course) want to get drunk during the Derby, play the Home Run Derby drinking game.
Anyway, I’ll start the open thread fun.
This morning, Jayson Stark penned a typical A-Rod-bashing column about Alex’s decision to eschew the Home Run Derby. Stark claims that A-Rod first opted out of the “Call Your Shot” promotion that would have featured David Ortiz had he not been injured and then opted out of the Derby all together. Why? Stark posits it is because of Alex Rodriguez’s fragile psyche.
Well, I’m fairly certain that with his face plastered all over the tabloids these days, A-Rod’s fragile psyche could have handled losing the Home Run Derby. While Stark claims A-Rod may be afriad of ending up on the tabloids after the Derby, I have to wonder how that end result would be any different from, oh, the last two weeks.
Stark slams the Yankees’ hitter — and indirectly Jason Giambi as well — for opting out of the game in their home town. Giambi would have participated had he been selected to the All Star team, but heaven forbid he enjoy a four-day vacation at home for the first time since early February. Writes Stark, “It’s not important enough, apparently, for Alex Rodriguez to risk not living up to his own ego. How sad is that?”
No sadder than an ESPN columnist using the meaningless Home Run Derby as just another platform to tear down A-Rod. It’s an old trope, but would we expect anything else from Stark and ESPN?
A brief note about A-Rod
Since coming off the disabled list, Alex Rodriguez is hitting .344/.441/.669 with 14 HR and 39 RBI in 45 games. That would put him on pace for 50 home runs and 140 RBI over 162 games. Does anyone really care what else is going on as long as he keeps that up? (And how is that 42 percent of ESPN voters believe A-Rod is least deserving of a starting spot on the All Star team? Jeez.)
The Alexander Rodriguez appreciation thread
Lost in all the talk about Chien-Ming Wang’s injury yesterday was the outcome of Sunday’s game. In it, the Yankee offense erupted for 13 runs, and the Yanks’ team MVP Alex Rodriguez was right there in the thick of things.
On the day, A-Rod was 3 for 5 with a home run, three RBIs and a walk. That performance, his second three-hit game in two days, raised his season totals to .326/.411/.603. By the end of the week, A-Rod will have enough plate appearances to qualify for the AL leaderboards, and when he does, he’ll be in top five in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging. His 12 home runs has him just outside the top 10.
Even more amazing are A-Rod’s numbers since coming off the DL. In 26 games, the Yanks are 17-9, and A-Rod — along with Jason Giambi and Johnny Damon — has led the way. Rodriguez is hitting .366/.470/.710 with 8 home runs — and a ninth that went over the fence but was incorrectly ruled in play — over 93 at bats. He’s even stolen five bases in six tries.
At this point, it’s hard to overstate Alex Rodriguez’s importance to the Yankees. Since coming back, he’s changed the dynamic of the lineup, and that quad injury was just as damning to the Yanks’ early goings as the struggles of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. Meanwhile, with A-Rod hitting ahead of him, Jason Giambi is just as hot, hitting .364/.467/.701 since Alex’s return for the DL. What a powerhouse combination.
Yesterday, ESPN.com published an eTicket story by Tom Friend about A-Rod’s close friendship with Pete Rose. Baseball’s all-time hits leader has been coaching A-Rod both mentally and physically as he’s continued to mash the ball in New York City, and I can’t say I mind having Rose, one of the game’s best hitters ever, help A-Rod, one of the game’s best hitters and most tortured souls, keep his head in the game.
In the end, as A-Rod mashes, I keep coming back to October and November when we were ready to move on without Alex. Where would the Yankees be today if Alex Rodriguez had truly jumped the ship? The answer is not a pretty one.
Who to move for A-Rod?
So A-Rod comes off the DL tomorrow. Praise Jebus. The question is now what to do to clear a 25-man roster spot for him. With Betemit out, Alberto has to stay. So the team is essentially left with three options. One, send Britton packing (not that I want to, but he’s clearly the first to go). With the day off today, the bullpen should be completely rested, and we don’t need 13 pitchers. Two, send Shelley back to Scranton. Three, DFA Ensberg. I guess option one seems the most likely. But I wonder how much more time Shelley and Ensberg have on this team.
A-Rod on target for Tuesday return
PeteAbe brings the good news. A-Rod mashed in a simulate game today (?), but more importantly he took 54 grounders of varying degrees of difficulty at the hot corner, and ran in the outfield without incident. “It’s the best I’ve felt since the injury,” Rodriguez said. Yes, A-Rod wasn’t exactly tearing the cover off the ball before the injury, but the Yanks have scored 2 or fewer runs in 6 of 14 games this month. Getting the cleanup hitter back and healthy is better than any trade acquisition could ever be.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 92
- 93
- 94
- 95
- 96
- …
- 108
- Next Page »