A (Rod) Big Decision to Make
A (Rod) Big Decision to Make
Original story by Joe Brackets Wednesday, October 17, 2012
So, the Yankees’ season won’t end tonight.
I’ve already made my feelings on A-Rod being the Yankees’ designated whipping boy known. I clearly don’t think it’s fair that he’s being scapegoated for the struggles of the entire team. Nor do I think it makes any sense for Joe Girardi to say A-Rod’s absence from the lineup for Game 5 against Baltimore and Games 3-4 against Detroit was based on “performance,” yet he was replaced by Eric Chavez, a guy who has a grand total of ZERO hits in the entire postseason. Or that he benched A-Rod, but kept the equally inept Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson and (until Tuesday) Nick Swisher in the lineup. A-Rod’s being singled out for no good reason. If you want to bench him because he’s not hitting, you’ve got to bench the other guys, too. (Never mind that when he was out with a broken hand during the regular season, Girardi blamed the Yankees’ struggles on A-Rod’s not being in the lineup.)
I understand why A-Rod’s an easy target for Yankees brass and fans.
He makes $30 million a year. He’s expected to produce in the postseason. Likewise, he’s not a very likeable player, which makes it much easier for the fans to turn on him. But he’s also 37 years old. Maybe it’s possible that the A-Rod who hit 30 home runs and had 120 RBIs a year is the A-Rod of the past. But you know what? He’s still a very productive player. One that shouldn’t be relegated to a $30 million-a-year cheerleader.
And you know something else? He’s got five years left on his contract. Are we going to go through this every October until 2017 (when A-Rod will be 42)? This same A-Rod drama every October has worn thin. Yankees fans are as sick of it as the organization has to be. He’s either one of your key guys or he’s not. Make a decision one way or the other! As I see it, there are only two possible solutions to this “problem”: get rid of him or support him.
Option A is getting rid of him. If it were up to Donald Trump, A-Rod’s contract would be terminated. That, of course, is not allowed under the CBA. This is the NFL. There’s no salary cap, so they can’t release him to create cap space. And since he’s under contract until 2017, letting him walk as a free agent isn’t possible either. That means the only way the Yankees could part ways with Alex Rodriguez would be to trade him. The Yankees seem to realize this, too. They’ve already had informal discussions with the Marlins, which could certainly heat up during the off-season. And if A-Rod does hit the trade market, I can see other teams getting involved, as well.
Trading him might not be as easy as it sounds, though. For starters, as a 10-and-5 guy, he has the right to veto any trade. That means that even if the Yankees have a deal completely worked out with somebody, the whole thing can fall apart if A-Rod doesn’t want to play there. Second, there are only a handful of teams that would even consider taking on such a massive salary. One of those teams (Boston) would be completely uninterested, another (the Angels) just signed a ridiculous long-term contract with a superstar, and a third (the Dodgers) picked up a third baseman at this year’s trade deadline, so they’re all probably out. As a result, any trade involving A-Rod would likely involve the Yankees eating a huge chunk of his salary.
That’s why I advocate trying to find some way to make peace and bringing A-Rod back next season. Let’s not forget that for 162 games during six months, he’s one of the most important players on the team. They don’t get to the postseason without him. And you know that the Yankees and their fans can’t envision him getting his 3,000th hit or (possibly) hitting his 763rd home run in a different uniform. Well, you can’t have it both ways. Either you want him around or you don’t.
What’s more, who are you going to get to replace him?
There aren’t many active future Hall of Fame third basemen. Especially ones that will be available via trade/free agency this off season. I’m not saying his performance in the postseason justifies his salary, but the Yankees gave him that contract so they at least have to share in the blame. What I am saying is that he shouldn’t be held to a different standard simply because he’s making more money than everybody else. Again, he’s not the only player on the team that’s not hitting. And this constant back-and-forth with pinch hitting for him or benching him isn’t helping at all. It’s making matters worse and becoming a distraction more than anything else.
The Yankees have to make a decision during the off season.
They have to decide if they want Alex Rodriguez around for the long-haul or if they don’t. It’s not going to be easy, but, for the sake of all involved, it’s something they need to do. Because it’s not fair to anyone for this same saga to play out every October.
Go Yankees