Afternoon Baseball

"They still haven't fixed A-Rod's psyche, but miracles may require a priest, not a baseball man."
That was in January. His current woes have always been underneath the surface, which explains why the current fan frenzy is both an overreaction (for being naive enough to think A-Rod suddenly lost it) and appropriate (because the self-doubt and subsequent overthinking, tight play may well be chronic).

I've been a supporter of Alex Rodriguez, I think, although I've surely been critical of him.
There's a couple of ways to examine his current difficulties:
1. He's still not far off pace from the typical Gary Sheffield season (as far as average, HR and RBI). But of course, he's always been better than Sheffield, which is no knock on Gary. So it's a disappointment, but not a total collapse. Things will turn around. After all, the trade was still a good move, all things considered.
2. A-Rod is a head case and will be destined to fall short of his potential like many other superstars, including Hall of Famers. His teams, sadly, will always be dragged down in the muck with him as long as he remains essentially to team success.

The second is the real concern. Notice I didn't say, "A-Rod isn't clutch, etc." People forget how Jeter made the last out in about 13 games last season. But a mental block could be a very serious issue.

Does this paragraph sound like somewhat of a descriptor of Rodriguez's current situation?

"Alex Rodriguez? The most ordinary and underwhelming superstar ever seen. His season wasn't even so disappointing because it never appeared as if he was playing anything less than what he can play. This is who he is--an unemotional player (who comes off extremely calculating in all he does--he's like Kobe without the crime...yet) who delivers only when the games don't matter (his MVP campaign was constructed entirely after June when the Rangers were comfortably in last) or when no one is on-base. I give him credit for moving to third base, but I can't believe how little awe he inspires, in person and on television.

Harsh, but from a fan viewpoint, not so much. The only thing is that this was written October 20, 2004. Again, not a new problem, so let's not act stunned. The difficulty is that a solution is not an easy fix. Hell, most of us though the 2005 MVP campaign was the fix.

I updated my thoughts slightly a year later after the first-round loss to the Angels:

Finally, either fix A-Rod's head, or accept that this is the type of star he is, only worse -- far from unemotional, he can't control his emotions when he needs to.

That guy Sweeney on WFAN who covers the Yanks said it may have to do the absence of Sheffield, because he took pressure off (in the lineup and with the press) and also because he challenged A-Rod. We've talked many times, and so have countless others, about the fact that Sheff has been the most dangerous Yankee since mid-late 1990s Bernie. His absence has a measurable impact for these reasons and more (such as that Jeter only has about 63 or 64 runs scored despite a .400+ OBP). I still wouldn't have extended his contract, though. It's a tough situation.

Anyways, A-Rod should not go anywhere. He's not a lost cause (unless you really think he's going to pull a Greg Vaughn-like complete collapse) and there's really not much the fans can do, anyway. This is up to him. The fans bear no blame, but can honestly only make things worse.
This is what they call riding out the storm. He's going to have to do it, as will the Yankees and the fans. There's little choice available. And if he's not what we expected, that's just the breaks. It's out of our hands, unfortunately.

Labels: A-Rod