Covering all the A-Rod angles
by Ed Valentine on Mar 6, 2009 9:28 AM EST
in New York Yankees News
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Look around the Inter-Google today and virtually every angle of the Alex Rodriguez hip injury has been touched upon.
I don't have a whole lot new to add, but I suppose we have to talk about it. So, let's just look around at what has already been written and said about latest chapter in the sorry A-Rod saga.
There is the A-Rod is always the center of the storm angle.
ESPN's Jayson Stark weighs in on this, and Peter Abraham recounts Alex's 27 whirlwind days.
There is the can the Yankees win without him in 2009 angle.
Joel Sherman says several players have to step up, and stay healthy, to pick up the slack. Ian O'Connor tries to make the case that the Yankees might be better off if Rodriguez is out for an extended portion of the season.
There is the Brian Cashman is an idiot angle.
This comes about because of the revelation that A-Rod first admitted to trouble with his hip last season, but that the organization didn't deal with it until now. The blogosphere at large is having fun with this one. River Avenue Blues, iYankees and Was Watching are among those killing the Yankee GM.
There is the only nine more years of this crap angle.
As in only nine more years of this soap opera with a guy who is a huge distraction and whose health is obviously already deteriorating. Joel Sherman says Cashman has to deal with this mess, but it wasn't his idea. Sam Borden also says the Yankees should have let A-Rod go when they had the chance. AOL Fanhouse points the finger at Hank Steinbrenner. Finally, Wallace Matthews says Rodriguez is going to wind up costing the Yankees a lot more than $275 million.
There is the who plays third base if A-Rod is out angle.
Anyone and everyone seems to be weighing in on this topic. Right now, Cody Ransom would probably get the first crack at the job. NJ.com offers one list of possible replacements. Peter Abraham tossed out a bunch of names. Pinstripe Bible also offers a few ideas. YankeesRedSox.com suggests the Yankees make a last-minute pitch to Nomar Garciaparra. Joel Sherman also tosses in a few names.
Here's my $.02. Cashman should have been pursuing Nomar all along. He is inexpensive at this point, and even before A-Rod's injury was revealed Garciaparra was a perfect fit for the Yankee bench. He can play all four infield positions, and is obviously a better hitter than Ransom.
If it is too late to get Nomar, I would put Brandon Inge at the top of the list of players Cashman should inquire about. I know Inge can't hit much anymore (.236, .205 the past two seasons). What he can do is play third base, catch and play center field -- and do an excellent job defensively at all three spots. Coincidentally, those are the three biggest trouble spots for the Yankees in their every day lineup. Inge would provide tremendous versatility and protection.
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Replacing A-Rod
I would go the following course, moving to the next plan if the previous doesn’t work. But I wouldn’t do anything as drastic as trading for a star 3B or someone who would want permanent, everyday playing time there into the future. We need a stopgap who has defensive flexibility so we can keep using the replacement at other positions after A-Rod returns.
1.) Play Tex at 3B, Swisher at 1B, and Nady in RF every day. Tex started out as a 3B but switched to 1B when he was blocked by Hank Blalock in Texas. Maybe he could still play that position, given his defensive skills on the other corner. Thankfully, we have time now, with a month left until the season, to experiment with this.
2.) Try Cody Ransom every day. He has impressed as a Yankee. He’s athletic and plays hard, like Brett Gardner.
3.) Trade for Martin Prado or Chone Figgins. They don’t hit for power but get on base and hit for average, and Figgins is a base-stealing wizard. Both can play multiple IF and OF positions and would be outstanding bench players should A-Rod return. In either case, don’t give up a prospect too promising, like Hughes, Brackman, McAllister, Melancon, Betances, Montero, Romine, Jackson, et al.
"If you lived in my grandfather's house...and you wanted to eat, you had to be a Yankees fan." --Joe Biden
BTW
Nomar signed with the A’s a few days ago, and I don’t want Mark Grudzielanek, who wouldn’t be much if any better offensively than Ransom but would be more expensive. I wouldn’t trade for Inge or Blalock, either, because their bats are really deteriorating.
"If you lived in my grandfather's house...and you wanted to eat, you had to be a Yankees fan." --Joe Biden
Did he sign?
I thought that was still up in the air. Oh, well.
by Ed Valentine on Mar 6, 2009 12:16 PM EST up reply actions
Tex at 3B?
The guy hasn’t played there is years. No way that happens. Why would you weaken two spots? Same w/Nady, who played 3B in college. Not happening.
by Ed Valentine on Mar 6, 2009 12:15 PM EST up reply actions
Baseball Prospectus says X Nady has some 3b background.
His defense there isn’t great, but his bat would better than Cody Ransom et al.
I say why not?
Why not?
Because he hasn’t played it since college. It’s not like playing summer league or Over 30 ball. At the pro level you can’t just go pick up a position you haven’t played in 10 years. If he could have played it at the pro level he would never have been moved to the outfield, where he is a slow-footed barely adequate defender, anyway. Guys get converted to the outfield because they are crappy infielders.
Not to be mean-spirited or condescending, but this idea that you can just take a guy like Nady or Teixeira and stick him at third amazes me. I see it in comments all the time, and I just don’t get it.
i had this thought too today
but about Swisher, not Nady.
the problem is that Swisher has never played 3b, even in the minors. what might make more sense is Tex at 3b. He’s a good defensive 1b-man, so perhaps a move across the diamond wouldn’t be too tough, with Swisher manning 1b.
they have a few weeks now to get him used to it. if he’s the team player the Yankees and Mike Kay make him out to be, he’d do it willingly.
we could live with poor 3b defense bc of his bat. unless Cash is willing to make a big trade, Tex might be the best overall option.
That kills me, too
Thing is, they knew about this hip situation LAST SEASON. Why not make absolutely sure he got it thoroughly checked in the off-season? They have soooo much invested in the guy, not doing that is just plain stupid.
i gotta think
more than anything it was A-rod downplaying the severity of what he was feeling.. probably thinking he could play through it, rest it in the offseason and be good to go… i have to think if he really had said my hip’s really bothering me, they would have checked it out in a heartbeat..
who the hell knows. I say if he goes down for an extended period of time- 2 months plus- they will have to make a trade of some kind. The answer of of an everyday guy for 3B is not in the organization, in my opinion.
Anyone old enough to remember Clete Boyer?
Great glove, no hit. His lack of production never seemed to hurt the Yanks. If Ransom can just field the position adequately, that should suffice until ARod is healthy.
not quite the same
Boyer had Mantle, Maris and Berra to carry those teams. Arod IS the Mantle of this team.
Someone really dropped
the ball on this one. If this was a problem last season it should have been immediately addressed, or at least before spring training began. There would have ample time to come up with a contingency plan, instead of tossing around ad hoc solutions. Sticking your head in the sand doesn’t make it go away. I know Steve Lombardi over at “Was Watching” is having a field day hanging Cashman out to dry and I think there is probably a degree of validity to that. We’ve all commented previously regarding the lack of depth on the bench, not those chickens are coming home to roost.
I’m just going to be patient and wait for the dust to settle. Some of the trade proposals I’ve heard are just ridiculous.
Should He Play Through the Pain?
Hey all,
I was here: http://www.majorleagueblogging.com/
There is a debate going down on whether or not he should play through it… any thoughts?
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