Why Alex Rodriguez Should Have Surgery

Call up Jesus. Have him catch full time. Move Martin to third. Problem solved.

However, I have to say that a slightly torn meniscus is very unlikely to create any sort of lasting damage to A-Rod if he decides to play through it. It’s a very simple surgery and a very simple procedure that after it is done, you are usually at 100% and don’t have to worry about it. Meniscus tears aren’t that big a deal and if you’re careful then you usually shouldn’t create lasting damage even if he continues to play. I can’t say that the chance of it isn’t there, but it’s highly unlikely.

However, I think Alex should get surgery because now that I know he has a meniscus tear I know exactly what he’s going through. In my junior year of HS I had a torn meniscus in my right knee (same as A-Rod), and I played through the high school baseball season. It wasn’t a slight tear either, and it hurt like hell. Thankfully there were only like 2-3 weeks of games left. But when you have a torn meniscus you can move your leg up and down alright, but having to twist it is where it really hurts. Running the bases, changing direction and hitting were where I felt it the most. When you hit, you get your power by twisting the back leg to help bring the hips through. Twisting the back leg is where you get the explosiveness from. And twisting your leg and knee hurts when your meniscus is torn. I always told myself to just deal with the pain for one quick swing, but when you know it’s going to hurt your body doesn’t want to and it’s really hard to even force it. So it’s definitely easy to understand why A-Rod is having a hard time driving the ball. If it hurts to twist the knee, then it’s almost impossible to do it consistently.

I know he can still get his hits and drive in runs, but he’s in the cleanup spot to hit the ball out of the ballpark. Not to be a singles hitter. The main reason he needs to get the surgery is so he can be 100% for the last two months and into the postseason. I’d rather have a Centaur at full strength for 3 months (including playoffs) than one that has had it’s mythical powers sapped by about 40% without missing time.

man up and play! (notintenededtobeafactualstatement)

More important to try to have him at close to full health down the stretch than limping the rest of the year. Plus he’s under contract for another 5 years (thanks Hank)

Play. He risks virtually no long term effects by playing through this.