Alex Rodriguez Hits The DL With Hand Fracture

Alex Rodriguez took an 88 mph changeup off the wrist from Felix Hernandez in the eighth inning of Tuesday's game, and now we don't have to worry about him getting hit with anymore pitches for awhile. Rodriguez is headed to the disabled list with a fracture on his left hand. He went down in a lot of pain when he got hit and we kind of knew it wasn't going to be good. It isn't good and now the Yankees are going to be without their every day third baseman for awhile.

The timing can't be any worse for both the team and the fans. We've been waiting all year for his power to make appearance for more than a couple games, and now that it has, it's going away. A-Rod was hitting .310/.347/.493 in July and posting an OPS of .859 over the last ten games before tonight. The doubles were finally showing up, he was using the whole field, hell, even the outs were loud. Now the Yankees are without that.

In the mean time, Eric Chavez and Jayson Nix will likely handle duties at third. Chavez has been pretty good at the plate, but you have to wonder how long his body will hold up to the strain of playing more often. He works in a limited role because it limits his chances to hurt himself, but now that really isn't an option. Jayson Nix is Jayson Nix. Just hope he can play some solid defense and take whatever offense he provides as an extreme blessing. Of course, there's always the trade option. If the Yankees were kicking the tires on guys like Chase Headley before this injury, you have to think they're kicking, punching, headbutting and lacing profanity filled tirades at those tires now.

The injury could keep A-Rod out for two months if Chavez is to be believed. He's to be believed. If anyone knows, it would be him. I don't want to believe him, but in this case, this options are limited.