RDF
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Post by RDF on May 22, 2006 14:36:15 GMT -5
[/b]?!?[/quote] My fault--A-Rotten gets me too angry to type. ;D Add "FAN" to Yankee as I did get a look from Detroit and Pittsburgh, but in the end I wasn't good enough. Now I do think I could contribute to the awful state that Royals are currently in, but who here couldn't?? (with that said, expect KC to now beat NY this weekend for me stating this.
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Hank Scorpio
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Post by Hank Scorpio on May 22, 2006 20:11:47 GMT -5
RDF
Numbers are a statistical record of a player's performance. If you'd like to ignore them, that's all well and good, but I have a tough time taking anything you say about baseball seriously if that is your approach - the bottom line is that they tell most of the story. If you'd like to field a squad full of David Ecksteins and Scott Podsedniks and Scott Brosiuses and Bernie Williamses and Bubba Crosbys, go ahead and enjoy their grit and determination. You'll win about 80 games. If you'd like to go back in time and reverse the A-Rod deal and get Soriano back, the Yankees miss the playoffs in 2004 and 2005. He carried this team all of August and September last season. Check the numbers. Oh wait, they're just window dressing.
No one on this roster has elevated their game except Posada. The pitching is exceeding my wildest expectations, save for RJ, and they can't score. A lot of this rests upon the top 5 batters in the order, all of which are not doing well right now. But, more importantly, the lineup often has Stinett, Cairo, Bernie and Crosby in the 6 - 9 spots. That's just terrible.
Do you think I am impressed with the fact that you played baseball in college? I'm not. Your point of view is not enhanced by that, whatsoever, and if you'd like to keep pulling rank in minnesota via the internet like it makes you some sort of baseball insider, i'm going to keep laughing at you here in ny. i have talked baseball with friends that played at Georgetown, a couple of players on the Padres (friend of a friend is a pitcher there) and front office members of the Red Sox organization. None of them shared your opinion, and most felt it's a matter of time before A-Rod dominates a postseason in NY like he did in Seattle (check the stats. wait, forgot you have no use for that). Most feel Jeter is the overrated one. Keep yammering, though, and telling me about how numbers are useless. I'll start calling you Joe Morgan, if you'd like, and you can start saying how people who didn't play baseball can't tell you anything about the game. It'll be fun, at least for me, b/c I'd really like to engage in a forum with Joe Morgan to make him look silly, and this will give me practice.
- Fire Joe Morgan
PS - where is that evidence that Soriano offered to play outfield to stay in pinstripes? still waiting on that.
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thebin
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Post by thebin on May 22, 2006 21:50:57 GMT -5
The jury isn't out on Foulke any more. He is DONE. I don't want him coming in to set up Pablebon if the lead is less than a baker's dozen. He might be a mediocre reliever one day in a small market town, but he's days of closing in a place like Boston are over.
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Jack
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Post by Jack on May 22, 2006 21:55:47 GMT -5
The jury isn't out on Foulke any more. He is DONE. I don't want him coming in to set up Pablebon if the lead is less than a baker's dozen. He might be a mediocre reliever one day in a small market town, but he's days of closing in a place like Boston are over. Overreact much? You must have misspelled Seanez. Foulke had a bad night in an extremely low leverage situation. He has been the second or third best reliever in the pen this year and the only one who has been reliable against good LH hitters. Relax, enjoy the W.
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Post by RockawayHoya on May 22, 2006 21:57:41 GMT -5
I can see both RDF and Borat's points in some instances, and my viewpoint is somewhere in between theirs.
I agree with Borat that A-Rod is still a great player; as much as he doesn't produce in the clutch in games that matter, he still provides plenty of firepower to win the games that the Yanks should win (without those games, you don't make the postseason, and Borat is absolutely correct in pointing that out). He's still one of the top 5 hitters in the game, bar none.
But I also agree with RDF when he says that the guy chokes in the majority of pressure situations he's put into. Last night's DP in the 8th was a great example. And for some reason, he always seems to produce at his highest level when the outcome is no longer in doubt (see tonight's 9th inning HR down 9-1 as an example). RDF is also right to a certain extent that numbers don't tell the entire story; you need to also provide leadership, stability, and produce in key situations to be a truly great player. A-Rod has yet to exemplify that on a consistent basis, unlike Jeter, who although there can be a case made for him being overrated, is someone I feel fits under all the criteria in what it takes to be a great player.
I also threw up when I saw Terrence Long in LF tonight.
Also, one minor point: Borat, I wouldn't say all of our top 5 batters in the orders are not doing well right now. Jeter is batting .351 for the year, and .357 in his last 10 (not including tonight). But everyone else is slumping right now as you said, and I'm in total agreement that the bottom of our lineup is atrocious right now. Big problems, and I wouldn't be surprised if we got swept in these next two games (RJ is awful right now, and we don't typically hit Wakefield either). Still early, though. Can't get too high or too low in the middle of May.
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thebin
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Post by thebin on May 22, 2006 22:02:18 GMT -5
You have to be joking me Jack. Have you been watching the games this season? Foulke only goes out in zero-pressure situations and has been a train wreck waiting to happen in most of them. He is done. He is worth about 1/5th of what he is making right now.
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Jack
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Post by Jack on May 22, 2006 22:09:11 GMT -5
You have to be joking me Jack. Have you been watching the games this season? Foulke only goes out in zero-pressure situations and has been a train wreck waiting to happen in almost of them. He is done. He is worth about 1/5th of what he is making right now. What he is making is irrelevant of course- nothing you can do about that now. I have watched plenty of games, I know he is pitching in a lot of low-lev situations, but he has also pitched pretty well in the hi-lev opportunities he has gotten. His worst outings have been nights like tonight and the opener at Texas, when he seemed to lack focus. He may be something of a head case, but his problem is not pressure, it seems to be the lack thereof.
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thebin
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Post by thebin on May 22, 2006 22:25:13 GMT -5
Do you think Foulke deserves to get the ball in a high pressure situation right now? It would be a more inexcusable error on Tito's part then letting Schill throw 135.
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Bahstin
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Post by Bahstin on May 22, 2006 22:33:01 GMT -5
Yeah, Foulke looked like crap. However, I was at the game tonight and when A-Rod hit that 9th inning homer down by 8, I laughed and thought of how I was glad he hit it. Yankees fans would just get more mad at him.
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Hank Scorpio
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Post by Hank Scorpio on May 22, 2006 23:02:09 GMT -5
Since joining the Yankees, A-Rod has appeared in 3 postseason series. The irrelevant and deceptive numbers, juxtaposed with Captain Intangibles who shouldn't be playing Shortstop:
numbers presented in Avg/OBP/OPS format
2004, vs Minnesota, Yankees win series 3-1
Jeter 316/350/876, 3 Runs, 4 RBIs, 1 SB ARod 421/476/1.213, 3 Runs, 3 RBIs, 2 SB
decided edge: ARod. delivered many big hits this series, including the GW double in game 2 if memory serves me, which prevented the Yanks from going down 0-2 heading to Minnesota. did mariano blow a save that game? unsure.
2004 vs Boston, Boston wins series 4-3
Jeter 200/333/566, 5 runs, 5RBIs, 1 SB ARod 258/378/894, 8 runs, 5RBIs,
decided edge: A-Rod
Amazingly, A-Rod is the man who is blamed for this series loss by many. Derek Jeter slugged 233 this series. 233!!! he batted 200, and slugged 233. Good lord. He was borderline invisible save for an RBI double vs Pedro in game 5 (i think). Meanwhile, A-Rod, along with Sheffield and Matsui, destroyed the ball for 3 games, A-Rod hitting a HR in game 4 that would have been the difference in the game and series if not for the Red Sox refusing to die/Mariano walking the leadoff man bottom 9. Either the numbers are lying, like they always do, or Jeter was more culpable for that loss than any other position player on the Yankees [though the true blame lies with Mr Torre]. But hey, curse of A-Rod seems a lot more reasonable.
2005 vs Angels, Angels win series 3-2
Jeter 333/364/973, 4 runs, 5 RBIs, 1 SB ARod 133/381/581, 2 runs, 0 RBIs, 1 SB
Decided edge: Jeter Jeter was fantastic this series. A-Rod was not, in fact, quite the opposite. He managed to walk a great deal (25% of the time, in fact), but the Angels gave him nothing to hit and he tried to force the issue. Miserable series. [EDIT: Numberswise, A-Rod's 2005 ALDS was as bad as Jeter's 2004 ALCS. And, again, all I hear is how A-Rod sucked the last 2 postseasons and Jeter is Captain Fabulous. Enough already]
For those of you keeping score, in 3 postseason series together with the Yankees, Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez has outplayed Derek Sanderson Jeter in 2 of them. Unless, of course, numbers are worth less than intangibles. But last I checked, scoring more runs than the opposition wins baseball games.
- B to the Izz-O, R to the Izz-A
PS - The yankees were down 10-1 to Texas last week and won. Jeter hit a HR to pull them within 10-6 in the 6th. At the time, it seemed meaningless, turned out to be crucial, another sign of his clutch play is what the media said after the fact. If Jeter hit the HR tonight, it'd be another example of his never say die attitude. Arod does it, and he's stat padding. which one is it?
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Bahstin
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Post by Bahstin on May 23, 2006 8:04:28 GMT -5
I don't care what the numbers say, if I have to have a hit I take Jeter at the plate over this clown any day of the week. I'd take Mekly Cabrera up at the plate over A-Rod too. Well, here are some numbers that completely agree with what you are saying: There is a stat called WPA (Win Probability Added) that, based on historical data, takes the odds of your team winning the game after your at bat and subtracting the odds before your at bat. Therefore, if you get a ton of credit for hitting a single in a tie game in the 9th, but not much for hitting, say a 2-run homer in the ninth when you are down by 8. In my opinion, this is the stat that determines the true MVP. Through this weekend, Jeter has the highest on the team, followed by Posada, and Giambi. A-Rod is the lowest, right behind Kelly Stinnett. And yes, Melky Cabrera is higher. A-Fraud is very unclutch. www.fangraphs.com/winss.aspx?team=Yankees
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Hank Scorpio
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Post by Hank Scorpio on May 23, 2006 9:37:31 GMT -5
Bahstin
This stat is extremely useful, as we all know that runs scored late in games count more than runs scored early in games. It is much more important to hit a HR late in games to give your team a 4-3 lead than it is to hit a HR in the 3rd inning to give your team a 3-0 lead. Especially if your bullpen is overworked and your starters all stink. [sarcasm should be duly noted]
Taken from the most valuable network's 2005 MVP discussion:
"This time, I compared A-Rod to Ortiz when playing against the American League’s other .500 ballclubs. I looked at how A-Rod did against the Red Sox, the White Sox, the Indians, the Twins, the Angels, and the A’s. I looked at how Ortiz did against the Yankees, the White Sox, the Indians, the Twins, the Angels, and the A’s. I then calculated runs created using the 2002 version of runs created. Here’s how the two compared.
A-Rod Ortiz AB 213 214 Hits 71 59 HR 20 13 RBI 47 48 BB 26 38 K 42 48 AVG .333 .276 OBP .418 .385 SLG .648 .533
So what we see emerging here is a different picture of clutch hitting. While Ortiz may succeed in “late and close” games (which, by the way, does not distinguish between games when the Red Sox were ahead by one run in late innings or behind, an important distinction), Alex Rodriguez seems to excel against the better teams. He had a higher on-base percentage by over 30 points, a higher slugging by over 110 points, and he helped create more runs."
Wait, I forgot, more cute numbers. I'm sorry, I hate using large sample sizes and the outcomes of said samples as evidence. I'll stick to finding a single scapegoat for all of the Yankees' misfortunes, ignoring all the instances where my scapegoat comes through and stricltly focusing on the times when he fails.
- B
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Bahstin
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Post by Bahstin on May 23, 2006 9:53:00 GMT -5
Runs late in games do not count more than runs early in games. However, they do have more of an effect on the outcome. And winning is the object of the game.
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Hank Scorpio
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Post by Hank Scorpio on May 23, 2006 10:17:22 GMT -5
"Runs late in games do not count more than runs early in games. "
Right. This is accurate.
"However, they do have more of an effect on the outcome. "
How is that? How does a run scored in the first inning have less of an effect than a run scored late? I won't even get into rattling an opposing pitcher, giving your pitcher an early lead so they can throw strikes, etc etc. Strictly based on numerics, a run scored that gives a team a 3-0 lead in the first has the same effect as a home run that ties the game 3-3 in the 8th. A run is a run is a run. Copied and pasted from an earlier post of mine:
The yankees were down 10-1 to Texas last week and won. Jeter hit a HR to pull them within 10-6 in the 6th. At the time, it seemed meaningless, turned out to be crucial, another sign of his clutch play is what the media said after the fact. If Jeter hit the HR tonight, it'd be another example of his never say die attitude. Arod does it, and he's stat padding. which one is it?
"And winning is the object of the game."
And to win, you have to score more runs than the other team. Producing runs early has the same value as producing runs late, as they all contribute to the goal of scoring more runs than the opposition.
- Borat
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Bahstin
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Post by Bahstin on May 23, 2006 11:45:09 GMT -5
"However, they do have more of an effect on the outcome. " How is that? How does a run scored in the first inning have less of an effect than a run scored late? In short, because the other team has more chances to come back from a deficit early in the game than that same deficit later in the game. For example, a home team has come up to bat in the first inning of a 0-0 ball game over 45,000 times since 1979. They have won 59.1% of those games. If they lead off with a homerun, it is 1-0 with no outs in the 1st and no one on base. This situation has come up 814 times and that team has won 69.5% of the time. So that homer increased the team's win expectancy .104. In comparison, a home team has come up to bat in the 8th inning in a tie game over 7,000 times and has won 63.2% of them. If they lead off with a homerun, it is 1-0 with no outs in the 8th and no one on base. This situation has come up almost 7,000 times with the team winning 89.2% of the time. So that homer increased the team's win expectancy .26. That 8th inning homerun has more than twice the effect on the outcome of the game. (see www.walkoffbalk.com/)Now, I see your point. Without Jeter's homerun early in the game, Posada's wouldn't have won it. Therefore, Jeter's was just as meaningful. I.e. a run is a run. However, this conversation is about "clutch" and I think WPA does a good job of capturing it because it accounts for high-leverage situations - those situations were one swing of a bat can make a huge difference. This year, A-Rod has been awful in those situations. Whether you look at the stats, or you are a subjective viewer like RDF, you can see how un-clutch A-Rod is.
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Hank Scorpio
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Post by Hank Scorpio on May 23, 2006 14:15:47 GMT -5
Fair enough, thanks for the clarification. This year, in a 40 game sample, he has been pretty bad in the clutch. That said, this team has made the playoffs in both seasons he has been here, and he has outperformed Captain Tremendous in 2 of the 3 series. A little back research goes a long way...here we go back in time to 2004:
ALDS Game 2 Yankees lead 6-4 in the bottom of the 8th. Rivera allows two runs to tie it after Tom Gordon comes in and sucks. Tanyon Sturtze allows a run in the 12th and the Yanks are down 7-6 in the bottom of that inning. Here is what followed:
Olerud Ks Cairo Walks Jeter Walks A-Rod doubles, Cairo scores, Jeter to 3rd Sheffield Walks, loading them up Matsui hits fly ball to right, Jeter scores from 3rd, Yankees win
The biggest hit of this inning/game: A-Rod's double. He also homered in the 5th to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead, and singled in Cairo in the 7th to provide an extra run.
ALDS Game 4 After Ruben Sierra's HR in the 8th ties the game at 4 and the bullpens both come in and do the job until the 11th. Here is how that inning went down:
Captain America Ks looking A-Rod doubles A-Rod steals 3rd A-Rod scores on wild pitch Yankees win the game and series.
That awful A-Rod plays a large role in 2 Yankee wins this series. Sets up an ALCS showdown with Boston. The word "never" should never precede "comes through in the clutch" with A-rod based on this series alone, but, alas, how soon we forget.
Game 1 A-Rod, 2 for 4, 2 runs scored, Yankees win 10-7
Game 2 A-Rod 1 for 4, Yankees win 3-1
Game 3 inning 1 A-Rod doubles in Jeter in first inning, scores on a Matsui HR, puts Yanks up 2-0
inning 3 After the Red Sox take a 4-3 lead in the 2nd, A-Rod homers to tie it 4-4. Yankees score 2 more, 6-4 lead, but BoSox tie it in bottom 3, 6-6.
inning 4 Sheffield HRs in A-Rod and Cairo, who walk around a Jeter lineout. 9-6 Yanks. Yanks score 2 more, 11-6 after 4.
inning 5 A-Rod doubles in Jeter, Scores on a Sheffield double. 13-6
We all know how this one turns out...one should note that A-Rod was involved in all the plays the Yankees either tied it or took the lead. move on to game 4
Game 4: inning 1 A-Rod HRs in Jeter, 2-0 lead
top 6 Jeter grounds out with bases loaded and 2 outs. man those would have helped
Blah blah blah
Yankees lose in extras. Again, A-Rod helps Yankees jump out to early lead. The bullpen lets the team down.
Game 5: Jeter goes 1 for 7, but his one hit is a 2 RBI double in the 6th.
A-Rod goes 0 for 4, walks twice, crucial K after Jeter sacrificed Miguel Cairo over late in the game.
Yankees lose in extras, bullpen blows another one.
Game 6: The infamous slap game. Jeter singles in a run in the 8th to cut the red sox lead to 4-2. A-Rod slaps the ball out of Arroyo's hand after grounding out, Yankees lose when Tony Clark whiffs with tying runs on base. His 3rd K of the game.
Game 7: Jeter singles in a run in the 3rd to make it 6-1 Red Sox. He goes hitless the rest of the game. A-Rod never reaches base.
Bush league play in game 6? Sure, though if it would have worked, I'd have been thrilled. Does this play erase his dominant series vs Twins, and dominance of 4 games vs the Red Sox? To the minds of many Yankee fans, apparently the answer is yes. I can't tell you enough how ridiculous this is to me. I have laid out both statistics and individual instances of A-Rods successes and failures vs those of Derek Jeter in 2004's postseason, so there is no room for "well, stats don't say everything". A-Rod is overwhelmingly the better player in this postseason. They don't make the playoffs without him. They don't win round 1 without him. They don't sprint out to a 3-0 lead in the ALCS without him. Instead of going "wow, this guy helped carry us here, why couldn't some other people step up when he slumped?", it's "sure, he was great then, but what about now? after all, he makes the most money and he's supposed to be the greatest player of all time".
F that. I hate Yankee fans that continue to echo this garbage that morons like John Kruk and Steve Phillips say on Baseball Tonight. It's just lazy and shortsighted to say he has never come up big in a big spot, b/c it isn't true.
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Post by RockawayHoya on May 23, 2006 15:17:13 GMT -5
Interesting stuff Borat, and although I think you're right that A-Rod HAS produced in the postseason on occassion in the past, I think you're hating on Jeter way too much.
In at least half if not more of the examples you've laid out above, Jeter was on base when A-Rod knocked him in. That's what guys at the top of the lineup are supposed to do; get on base and score runs when the middle of the lineup comes up. Jeter's merely doing his job like he's supposed to; surely you don't expect him to homer as frequently or drive in as many RBIs as A-Rod.
As for A-Rod "outplaying" Jeter in 2 of the 3 series in 2004, again that's misleading. Sure, A-Rod had great numbers against Minnesota, but you wouldn't say Jeter played well in that series as well? I'm pretty sure any Yankee fan would have taken 316/350/876, 3 Runs, 4 RBIs, 1 SB from him. If you're going to ask the guy to average more than an RBI a game to play well, you're being unreasonable. I'll give you the other two series, but just to say A-Rod flat out "outplayed" Jeter in Minnesota is wrong. Both of them played well. And they don't win that series if EITHER of them fail to contribute (god Santana was nasty that series).
I tend to give Jeter the benefit of the doubt for being clutch because he HAS proven to come through in clutch situations more often than not. This goes way before 2004. In his 6 WS appearances, he's a .302 hitter (against many of the best pitchers of the past 10-15 years), and is a career .307 hitter in the postseason, which includes a LOT of games. The guy has been rock solid in the postseason, and no one can deny that.
Obviously, A-Rod has yet to make as many playoff appearances, since he was stuck on bad Texas teams for years. He's a career .305 in the postseason, so obviously he hasn't been terrible in October a la Bonds. Fans in NY get on him mainly because he played like ass last year against Anaheim (LA, whatever the hell they call themselves these days), and the criticism is deserved. I'd disagree with anyone who believes that he was the main culprit for our 2004 exit. So while I wouldn't put him on the same level of "clutchness" as Jeter (not even close, at least yet), I also wouldn't say he's consistently failed to produce in the postseason. He has just yet to come up with some big plays towards the end of games that people will remember him for. No one remembers MJ for hitting shots in the 1st quarter of playoff games that give the Bulls a 2-0 lead. They remember him for the double-clutch on Ehlo and shedding Bryon/Byron Russell. While you might be right in saying that A-Rod's hits early in games mean just as much towards winning, he'll need hits late in games if he ever wants to be a truly "clutch" player.
I'd also prefer Jeter at the plate in a big situation, however. That is a no-brainer.
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Hank Scorpio
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Post by Hank Scorpio on May 23, 2006 16:15:11 GMT -5
Not hating on Jeter, but his failures are not nearly as magnified as A-Rod's, mostly due to the fact that Jeter has won 4 rings. A benefit of circumstance or a driving force? I argue the former, and I think Jeter is a great player. But he receives way too much credit for the Yankees success in the 90s.
As for Jeter getting knocked in by A-Rod... A-Rod batted 2nd in the order in 2004 if you recall. He was supposed to get on base for the red hot Matsui and Sheffield, and he ended up scorching the ball most of the time. Knocking Jeter in required an extra base hit, which, you'll notice, is exactly what he delivered.
He did outplay Jeter in 2 of 3 series...I didn't say that Jeter was a bad player in the 2004 ALDS, he had a great series. However, A-Rod was head and shoulders better. Jeter had an awesome series...and A-Rod's batting average was 105 points higher, his OBP was 120 points higher, and his OPS was 340 points higher. A-Rod was the FAR superior player, and delivered big hits when the team needed them. He was the best player on either team that series, and it wasn't even close. And he was way better than Jeter in the ALCS 2004 as well.
I use these example not to take anything away from Jeter, but to show that the "A-Rod never hits when it matters" stuff is bogus. To punish him b/c he hasn't had a "memorable" postseason hit is bunk...his game winners vs Minnesota are memorable, but people choose to remember the ugly vs Boston as opposed to them. No one mentions Jeter batting 118 in the 2001 ALCS or 148 in the 2001 World Series. Why? He's had more than 3 series to prove himself on the big stage. A-Rod deserves the same...esp considering he has pretty f'n good overall october numbers. By series:
His career postseason numbers: 1997 in ALDS vs Baltimore 312/312/874
2001 ALDS vs CHW 308/308/616
2001 ALCS vs NYY 409/480/1.253
not a typo, he scared the bejesus out of me this series
2004 ALDS vs MIN 421/476/1.213
2004 ALCS vs BOS 258/378/894
2005 vs Angels 133/381/581
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Jack
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Post by Jack on May 23, 2006 17:16:59 GMT -5
Did Joe Morgan really just tell me that ARod made a bad decision going to New York over Boston? As if he weighed both options and chose pinstripes? Does Joe Morgan even follow baseball in the off-season? Don't answer that.
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Hank Scorpio
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Post by Hank Scorpio on May 23, 2006 17:23:52 GMT -5
joe morgan doesn't follow baseball during the season. ever notice how he always says "i haven't seen enough of [said team] to answer your question, but..." firejoemorgan.blogspot.com; you owe it to yourself to check it out. here is my favorite recent posting. HatGuy! Mike Celizic, the Chairman and Executive Vice President of the Committee to Write About Only the Yankees and Red Sox No Matter What is Going On Anywhere Else in the League, has written a column about the Yankees. When the tabloids start pushing Alfonso Soriano as the man who can save the Yankees, you know there’s trouble in the Bronx.I do? What makes [losing Hideki Matsui to a broken wrist] a disaster of epic proportions is that the Yankees are not built to win low-scoring games. Their game plan is to roll out slugger after slugger after slugger, throw up six runs or more a game, and hope their pitching can make it stand up. Without two major sluggers, that plan isn’t going to work.He's totally right. What are the Yankees going to do without Matsui and Sheffield (for like 10 more days)? I mean, yes, they've still got Jason Giambi and his 1.209 OPS. Fine. But they need more. Okay, I mean, yes, they have Alex Rodriguez, the best or second-best player in baseball, but, I mean, come on. That guy barely hit 48 HR last year. He didn't even unanimously win the MVP award. And, okay, Derek Jeter is still there, but the guy doesn't even have a 1.000 OPS (it's .956, although he just homered, so it's a little closer.) I mean, where is this offense going to come from? Johnny Damon, Jorge Posada? Gary Sheffield when he comes back in like a week? I am with Mike on this. Hideki Matsui had an .807 OPS through 119 AB this year. Eight Oh Seven! That is almost forty points higher than second baseman Robby Cano. There are only 37 other OF in MLB (barely even one per team!!!) that have a higher OPS this year. This kind of production is absolutely, positively irreplaceable! (Unless you can trade for someone like Curtis Granderson, who has an .809 OPS so far.) Other teams call up whatever they have on the farm and hope for the best. The Yankees have done the farm thing — Melky Cabrera and Kevin Reese have taken the shuttle from Columbus. But they’re not into the hope thing. Instead of throwing wishes at the schedule, the Yankees go shopping."Instead of throwing wishes at the schedule?" You know you can edit these things before you send them in, right Mike? [Soriano is] the reluctant left fielder for the Nationals, who are already waving the white flag of surrender and talking about next season. He’s a free-agent-to-be and he’s got a fat contract. The Nats don’t want his salary or his whining, and are willing to move him right now. Unlike a lot of other teams with outfielders to trade, they don’t need anyone who can help right now.
So the Yankees could conceivably dip down into their system for some prospects in Double-A, toss in Cabrera, Reese, Bubba Crosby or any combination thereof, and get themselves a deal."Hi, it's Brian Cashman calling. I'm great, how are you? Great. Hey...I'm interested in Soriano. Uh huh. Well, I understand, but how about this: first off, you can choose any of our excellent AA prospects. And believe me, there are a lot of great players down there. Wait -- you didn't let me finish. Plus, we will throw in Melky Cabrera. Melky -- with an "M." Oh, right -- from "Perfect Strangers." I think that's "Balky." Uh huh. Yes, I did see him drop that pop-up against the Sox the other day, but he's really...uh huh. Okay, forget him. How about Kevin Reese. No, Kevin. Kevin Reese. We just called him up. He's great -- he has a .712 OPS at AAA this year. And here's the best thing -- he's only 28 years old! Uh huh. Okay. No, of course I am not trying to insult your intelligence, I just...no, wait. Before you hang up, let me tell you about a little guy we like to call Bubba Crosby, and his lifetime .311 SLG. This 29 year-old phenom has really established himself -- hello? Hello?" Soriano doesn’t enjoy left field, but he’ll play it willingly if it gets him back to the Yankees. He can hit (currently batting .271 with 10 homers and 33 RBIs), although he has as much discipline at the plate as a glutton has at an all-you-can-eat buffet.Again, you are allowed to change the very first thing you write down if it's not good. Soriano also can steal bases and play second.That will come in handy when trying to replace their LFer. Soriano already has worn the pinstripes, which helps. Plus, the fans sort of like him, but, then again, Yankees fans, like fans everywhere, like anyone who hits the ball out of the park 30 or 40 times a season and drive in a bunch of runs.Why get this guy? Because he has already played for you, which means you thought little enough of him to trade him, and your fans sort of like him. Also, "drive" should read "drives," if you want to use verbs correctly. I doubt there’s anyone in New York who thought there was any way Soriano ever would return to the Bronx. As much as the team enjoyed his hitting, his inability to take a pitch and his erratic defense didn’t fit in with the Yankees’ way of doing business. He’s been a bit of a whiner and sometimes a malcontent since then in Texas and Washington.So get him back already! It sounds like a perfect fit! But Soriano might be the best player the Yankees can get. If he is, you can bet George Steinbrenner will order GM Brian Cashman to get it done. And if it’s not Soriano, it will be somebody, even if it’s just Jeromy Burnitz.Burnitz this year: .188/.235/.352. Salary: $6m. The Yankees are suddenly without two thirds of their outfield. The offense is hobbled. Something’s got to be done.And Mike Celizic has the answer: trade players nobody wants for Soriano, and failing that, get Burnitz. Did Joe Morgan really just tell me that ARod made a bad decision going to New York over Boston? As if he weighed both options and chose pinstripes? Does Joe Morgan even follow baseball in the off-season? Don't answer that.
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