I'm fed up. I've had it. You people have driven me to the point of madness.Listen: This is what Yankees fans really think of Alex Rodriguez.
This is for all the idiot fans, who regurgitate the information that their local talking heads glean from ESPN radio, about how New Yorkers hate Rodriguez because he hasn't won them a ring.
This is for all the Yankee haters out there, known and unknown to me, who think they're busting our chops with such gems as "I bet you like A-Rod NOW, huh?"
As if we were somehow jumping on the bandwagon because the guy is finally living up to expectations.
First of all, Hideki Matsui, Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Robinson Cano haven't won championships in New York—but we all love them. Why? Because they produce in the clutch. They hit when it matters. They move guys over, get sac flies, and get runners home from third with less then two outs.
Got it?
In fact, I would argue that it's the most important stat in baseball—getting runners home from third with less then two outs.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Last year, Alex Rodriguez was the second worst hitter in baseball at getting runners home from third with less then two outs.
Read that sentence again. I'll wait.
That's the reason Yankees fans hated Alex Rodriguez: It appeared that the best player in baseball, the guy we traded Alfonso Soriano for, was a myth—a figure out of a W.P Kinsella novel who showed brilliant promise in Seattle before vanishing to hit titanic home runs in a fantasy land called "Texas."
In the real world of winning seasons and baseball towns that matter, I've never heard of this "Texas." Have you?
So when the mighty Alex Rodriguez walked out of the cornfield and back into reality...and did nothing more than strike out or pop up with runners in scoring position...only to then hit moon shots with the team already up by eight runs in the eighth inning...we were worried.
When the problems dragged into the playoffs, and then into the next season, of course Yankees fans were going to hate the guy. It had nothing to do with winning or not winning—it was about not contributing to the team's success.
Unlike you, TV man and man repeating TV man, real baseball fans know what's important to the game, and where you can stick things like A-Rod's 2005 MVP and Barry Bonds' meaningless tainted home run record.
And now, for all you Yankee haters with your incessant "I bet you like A-Rod NOW, huh?"—let me answer your question with a much more intelligent one.
Are you idiots?
Of course we like A-Rod now—with as much justified fervor as we used to dislike him. Don't pretend A-Rod was good before, and that Yankees fans have unreasonably high standards...because it's not true. In fact, it's illogical, anti-New York crap—and even saying it shows that you know nothing about what truly matters in baseball.
I LOVE Alex Rodriguez now. Last year, I dreaded A-Rod at bats with men on base in close games. This year, I'm rapt with the thrill of anticipation, like that girl in Pulp Fiction waiting for the needle to go into Uma Thurman's heart.
So enjoy it A-Rod—you've earned the love by proving that, unlike the Yeti or the Loch Ness Monster, you really do exist. One request: Just do it all year, will ya? This is New York, after all. We might love you now...but we love winning even more.
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about 1 year ago
Coming soon...
about 1 year ago
Blah, blah blah. Like Yankee fans have a collective brain between them. "We love winning" Right, at any cost. This is the "dynasty" that has double the payroll of any other team and a circular lineup and is currently 5 games under .500. So what do you do? Blame Torre, it must be his fault. All he's done is win since he took over the team. The important thing he is that Yankee fans get to place blame. That's what it's really all about with A-Rod.
The true sign of a Yankee fan, typified by what I overheard at a Yankees game recently. I think this guy spoke for all Yankee fans when he said, "I'm a Yankee fan, not a baseball fan." Brilliant!
Yankee fans are not all about winning, they're all about whining.
about 1 year ago
Thank you for proving my point, in fact, you must be a Red Sox fan. I didn't fret about the line getting edited out where I said that saying the Yankees buy all their players is idiotic. I wish I
left it in because you proved me right. You said that the Yankees have "double the payroll of any team"
Do they? Idiot?
In fact, the Yankees have double the payroll of 22 out of the 30 teams, but if you add the 51 million Boston paid just to negotiate with Andrew Dice Kay, they actually have a HIGHER PAYROLL THEN THE YANKEES, and also double the salaries of 22 teams. But don't take my word for it, look. And notice that even the Phillies with the highest salary of the top tier still double the salaries of the bottom 3. A discrepancy sure, but aren't teams supposed to spend money? Isn't that how you win, by paying your players. The highest paid outfielder is now Vernon Wells, getting about 106 mill from Toronto. So...you and whatever idiot you were sitting with at the Yankee game can both shut up. And boy, would I put money on you being a Red Sox fan.
Payrolls by team, 2007, from http://asp.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/salaries/totalpayroll.aspx?year=2007
New York Yankees $ 189,639,045
Boston Red Sox $ 143,026,214
New York Mets $ 115,231,663
Los Angeles Angels $ 109,251,333
Chicago White Sox $ 108,671,833
Los Angeles Dodgers $ 108,454,524
Seattle Mariners $ 106,460,833
Chicago Cubs $ 99,670,332
Detroit Tigers $ 95,180,369
Baltimore Orioles $ 93,554,808
St. Louis Cardinals $ 90,286,823
San Francisco Giants $ 90,219,056
Philadelphia Phillies $ 89,428,213
Houston Astros $ 87,759,000
Atlanta Braves $ 87,290,833
Toronto Blue Jays $ 81,942,800
Oakland Athletics $ 79,366,940
Minnesota Twins $ 71,439,500
Milwaukee Brewers $ 70,986,500
Cincinnati Reds $ 68,904,980
Texas Rangers $ 68,318,675
Kansas City Royals $ 67,116,500
Cleveland Indians $ 61,673,267
San Diego Padres $ 58,110,567
Colorado Rockies $ 54,424,000
Arizona Diamondbacks $ 52,067,546
Pittsburgh Pirates $ 38,537,833
Washington Nationals $ 37,347,500
Florida Marlins $ 30,507,000
Tampa Bay Devil Rays $ 24,123,500
about 1 year ago
Torre should get fired, managers get fired for just missing the playoffs one year. Torre has made bonehead decisions since 2000, over using pitchers, bad lineup choices, putting Gary Sheffield at first, allowing the story about Rodriguez last year, not bunting on an injured curt schilling or stealing on tim wakefield and a backup catcher, constantly bringing in mike myers to pitch to lefties when the stats show he is better against right handers and on and on
about 1 year ago
Ok the kid is back. Sorry for the delay (getting checked for skin cancer has priority)
Here we go It's nice to see we have a larger audience...maybe we can reverse some of the brainwashing that has been going on up there. As critical, "savvy" thinkers, I'm sure you'll see the logic, or it may go back to "don't confuse me with facts, I know what I saw". Sorry for any repetitions, as our audience has grown...
1st off Joe- I would like to see A-Rod's stats for 2004, 2005 and 2006 to match apples to apples. Can t compare 13 games to 3 years.
THAT S THE POINT!!!...He s done in 13 games what it took Jeter 467 games to do and you ll see plenty 04- 05- 06 stats later
Alex Rodriguez 2007 (13 Games) 2-out HR's 7
Derek Jeter 2004, 2005, 2006 (467 Games) 2-out HR's 10
He doesn't need 467 Games, he'll take care of it in 20.
2nd Joe S- I guess his repeated poor performance in the playoffs and his high price tag make it all too easy to beat up on him.
I ll give you that his last 2 playoff appearances have been abysmal (not too sure about repeated though he has a career .280 post-season average- INCLUDING a 3 for 29 in the last 2 years so he must have been doing SOMETHING in those other appearances- he s hit over .308 in 4 of his 7 post-season appearances) And if you say that he does it all in the first round you d be wrong too
ALDS- .256 2 HR 6 RBI
ALCS- .315 4 HR 10 RBI
But the price tag argument is too easy to lean on. If you want to complain about price tag look no further than 1st base. Oh wait he doesn t even play a position. Jason Giambi is making $ 23.4 million this year and DOES NOT EVEN PLAY THE FIELD! He hasn t hit over .271 since 2002. The other night, Torre had to pinch run Miguel Cairo (apparently he can t run either- interesting.. no field no throw no run- 24 million) hmmm. Then later in the game Cairo (hitting in Giambi s spot) strikes out in the bottom of the 9th with the Yankees down a run. Money well spent. By the way I think the Yanks only pay half of Arod s salary and at least for that you get MVP quality production.
3rd Joe S- Also, show playoff game stats or Sept and Oct stats.
September and October (as you wish )
AB H R 2B 3B HR RBI AVG SLG OBP
2006
Rodriguez 82 29 22 3 0 8 25 .358 .691 .465
Jeter 111 40 25 8 0 2 14 .360 .486 .410
2005
Rodriguez 112 37 26 4 1 8 25 .330 .598 .424
Jeter 122 36 22 4 0 5 17 .295 .451 .387
2004
Rodriguez 109 30 21 7 1 4 28 .275 .468 .388
Jeter 116 44 31 12 0 6 20 .379 .638 .435
TOTALS AB H R 2B 3B HR RBI AVG SLG
Rodriguez 303 96 69 14 2 20 78 .317 .574
Jeter 349 120 78 24 0 13 51 .344 .524
Recap-
In 43 LESS at bats, Rodriguez scored only 9 less runs, drove in 27 more, slugged more, hit more HR s Jeter did hit for higher average though (which IS the most over rated stat) it s all about production runs created and it s easy to see who produces more.
about 1 year ago
I've always said that Jeter was a "great" player. It's just that he's over hyped (not his fault-he so happens to play in the media capital of the world). But how can one guy be made to be this clutch hitting machine and the other a bust when he hits .003 higher than the other ?!(Not to mention with less power and RBI) Too much of a discrepancy in perception for too little of a difference in results. Jeter will be a Hall of Famer who was an intricate part of loaded teams that are considered to be the best of all-time. Now without the team around him that used to be there...he's a great player without a World Series title in almost a decade. It should be easy to see why many great players may not necessarily play for World Series Champions.
My whole beef is that it's a matter of perception vs. reality. I enjoy thinking critically. If you watch the news, you would think that the national crime is at an all-time high. If you have a clue and can ignore what is shoved in your face and think critically you'll see that crime rates are at the lowest point this country has seen in almost 30 years!
Perception: You tell me that Arod gets all of his production when the game is at hand. (Ala Dave Winfield) And Jeter gets every big hit when the "Yankees need it"
Reality:
Close and Late (Last 3 years in NY)
AB H TB 2B 3B HR RBI SLG AVG
Rodriguez- 332 95 161 16 1 16 54 .485 .286
Jeter- 343 89 128 12 0 9 50 .373 .259
What is there to say about this?...I just plain don't get it. After the 7th inning or later with the batting team tied, ahead by one, or the tying run at least on deck. It's simple. It's right there in front of you. You can either look at what REALLY happened or watch the 6 o'clock news version. Are they not keeping accurate tabs? In more AB's Jeter produces less. You may not like that fact, but it is true. Do you STILL want to take Jeter in a clutch situation any day?
If that s too small a sample take a look at their CAREER numbers in those situations
Career clutch stats:
2 Out AB 2 Out AVG 2 Out RBI C/L AB C/L AVG C/L RBI
Rodriguez 2202 .293 472 1311 .276 240
Jeter 1881 .302 343 1230 .279 169
These are the FACTS boys and girls not what Michael Kay and Tim McCarver blow out their asses on a daily basis. Ignore the names and look at the production then compare that to the media and fan perception and it couldn t be any further apart.
Rodriguez even in limited playoff experience, has hit + .300 in 4 of those 7 series. The ALCS would be the biggest stage he's ever seen. He's only had 54 AB in the ALCS in which he's hitting .315 with 4 HR and 10 RBI. In contrast Jeter has had 168 ALCS AB. Almost 4 times that of Rodriguez. Rodriguez is noted for not playing well in the last 4 games of the '04 series. NONE of the Yankees did. What if I took Jeter's worst 4 games of an ALCS. Maybe they wouldn't look too good either. What about that 2004 ALCS vs. Boston when he hit .200 for the series? What about that 2003 ALCS vs. Boston when he hit .233 for the series? What about that 2001 ALCS vs. Seattle when he hit .118 for the series? Bottom line is that he had great teams around him that allowed the Yankees to move on to the next round in 2 of those 3 series despite his struggles. Obviously that is no longer the case.
I am just so over people jumping on the bandwagon free of any critical thinking and ignoring indisputable facts. It's the cute thing to do these days when analyzing baseball. I heard a reporter yesterday say that Alex Rodriguez is benefiting this year from batting behind Bobby Abreu because Abreu takes so many pitches and he gets to track pitches on deck. LOL! I wonder what that reporter would have said when asked "how do you explain 1996 when he hit .358 with 54 2B and 36 HR and drove in 123 as a 20 year old hitting 2nd behind Rich Amaral and Joey Cora"? That guy should immediately lose his job. There are some stupid people in the baseball world and unfortunately they are given microphones and daily column space. And even more unfortunate are the reasonable people after hearing it over and over and over that start to believe it.
Sit back and enjoy the show while it lasts...we only have about 8 more years until the greatest, most complete player to ever play the game will hang em up.
about 1 year ago
I m sure that all the New Yawkas have noticed that the Yankees have not WON a World Series since 2000 and have not PLAYED in one since 2003. Yes they ve had the same shortstop during this time. He has been the constant, obviously there are some variable missing.
Pitching wins championships not Arod or Jeter for that matter.
In the last 2 WORLD SERIES alone the cast-offs (Roger Clemens/Andy Petitte/Jose
Contreras/Kenny Rogers and Jeff Weaver) have only combined for:
31 Innings Pitched
33 Hits
12 Earned Runs
5 Walks
26 Strikeouts
3.00 ERA
3 Wins
1 Loss
In the last 3 POST-SEASONS COMBINED the cast-offs compared to the Yankees over the
same time period.
Cast offs Yankees
Innings Pitched- 152 187
Hits- 126 207
Earned Runs- 52 100
Walks- 39 47
Strikeouts- 97 129
Wins- 14 9
Losses- 6 10
ERA- 3.08 4.81
They re still out there producing, it just so happens it s for another team. Swing and a miss by the front office on Johnson, Pavano, Wright, Brown, Chacon etc
If Derek Jeter gets drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates he s cute little singles hitter who makes the All-Star team, puts up numbers and logs a great career. Instead he gets inserted into one of the all-time great teams, in the media capital of the world, is a good looking guy, single, and obviously is a solid player. He s been the benefactor of playing on a team which perennially spends the most money and is a fixture in the post-season. Bernie Williams is not a god for having the most post-season HR s all-time. He simple PLAYS IN THE MOST GAMES! It s simple math if you hit 1 HR every 21.14 AB s over the course of your career (as Williams did) and you get 465 AB in the post-season (as Williams did)..The numbers are going to pile up.
If Alex Rodriguez was drafted by the Yankees, he would have 4 World Series rings just the same. Like I said Jeter won 4 rings in the first 5 seasons of his career. NOTHING since you have to ask yourself why that is Arod playing third? Or could it be that Clemens, Cone, Petitte, El Duque and Wells has turned into Pavano, Johnson, Wright, Brown and Chacon.
Let s get off the back of the best player in the league and direct our focus on things that truly matter versus what we re told to focus on. The only time 99% of the media ever had a jockstrap on was when they were hanging by it from a fence when guys like Arod stuck them up there. Now this is Mike Lupica s and the like s chance to ignore facts and run off his pie hole about Arod s toughness. Anyone else in the history of the game put up those numbers as a 20 year old? or play with the target on his back of the largest sports contact in the history of team sports? or win an MVP in NY with all that scrutiny? Like I said sit back, relax and watch the show if you really want to play office GM take a look around at what has won in the post-season. Marlins, White Sox, Cardinals, Angels, Yanks of the 90 s it s always pitching. The Red Sox didn t win until they brought Schilling in and solidified their bullpen. The Colts didn t win until the defense stopped the run. Peyton Manning didn t change. The TEAM did. As it is in this situation. Same shortstop different results. When they have a rotation that can go deep in the game and hand the ball over to a solid bullpen, they ll win. Until then, they ll struggle in the fall. Hopefully that bullpen can hold up they ve thrown the most innings in the big leagues thus far. Tell Cashman to spend some of that $ 200 million on some decent arms and you ll win. The model is there just follow it.
My main hope in all of this is that you guys aren t REALLY serious I really hope that you don t feel HE S the reason they haven t won. Or that Derek Jeter is really a better baseball player. That would REALLY scare me When you talk about taking Jeter over Arod, remember you only get one pick Cone, Clemens, Petitte, El Duque, Rivera, don t come along with that pick. It s not Jeter + the greatest team of all time...it s just looking at the player and what they do. And to anyone that can tie their shoes, it s an easy decision
about 1 year ago
Dude you should be writing an article yourself. Awesome shit.
about 1 year ago
Over the last 3 seasons
If you total the 2004, 2005 and 2006 seasons, you can see that Alex Rodriguez is more likely to have one his hits result in a go-ahead hit than Derek Jeter. "Go Ahead Hits" defined as all hits where the team went from tied or behind to ahead, may have benefited from errors.
GO AHEAD HITS HITS PCT
Rodriguez- 215 532 40.4 %
Jeter- 239 604 39.6 %
If you use plate appearances as a measure of go ahead hits percentage, you can see that Alex Rodriguez is less than 1 percentage point behind Derek Jeter. But there are 2 things about this number that may be misleading. Plate Appearances do NOT take into account the walks that are drawn by the batter, which disables him to achieve a go ahead hit. As well as the players slugging percentages which tells us what TYPE of hit the hitter is more likely to get. During those three years, Alex Rodriguez walked 261 times to Derek Jeter s 192.
GO AHEAD HITS PLATE APPEARANCES PCT
Rodriguez- 215 2,087 10.3 %
Jeter- 239 2,188 10.9 %
GO AHEAD HITS AT BATS PCT
Rodriguez- 215 1,778 12.1 %
Jeter- 239 1,920 12.4 %
In looking at the numbers from a strict Go Ahead Hits per At Bat view, Derek Jeter is more likely (by .3 %) to get a go ahead hit than Alex Rodriguez but again, which type of hit is Derek Jeter more likely to get than Alex Rodriguez?
SLUGGING PERCENTAGE
2004 2005 2006 TOTAL
Rodriguez- .512 .610 .523 .549
Jeter- .471 .450 .483 .468
These facts certainly don t show me that Derek Jeter is doing anything extraordinary to put his team ahead more often than Alex Rodriguez that s for sure. Good thing someone measures these things so we don t have to guess as to who did what.
about 1 year ago
I love putting the Yanks fans in their place, and you have done a spectacular job. Yanks have been a high-priced group of whiny babies for a long time now, and I just can't stand to listen to it.
Thank you thank you!
about 1 year ago
Come back here and write an article already - Bleacher Report could use your insight on its front pages. Click the "Become a Writer" link up top or email Alexander Freund at zfreund-at-bleacherreport.com to get set up.
Dave
about 1 year ago
A-Rod hits well when it's not needed (high scores, early in the season), and doesn't hit in the clutch. He's like the Dirk Nowitzki of baseball. That's why we don't like him in NY - What have you "won" for me lately? A couple games?
My yanks need more great young players and young pitchers - not these old veterans
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