The A-Rod Chronology Project

[tommybaseball]

Everyone, let's calm down please. No need at all to call each other names. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, so let's all be respectful of each other.

I understand where Tommybaseball is coming from and I agree to a large degree with his underlying to point. There is a reason why Dave Winfield is called Mr. May, for example. A-Rod could have a monster year, heck he did in 2005, but if he comes up empty in the playoffs and the team is bounced in the first round again, it will all be for nil and just reinforce the idea that A-Rod comes up small on the big stages. I think if that were to happen again, for the third straight year, I'd probably even have to start seriously questioning A-Rod. For the Yankees, the bar is set ridiculously high, and for most, failure to attain that height is a disgrace. It shouldn't be that way, but it is. We Yankee fans are spoiled brats en masse.

But let's live in the moment for now. A-Rod is off to a great start, he seems to be enjoying himself and he is enjoyable to watch. So let's deal with that and save any criticism for what might happen in the postseason until after it actually does happen. It's just really counterproductive, out of the way, and silly to start criticizing things that haven't happened yet. So let's enjoy. A-Rod is one of the very best baseball talents ever, and we should embrace and enjoy that. Even though we Yankee fans have been blessed by having a number of these great players already, they don't come around that often.

Well, thankyou. It's really a drag that in 2007, people need to be reminded that everyone is entitled to an opinion.
I agree that the media, print and electronic, are ridiculous to a great extent. I remember early on in 1996 when Joe Torre set Michael Kay straight when he told him that "they didn't need any Rona Barretts in their locker room."
As a Yankee fan, I'm hoping that A-Rod has the "Hollywood ending". It was a great experience watching his moment on Saturday after the Slam.
We are spoiled. We can't help it. What other baseball franchise can claim anything close to 26 Titles? What other baseball franchise can claim a litany of great players who delivered those Championships throughout the years.
The Yankees are different. There was a reason that Joe McCarthy made the Yanks wear shirts and ties on the road.
I heard a story about a Brooklyn Dodger coach who switched over to the Yankees one year during Joe DiMaggio's tenure. A bad call went against the Yankees and the coach started to argue with the umpire. When that didn't go anywhere, he began to toss whatever he could grab from the dugout onto the field. DiMaggio stopped him and told him: "Go out there and pick that stuff up. " The coach was bewildered. "What? That ump robbed us!" DiMaggio told him: "When a call goes against us, we don't throw crap all over the field- we hit homeruns."
There's a reason the Yankees don't have a mascot- some stupid fish running around the stands or a balloon-headed baseball throwing tee-shirts up into the stands. If you don't get it- you probably never will.

[Mariano_Rivera]

But you did, with your typical and usual nothingness.

Only a complete moron would surmise that his opinion and only those who think like him are the only ones who could be right. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Differing from your opinion does not make the post moronic, but your response certainly makes you sound moronic, especially since you yourself cannot explain yourself. Got it dummy? Deep in Yankeeland? Hmmmmmmm. That may explain everything.

You really want me to explain how ridiculous it is to say anything you do is pointless unless you win the world series?

That means that 97 percent of all teams fail. Ted Williams was acomplete failure

[Mariano_Rivera]

Well, thankyou. It's really a drag that in 2007, people need to be reminded that everyone is entitled to an opinion.
I agree that the media, print and electronic, are ridiculous to a great extent. I remember early on in 1996 when Joe Torre set Michael Kay straight when he told him that "they didn't need any Rona Barretts in their locker room."
As a Yankee fan, I'm hoping that A-Rod has the "Hollywood ending". It was a great experience watching his moment on Saturday after the Slam.
We are spoiled. We can't help it. What other baseball franchise can claim anything close to 26 Titles? What other baseball franchise can claim a litany of great players who delivered those Championships throughout the years.
The Yankees are different. There was a reason that Joe McCarthy made the Yanks wear shirts and ties on the road.
I heard a story about a Brooklyn Dodger coach who switched over to the Yankees one year during Joe DiMaggio's tenure. A bad call went against the Yankees and the coach started to argue with the umpire. When that didn't go anywhere, he began to toss whatever he could grab from the dugout onto the field. DiMaggio stopped him and told him: "Go out there and pick that stuff up. " The coach was bewildered. "What? That ump robbed us!" DiMaggio told him: "When a call goes against us, we don't throw crap all over the field- we hit homeruns."
There's a reason the Yankees don't have a mascot- some stupid fish running around the stands or a balloon-headed baseball throwing tee-shirts up into the stands. If you don't get it- you probably never will.

Why does that mean that anything but a championship is a failure. If you call them a classy organization how were they with Mantle and Martin what about in the '70's?

[Mariano_Rivera]

DX,
I understand what TB was saying...but still. This "IS" Jeter's team. So why is it that if the Yanks fail to get it done in the playoffs why does it ARod automatically become the scapegoat?

There is plenty of blames to go around for playoff bounces from 04 where the entire team just stopped hitting and the pitching just ran into a brick wall.
Then in '05 I would place the blame on Matsui and Sheff for failing to drive in about 16 RISP between the both of them. Then last year only Jeet and Posada played well.

So I don't get how this is all ARod's fault. Not saying that your saying that...but I don't know where fanboys get the notion that it's ARod's job to take the Yanks to the Promised land? It's just a piece of the puzzle. In '05 he didn't hit well during October, but he was still getting on base....yet it was all his fault according to Lupica and others.

I just don't get it...and it's incredibly frustrating.

Everyone, let's calm down please. No need at all to call each other names. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, so let's all be respectful of each other.

I understand where Tommybaseball is coming from and I agree to a large degree with his underlying to point. There is a reason why Dave Winfield is called Mr. May, for example. A-Rod could have a monster year, heck he did in 2005, but if he comes up empty in the playoffs and the team is bounced in the first round again, it will all be for nil and just reinforce the idea that A-Rod comes up small on the big stages. I think if that were to happen again, for the third straight year, I'd probably even have to start seriously questioning A-Rod. For the Yankees, the bar is set ridiculously high, and for most, failure to attain that height is a disgrace. It shouldn't be that way, but it is. We Yankee fans are spoiled brats en masse.

But let's live in the moment for now. A-Rod is off to a great start, he seems to be enjoying himself and he is enjoyable to watch. So let's deal with that and save any criticism for what might happen in the postseason until after it actually does happen. It's just really counterproductive, out of the way, and silly to start criticizing things that haven't happened yet. So let's enjoy. A-Rod is one of the very best baseball talents ever, and we should embrace and enjoy that. Even though we Yankee fans have been blessed by having a number of these great players already, they don't come around that often.

That's it I`m done. I just get mad when people say things like that

[TonyStarks]

Dunno....this maybe merged under the ARod thread....I'm at your mercy DX.

Sorry about this...but this is a long post.

So I just saw a Steve Phillips Segment which kinda pissed me off.
So I was inspired to go look at ARod's non-clutch self and check out his breakdowns.

Here is what I came up with:






So I'm posting this in light of seeing a Steve Philips segment on ESPN regarding ARod. I'm going to stay away from bashing Philips because I so dispise the man so much.


I was looking for a break down of career monthly totals.
Looking right away...you see the man is pretty consistent down the line...and his favorite month is August. Then in Oct/Sept you see a dip in AVG and some of the numbers look good for anyone else...but they are un-ARod like.

I checked out Papi's career monthly break downs too.
I'm going to stay away from HR/RBI because ARod has a slight advantage being he's played more games...so I'm gonna post his OBP, SLG, OPS.

Papi:
July: .319 AVG ||| .421 OBP ||| .635 SLG ||| 1.056 OPS
Aug: .256 AVG ||| .357 OBP ||| .527 SLG ||| .884 OPS
Sept/Oct: .274 AVG ||| .369 OBP ||| .538 SLG ||| .907 OPS

ARod:
July: .304 AVG ||| .377 OBP ||| .562 SLG ||| .939 OPS
Aug: .321 AVG ||| .395 OBP ||| .629 SLG ||| 1.024 OPS
Sept/Oct: .278 AVG ||| .369 OBP ||| .526 SLG ||| .895 OPS

Is there really a difference in the players? They both seem to be neck to neck.


So I did more research on ARod's NON-Clutchness and tried to compare it to the man ESPN declares as the "Clutch" God.

ARod vs. Big Papi

Here is ARod:



Here is Big Papi:



There isn't really much difference in both the players.
Yet one is considered 'clutch' why the other just can't seem to shake this "non-clutch" factor.

So if you see the 2 Outs/RISP and LIPS you see that both players numbers are very similar.

ARod:
2Outs/RISP: .271 AVG ||| .395 OBP ||| .467 SLG ||| .862 OPS
LIPS: .276 AVG ||| .398 OBP ||| .520 SLG ||| .884 OPS

Papi:
2Outs/RIPS: .276 AVG ||| .398 OBP ||| .525 SLG ||| .913 OPS
LIPS: .270 AVG ||| .356 OBP ||| .557 SLG ||| .913 OPS


-

Let the debate begin.

[DoubleX]

I merged the threads Tony.

What exactly did Phillips say?

[TonyStarks]

I merged the threads Tony.

What exactly did Phillips say?

He pretty much called him Mr. May.

He said that ARod's fast start has bought him some points with fan and if ARod doesn't do it in Oct fans will be on ARod again.


I just can't stand the guy.
Why's he even on TV? The guy was a terrible GM and did nothing but set the Mets back 5 years.




PS:

You *******. I worked hard on that and it deserved it's own thread!! LOL

[DoubleX]

He pretty much called him Mr. May.

He said that ARod's fast start has bought him some points with fan and if ARod doesn't do it in Oct fans will be on ARod again.


I just can't stand the guy.
Why's he even on TV? The guy was a terrible GM and did nothing but set the Mets back 5 years.




PS:

You *******. I worked hard on that and it deserved it's own thread!! LOL

Phillips' credibility when it comes to A-Rod is completely shot as he comes across like he's on a personal vendetta to knock A-Rod whenever possible, often going way out of his way. It's like he has to somehow validate the fact he was unable to sign A-Rod to the Mets, or he's still bitter that A-Rod would not sign with the Mets.

Anyway...I saw some stat somewhere the other day that A-Rod's like a .388 hitter with bases loaded. I think Jeremy Schapp articulated it best on the Sports Reporters on Sunday morning when he basically said that the media and fan's treatment of A-Rod in New York is absolutely disgusting and makes him ashamed to be a New York (and he was looking squarely at Lupica when he said it).

And your hard work hasn't gone unnoticed, it's just been relocated.

[TonyStarks]

Phillips' credibility when it comes to A-Rod is completely shot as he comes across like he's on a personal vendetta to knock A-Rod whenever possible, often going way out of his way. It's like he has to somehow validate the fact he was unable to sign A-Rod to the Mets, or he's still bitter that A-Rod would not sign with the Mets.

Anyway...I saw some stat somewhere the other day that A-Rod's like a .388 hitter with bases loaded. I think Jeremy Schapp articulated it best on the Sports Reporters on Sunday morning when he basically said that the media and fan's treatment of A-Rod in New York is absolutely disgusting and makes him ashamed to be a New York (and he was looking squarely at Lupica when he said it).

And your hard work hasn't gone unnoticed, it's just been relocated.

Haha....okay okay.

As I was watching over the weekend on YES....one of those annoying blurbs came up and it showed that in the last 5 years in all of MLB only Albert Pujols has more RBIs than ARod...and it was only by a grand total of 5 RBIs.

I still don't remember when and how it became cool to jump on the "Hate" ARod bandwagon.

[Mariano_Rivera]

Haha....okay okay.

As I was watching over the weekend on YES....one of those annoying blurbs came up and it showed that in the last 5 years in all of MLB only Albert Pujols has more RBIs than ARod...and it was only by a grand total of 5 RBIs.

I still don't remember when and how it became cool to jump on the "Hate" ARod bandwagon.

Sometime around the end of the 2005 ALDS

[Edgartohof]

As I was watching over the weekend on YES....one of those annoying blurbs came up and it showed that in the last 5 years in all of MLB only Albert Pujols has more RBIs than ARod...and it was only by a grand total of 5 RBIs.

From 2001 to the present (as of right now), A-Rod actually has 5 more RBI than Pujols (765-760)

And he also had 29 more HR's in that span as well.

[JordanDL3891]

WOW!, (is he on steroids? lol j/k) A-rod hit another in the 1st inning!! make it 5 in the last 4 games, 6 in the last 7. 4 games in a row he has hit a homerun.

[hellborn]

As a Bosox fan, I have to say that I am worried about ARod being on a big tear. The best thing for my team would have been for him to suffer a few more failings in clutch spots and then suffer a complete breakdown due to the abuse being heaped upon him for all corners in NYC. This would have removed a significant threat to the chances of my favorite team making the postseason.
As a person, I am happy to see him having a good start. I always root for the person who is down to fight back and overcome adversity, even one who is making tens of millions of dollars to play a game that I would gladly play for only, say, $500,000 a year...

[JordanDL3891]

Kind of like when I was watching Ortiz last year, not that he was doing bad before, but he was hitting homeruns, walk-off homeruns like crazy! But with all the attention, I also learned that he seemed to be a nice guy unlike what I had thought before.

[ChrisLDuncan]

Did you see that Hack Skip Bayless on 1st and 10 today? He had a lot of things to say about A-Rod too...he came off like the ******* love child of Mike Lupica and Peter Abraham/Steve Phillips.

[Mattingly]

DX,
I understand what TB was saying...but still. This "IS" Jeter's team. So why is it that if the Yanks fail to get it done in the playoffs why does it ARod automatically become the scapegoat?

There is plenty of blames to go around for playoff bounces from 04 where the entire team just stopped hitting and the pitching just ran into a brick wall.
Then in '05 I would place the blame on Matsui and Sheff for failing to drive in about 16 RISP between the both of them. Then last year only Jeet and Posada played well.

So I don't get how this is all ARod's fault. Not saying that your saying that...but I don't know where fanboys get the notion that it's ARod's job to take the Yanks to the Promised land? It's just a piece of the puzzle. In '05 he didn't hit well during October, but he was still getting on base....yet it was all his fault according to Lupica and others.

I just don't get it...and it's incredibly frustrating.

Crazy stats don't guarantee you a WS victory, nor even an appearance. It wasn't until 2006 that Albert Pujols even was on a team that won a WS game (swept in '04), and he's now got a ring.

Barry Bonds has no WS rings and his gaudy stats haven't helped in that regard.

If Lupica et al expect Rodriguez to get the Yanks to the WS, then his own newspaper gets a serious hike in sports-related advertising if this happens. Yankee merchandise advertised in that paper will fly off the shelves.

I don't expect any player who bats 3-5 times a game to save the team. If a pitcher can't find the strike zone or if a teammate hits into a GIDP on the first pitch, there's nothing Alex can do. If someone doesn't understand this, either they fail to understand the entire puzzle, or they're presuming that their readers fail to do so.

I can only ask Alex to do his part. Still, if Damon, Jeter and Abreu don't get on base, any double or HR will leave him in a position to be driven in, but there will be nobody else to drive in. I guess that's why they call it a "team effort".

[Mattingly]

Did you see that Hack Skip Bayless on 1st and 10 today? He had a lot of things to say about A-Rod too...he came off like the ******* love child of Mike Lupica and Peter Abraham/Steve Phillips.

What did he say?

ESPN is in Bristol, CT, has many Red Sox fans. Do you think that many of them wish to have anything good said about Alex Rodriguez? Beloved if he'd have joined them, but scorned for being unable to be acquired.

Yankee-bashing is a cottage industry, so many viewing members have no problem hearing cheap slights at the expense of Yankee players. Considering how many boos that Alex has absorbed, I'm wondering if confirmed Yankee-hater, WFAN's Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, isn't getting in his daily swipes also.

[ChrisLDuncan]

He said again that he'll crack under pressure and he can do what ever he wants in the season but expect another 1-17 performance in October because Yankees fans will hate him regardless. He also said that he won't perform against the Red Sox...I don't get it, this guy's from San Jose and did previous hack job work at the Dallas Morning News....is it possible to set up an A-Rod Hack Job Project too?

[TonyStarks]

He said again that he'll crack under pressure and he can do what ever he wants in the season but expect another 1-17 performance in October because Yankees fans will hate him regardless. He also said that he won't perform against the Red Sox...I don't get it, this guy's from San Jose and did previous hack job work at the Dallas Morning News....is it possible to set up an A-Rod Hack Job Project too?

Well ESPN was one of the purveyors of the "Hate ARod" Campaign.
I don't know or think that in all of Sports I had ever seen something like this....maybe back in the Mohammad Ali days.

I just don't get why ESPN has this agenda against ARod. Unless it was something pushed by maybe Steve Philips and his cronies.



Yes the Yanks have not gotten it done the from '04 on...but how does that mean that ARod didn't get it done??

During his time in Pinstripes:

'04 @ Minn: .421 Avg ||| .476 OBP || .737 SLG || 1HR/3RBI || 2 SB
@ BOS .258 Avg ||| .378 OBP || .516 SLG || 2HR/5RBI || 6 BB

'05 @ LAA .133 Avg ||| .381 OBP || .200 SLG || 1SB || 6BB

3 Championship Series: .315 AVG || .413 OBP || .611 SLG || 4HR/10RBI

Clearly his best series was against the Twinkies in the '04 ALDS and he played well against the RedSox in the ALCS. Sure he didn't hit for high AVG but they were pitching around him as his OBP indicates he was still getting on.

Then against LA in the '05 LDS they were definately pitching around Alex and wanted no part of him.

In '06 we all know ARod had a terrible series...hell every Yankee did expect Jeet and Posada.

So Olney could goto Hell and take Philips with him!

[ChrisLDuncan]

ESPN is the Fox News of sports broadcasting...blatantly biased, untrustworth, barely cracks the surface, lack of depth, hackjob "reporters", sensationalist stories, etc. The fact that they employ Peter Gammons, who's in a band with Theo Epstein, amazes me when they don't hire a Yankee fan or atleast some counterweight too him.

[DoubleX]

Something I'm noticing about A-Rod this year is that he's a lot more patient at the plate and taking a lot more pitches, whereas last year, he seemed to chase and flail at a lot of pitches out of the zone.

[TonyStarks]

Something I'm noticing about A-Rod this year is that he's a lot more patient at the plate and taking a lot more pitches, whereas last year, he seemed to chase and flail at a lot of pitches out of the zone.

I think it's due to him being locked in and it appears that his confidence is back.

I honestly believe that the last year his confidence was shattered...he may have actually started to doubt himself and wonder if the nay-sayers were right about him.

Now, it just seems like he's back! He's in total control at the plate and he's got his swagger back.

[SRO]

First time to post here, guys.

Like most of the world, I'm a reluctant Yankees admirer and an ever further reluctant A-Rod fan. I just watched him hit his 7th HR in just ten games and it just seems absolutely normal. No matter what anyone's personal opinion of the man is, he is amazing. If he keeps it up, do you think the fans will start changing their tune when he's up to bat?

[DoubleX]

First time to post here, guys.

Like most of the world, I'm a reluctant Yankees admirer and an ever further reluctant A-Rod fan. I just watched him hit his 7th HR in just ten games and it just seems absolutely normal. No matter what anyone's personal opinion of the man is, he is amazing. If he keeps it up, do you think the fans will start changing their tune when he's up to bat?

The interesting thing about the fans and A-Rod is that even last year, when he would come up or when announced before a game, he would generally be well received. It wasn't until he got out that the boos would come in. It's really as if people want to see him succeed but have zero tolerance for when he doesn't - they set themselves up for pretty much just disappointment.

But, with his hot start this year, and in particular in front of the home crowd, he seems to have turned a corner with the fans, at least for the time being. He even received a standing ovation on Sunday at the Stadium after making an out. Who knows how long the good will can last and if/when the fans begin to turn on him again when he inevitably struggles for a stretch.

[Mattingly]

First time to post here, guys.

Like most of the world, I'm a reluctant Yankees admirer and an ever further reluctant A-Rod fan. I just watched him hit his 7th HR in just ten games and it just seems absolutely normal. No matter what anyone's personal opinion of the man is, he is amazing. If he keeps it up, do you think the fans will start changing their tune when he's up to bat?

All depends. There's hitting and there's timely hitting. While I admire that he'd hit a HR yesterday, which helped us to tie the game, I believe that when he had the bases loaded in the 9th, a single would've been humongous for us. I'm nitpicking, but I think some fans will overlook the great times and focus on when he'd failed.

For myself, I know that a player can't just punch in a number and get a hit. The pitcher is well aware of what the hitter wants to do, will give him the least hittable pitch under those circumstances. Still, I believe it's up to fans to decide whether or not they'll be fair in their judgment. If he'd gotten a single that kept a rally going--or started one--I wouldn't be overly critical if he doesn't get a hit which could've prevented extra innings. Everyone will fail in one game or the next.

Hopefully, people's attention spans haven't fallen to the lifespan of a fruit fly so that we can at least remember that he's had quite a few big hits for us this young season.

Oh yeah, welcome to our "Dark Corner" of the baseball world. Tell us about yourself, your baseball thoughts and how you feel about what's going on in the game as we speak.