Alex Rodriguez
2009 Stats: .305/30/100/0/1
Alex Rodriguez hit a home run in his first at bat upon returning from hip surgery. He managed to hit another 29 home runs in an injury shortened season. More impressively, all of those home runs came against the Red Sox and Angels, making A-Rod the most beloved and clutch Yankee to ever play the game. Alex then went on to carry the Yankees through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Although he only managed six RBIs in the World Series, like a coward. Perhaps Alex's most impressive 2009 stat: 0. The number of steroids he took that year. But the most important stat? 1. The number of hip surgeries performed on Alex Rodriguez in March. Clearly the key to A-Rod finally making something of himself was the hip surgery. It is in his best interest, therefore, to consider having the same procedure done again this Spring.
2010 Prediction:
Alex will hit 35 home runs. In one game. Against the Red Sox. On opening day.
Little Known Alex Rodriguez Fact:
One time, Alex helped save a Panda from extinction, by killing a Koala Bear. The man can't win for losing.
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19 comments:
A-Rod actually saved a kid's life, not even kidding.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/04/15/no_error_on_newbury_st_a_rod_saves_boy_from_truck/
I was watching Yankees Hot Stove on YES and apparently there's an Alex Rodriguez Center for Kids in Miami (it's got his name because he donated a ton of money, obviously). Much like how Jeter can't go left, there is a Zoolander joke to be made here!!
Also, A-Rod's home run in ... 2006, I think, maybe 2005, off of Curt Schilling, who was returning from the DL to a hero's welcome to serve as the Sox's closer, and who had been ceaselessly mocking him since the 2004 ALCS, that blew a save for Curt and led to an eventual Yankee win, is one of my all-time favorite Yankee moments. I always liked A-Rod on the Yankees, but I out-and-out loved him after that.
I'll have to think about the Alex Rodriguez Center for Kids Who Can't Play Baseball Good.
That is a great moment. I think my favorite A-Rod moment was when he capped a six run bottom of the ninth by going yard against Joe Nathan (April 19th, 2007 if I'm not mistaken). It was a day game at the Old Stadium, and it wasn't that full, but that hit ended the game as the Yanks had scored all the runs in that inning with two outs. It was the loudest I'd ever heard that stadium, and I've been to playoff games we won there. That place really did have a way of amplifying the fan noise, truly making us the 26th Yankee.
I don't remember that game but I do remember this one:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA200704070.shtml
Just AWESOME. I really wanted the 2007 Yankees to win it all (well, more than I ALWAYS want the Yankees to win it all); they were real battlers, and they didn't give up. Until the playoffs AAAAAGH >:( (There were also some really nice stories that season with the contributions we got from Joba and Hughes.)
That's a great box. The 2007 Yanks were very bitter sweet. I actually went to the one game they won against Cleveland in the first round, when Clemens couldn't get out of the third and Hughes came in to pitch a great game in long relief. But we just didn't have the pitching that year. Then our manager got canned (technically, not resigned) unceremoniously and I wanted to punch Hank Steinbrenner in the face. Especially when '08 went the way it did. But that year brought us Girardi and a resigned A-Rod, and I can't say either were bad moves, or that Cash has made any really bad moves since.
This was the April 19th game.
It was not Joe Nathan, however, who as far as I know never played for Cleveland. It was Joe Borowski. I knew it was a Joe, tho. Considering I got the rest of the details right, I'm going to give myself a pass on that one.
I remember Phelps came up to bat with two outs and us down by four and thinking, "It's over. He's an automatic out." Then he went yard and I thought, "Good for him. But we probably won't pull this out." 5 RBI later I was heading home happy.
I was in Spain for the end of the 2007 season; I left for there in early August and if you'd told me then that only one New York baseball team was going to make the playoffs, I would have bet $200 it would be the Mets, heh. I'm very glad I wasn't there to see the Sox win the Series, the Torre leaving/A-Rod opting out fiasco, etc.
I agree, the 2007 Yankees didn't have the pitching, but I thought they had a chance because they'd blazed their way through the past couple of months. But Wang fell apart in his two starts in the playoffs and pretty much everyone save Damon and A-Rod had an awful ALDS offensively, and it just wasn't enough.
Hank is just crazy... I'm very glad Hal and Cash are pretty much running the organization now. While I hate A-Rod's contract, I am very, very, very glad he's a New York Yankee.
I don't remember that game like I remember A-Rod's walk-off grand slam, but he was really on an absolute ridiculous tear in 2007. What a game to be at!
Also holy mother of, I know it was early in the season but A-Rod was OPSing *1.383* when that game took place.
Ah yes, Arod. I remember being a young lad growing up in NH and being really excited with the news that the sox were about to land Arod. Heck, I even tried to convince the restaurant I worked at to put up on their sign outside "Santa, all we want for Christmas is Arod." Then the deal fell through and I thought, "Oh well, no big deal, at least there is no way he ends up on the yankees." Of course, then Aaron Boone gets injured playing basketball and we all know what happened next. I thought for sure the Sox were screwed in 04 and that there was no way they could beat the yankee juggarnaut. I remember being at bootcamp and I got this letter from my friend: "Hey man, just to give you a heads up, this is the yankees starting lineup
1. Lofton
2. Jeter
3. Giambi
4. Arod
5. Matsui
6. Williams
7. Sheffield
8. Posada
9. Cairo"
Basically I knew we were done for, there was no way we were ever winning the World Series. But, in the end, we all know how that turned out. Whats the point in this whole story? My favorite Arod moment, which has to be: drumroll please......watching him strikeout on a 12 mph Bronon Arroyo curveball.
I thought every Boston fan had to have the slap play as their favorite A-Rod moment by penalty of law or something.
Also, the 2004 Sox with A-Rod at short, oh Jesus. That offense would be so totally ridiculous, even more so than the 2009 Yankees. And I think, with A-Rod on the Sox and not the Yankees, they probably would have won the division in 2005, made the playoffs in 2006, and then won the Series in both 2007 and 2008.
Yeah, no doubt A-Rod had some frustrating post-season moments (for us Yankees fans anyway), but through game three of the 2004 ALCS he was mashing. Remember the home run he hit over the coke bottle in Fenway, which a fan then threw back onto the field from outside the stadium, prompting Damon to throw it back over the wall? Those were the good days of 2004, before everything went totally wrong.
Yeah, I'm definitely glad that deal with the Sox fell through. imagine Manny, Ortiz, A-Rod (shudders). Awful.
As long as we're talking about past *awesome* playoffs...
If you have MLB Network, you know they have this pretty awesome "Baseball's Seasons" program. The next new one they're gonna do? 2004. Other ones they've done? 1995 and 2001. I think they are determined to have as many horrible Yankee losses in there as possible and I shall continue to paranoid-ly think this until they do "Baseball's Seasons: 1998."
That sucks. No MLB Network for me here in England, so I guess I'm spared.
Here's an interesting article by Bob Klapisch on A-Rod. I was surprised to learn that Giambi had issues with A-Rod. Mussian and Torre, on the other hand, were unsurprising.
By all reports, including the incredibly cranky Mussina himself, Mussina and A-Rod actually got along; I think that article's probably mostly BS.
I do think the Yankees might have never won with both Torre and A-Rod on the team. Torre was so friggin' resentful of Alex being on his team for whatever dumb reason.
This in the comments made me giggle:
"It took him finally winning a WS title but he probably has a Yankeeography on YES in the future. Yuck."
He already has a Yankeeography!! (I think it's super silly to do them on guys still playing, though.)
I'm just waiting for the RJG Yankeeography. I may have to produce one myself.
Also, just to prove A-Rod is teh clutch!!!
OPS against
LAA 1.393
BOS 1.027
NYM 1.167
PHI 1.141
TBR 1.107
CLE .688
KCR .452
OAK .412
WAS .167
So I think we can conclude that he just wasn't trying against the sh-tty opponents.
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