Yankee Talk: First A-Rod’s lip…now his hip sends the Yanks on a trip

Rodriguez is down, but the Bombers aren’t out


You know, I try not to write about A-Rod.

I really don’t.

It’s not as if I am trying to pick on him. I mean, he is one of my own players and by laundry; I am forced to root for him to succeed because with that, the Yankees are a more successful team because of what his contributions bring.

Sure, I may rip him more than I have any player that has ever won two MVP awards in five seasons in pinstripes. He is nowhere near Kevin Brown, Rondell White or Felix Heredia putdown status.

I really gave it to those guys. Hey, they had it coming and never failed to disappoint by consisting performing like dogs.

However, at a certain point, it gets draining. The story never changes. You want to try to focus on something else and yet the story comes right back to where it started. It is as if we are in quick sand, unable to go anywhere. When A-Rod creates news, he goes and takes us all down with him.

What went from having a simple cyst removed from hip turned into a tear in the hip of his labrum that will now keep him out for the next six to nine weeks, leaving the Yanks in a situation where they will not have their cleanup hitter for at least the first quarter of the season. This coincides with the team’s newly imported number three hitter Mark Texieira normally struggles early in the season before picking up steam as the weather warms up.

Tex may want to change that.

Many people seem to think that my prevailing thought is somehow crazy, as if this couldn’t be possible. That Alex Rodriguez not on the Yankee team for a minimum of at least five weeks (if not more) is a decisive blow to the team’s chances of winning the AL East and/or gaining entry into the playoffs.

The question they ask is the following:

“How can you replace the production that he brings to the lineup?”

The answer: “You don’t.”
But anyone that is living under the previous question’s logic obviously did not pay attention to how the team’s offense operated during those days. People talk about it a lot and always want to go back to it, yet do not have an understanding or appreciation for how that team was constructed to score runs.

Those teams were greater than the sum of their parts. Taken as individuals and they were never as great on their own merits as those old Cleveland Indians lineups that had Kenny Lofton, Roberto Alomar, Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez. However, working as a team together, no one in the world could stop them. It is time for the Yankees to reach back in that reservoir which is their past and draw strength from that.

Believing in each other and trusting the next guys in the lineup to come through with that next hit instead of solely focusing one’s thoughts on whether A-Rod is going to come in and in essence bailout the team. The team is too good to need to have that happen. The only way this is not possible is if age has finally caught up to Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter. Injuries limiting Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada. A lack of consistent offense from the centerfield position and the continued downward spiral of Robinson Cano.

Rodriguez’s production is going to be replaced by any one player. It traces back to the Michael Lewis book titled Moneyball. In it, Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane discussed how the team was going to find way to work around the loss of then first baseman star Jason Giambi, who months earlier agreed to sign a seven-year deal with the Yankees. Beane would go on to say that only certain parts of him could be replaced to a degree to where his loss is not a complete blow.

For example, you may not score as many runs, but you can take measures to prevent the giving up of runs. Having great defense can make up for some offensive shortcomings. In previous years, the Yankees dismissed the concept of outfield defense when they had Matsui and Bernie Williams out there along with Gary Sheffield. Bobby Abreu did not do all that much better. Now, having Damon in left, young Brett Gardner in center and either Nick Swisher or Xavier Nady in right, the defense has upgraded to the point when runs can be saved rather than given away.

Having Texieira at first base over Jason Giambi is immense. While Giambi was somewhat of a productive offensive hitter, (except when he was hitting .204 with runners in scoring position). His broken down body and inability to throw cost the team numerous run over the course of a season because of his inability to stop balls from turning into base hits and his lack of mobility allow hits down the line that turned into extra base hits. The rest of the infield is solid, so collectively, the team should be able to be better on defense for the first time in about eight years.

You know it also doesn’t hurt when you are projected on paper to have the best pitching staff in the league despite competing in the hellish AL East. Given me a staff that allows me to consistently hold down the opposition on a nightly basis, and I’ll find a way to create enough offense to score and then lock the game down after the seventh inning.

Can there be an up-tick in offense from Cano and Jeter compared to last year? Will Nady be a consistent producer over a full season? Will Posada be healthy enough to contribute 120 games? Will Brett Gardner in center be able to hit enough to stay in the lineup?

If the answer is yes to all of those questions, then they will make up for Rodriguez’s loss easily.

Will there be many “winning ugly” games?

Sure.

But this is a results oriented business and all that matters is the W. Style points are not awarded here. No one is looking for that. Just win and that is all that matters.

Taking away a player who can win an MVP for you should be a significant blow. With all the off-season moves, there is no doubt that his loss can be made up. The chances are so great that a chance exist where you will not even notice the difference.

While Alex goes to get well, the rest of the Yanks can go about their business and win without any distractions or drama hanging around.

This is a good thing.