NEW YORK – In life, there is the old adage “guilty before proven innocent”.
In baseball, a similar reference is that a player cannot do perform until proven otherwise.
For both Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabathia, October has not been the month where they have seen their lowest moments as players. Their high level of performance, bordering on Hall of Fame statistics has been wiped away before a small sample size of at bats and starts in which they have faltered horrendously.
This time, with the pressure not squarely on either player as “the hired gun”, it would appear this be the year both players shed their reputations as playoff chokers, helping guide the Yankees to a world championship.
Everyone knows the numbers on each player that when asked, one could recite the horrific numbers off the top of one’s head. In the case of Sabathia, the 7.92 ERA sticks out like an eye sore. We all saw him when the Yankees played the Indians in Game 1 of the 2007 AL Division Series at Jacobs Field struggle to get through five innings and if it wasn’t for an even worse performance by Chien-Ming Wang, who allowed the game to get out of hand.
That night, Sabathia only went those five innings, but through an astonishing 114 pitches and walked six batters. The Yankees were ready to break him in the top half of that fifth when they had the bases loaded, one out, and a 3-0 count on Jorge Posada, who swung 3-0 and did not connect, later striking out. Hideki Matsui popped up and the threat ended. The Indians proceeded to score five runs in the bottom of the inning en route to a 12-3 win, making up for the left-hander’s struggles.
Against Boston in the AL Championship Series, the Red Sox routed him in Game 1 in Fenway Park for eight runs. The Indians covered up for him winning the next three games and the ball rested in his hands in Game 5 at Jacobs (now Progressive) Field. However, once again he was not able to deliver, struggling in six innings in an eventual loss. Boston would rally from 3-1 down to win the pennant.
Last year, the Milwaukee Brewers ran him into the ground, starting him on three days rest three times in a feverish attempt to make the playoffs. They were able to accomplish that feat, but without a good enough pitcher to start Game 2 in Philadelphia, they ran him back out there and to no one’s surprise, he struggled, going only 3 2/3 innings, giving up five runs in the Phillies 5-2 win.
While he has been everything that the Yankees have hoped for this season; their rotation anchor, team leader, and man willing to go deep into ballgames to help give the bullpen a break, the CY Young Award contender (19-8, 3.37 ERA) still has failures that no one will forget until shown otherwise.
When he takes the mound for Game 1, Sabathia will go out there with a team that can lead him to victory and perhaps he does not have to put pressure on himself to carry them. All he has to do is relax and allow his natural talent to take over, rather than force the issue and make things hard for himself.
His failures are nothing compared to that of Rodriguez, who entire tenure as a Yankee has been defined by at bats in October.
Some attribute it to nervousness; others say he is pressing (which is almost the same as saying nervous), and there are others who choose to use the “choke” label.
Whatever it is, the bottom line has been that in the postseason, Rodriguez simply has not gotten it done.
After starting out 8 for 19 and being the MVP of the Division Series back in 2004 against the Minnesota Twins, and 6 for 14 through the first three games of the League Championship Series against the Red Sox, something has happened. Since the start of Game 4 when the Yankees blew the infamous 3-0 lead, Rodriguez has gone a paltry 9 for 61 (.147), while the team has won only four playoff games and losing 13.
There have been big moments that could have swung playoffs series in the Yankees favor. In Game 5 in 2004, leading 4-2 and a man on third base with one out, Rodriguez struck out when a sacrifice fly would have given them a three-run lead that would later become a loss.
The next season in Game 5 against the Angels, trailing by two runs and Derek Jeter on first, a pressing Rodriguez swung at a slider and grounded into a double play that killed any potential chance for a rally against closer Francisco Rodriguez.
In 2006, Rodriguez was performing so badly that Manager Joe Torre demoted him to eighth in the batting order prior to Game 4 in Detroit. It had no effect as his struggles continued and the Tigers upset the Yankees.
In 2007, he was up with a man on second and chance to give the Yankees the lead in the top of the ninth inning with two outs. Rodriguez worked the count to 3-2 against Indians starter Fausto Carmona before striking out. Cleveland would eventually win the game in 11 innings to take a 2-0 lead in the series the Yankees would lose in four games.
There have been so many bad moments from him that you can only expect the worse. His reputation for failure has marred his brilliant performances during the regular season. The two MVP’s he has won in his six years with the team, his defense at third base and everything else is ignored because of what has happened in October.
Before this year, it was a question as to whether he would even play (effectively) this season. Hip surgery sidelined him in addition to the cloud surrounding Rodriguez after it was discovered he was a steroid cheat and admitted to it.
The team was not whole without him in the lineup and they struggled for the first six weeks. When he returned, he hit a three run homer on his first swing of the season and since then, has been a completely different player, both on the field, but in the way he has blended in with the team. No longer has he been the player striving for attention and drawing hordes of media to him to see his every move. Quietly, the highest paid player in baseball has just been “another guy” on a team filled with stars.
Rodriguez no longer “stands out”, yet his talents allow him to stand out. With a lineup that has been baseballs best, and hitters up and down having great seasons, he is no longer relied upon to be “the man”, especially with Mark Teixeira hitting in front of him and ample protection behind him.
Despite missing the first 28 games and having to be rested once per week on advice from doctors, he still managed to deliver a 30 homerun, 100 RBI season. When you see him at the plate, he appears more relaxed and less anxious in the past. The big moment finds him and does not shy away from it. In the past, he may have tried to put pressure on himself to deliver and beat himself up afterward for not coming through.
This year, he has delivered.
This is why this October for him projects to be better than seasons past. He probably will not .500 and hit eight homeruns. However, the Yankees do not need that from him. While the eyes of the Yankee Playoff World will be fixated on A-Rod, Rodriguez will not turn away and hide.
Teams are likely going to dare him to beat them in attempt to get into his head. Mind games in the past may have worked to psych him out, but this time, the Yankee slugger may have cracked the code.
If Sabathia and Rodriguez do crack the code, the Yankees will be impossible to beat.
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