An A-Rod Apologia

Note that "apologia" is Latin for "defense," and not "apology." Idiot.

Anyway, there's this big brouhaha over Tom Verducci's article in Sports Illustrated about Alex Rodriguez. A lot of what was said therein didn't quite sit right with me, so I've naturally decided to needlessly dissect it to no end. Enjoy!

From the first part of the article, we have some interesting language from Mr. Verducci. Emphasis mine.

"Rodriguez admitted early this month that his [overall] statistics can't erase the pain he felt during his three-month slip into a dark abyss... The slump (a word Rodriguez refuses to utter) revealed that for all his gifts, A-Rod may never be seen by Yankees traditionalists as worthy of his pinstripes."

A dark abyss? Is this really the direction we're going? Am I reading Sports Illustrated or The Bell Jar? Let's take a look at what Verducci called a "graveyard of a slump" and compare it to The Patron Saint of Pinstripes himself, Mr. Derek Sanderson Jeter.

First, Rodriguez's "dark abyss." The three month slump being referenced was June through August.

		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
June		24	89	9	19	3	0	3	11	16	24	4	0	.213	.346	.348	.694
July		25	95	17	28	4	0	6	19	10	27	1	1	.295	.374	.526	.900
August		29	112	18	31	8	0	5	22	16	30	3	0	.277	.364	.482	.846

And now Derek Jeter, in the same months, during his glorious MVP-caliber reign of uber-domination:

		G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
June		22	87	11	28	6	0	0	8	11	12	6	1	.322	.422	.391	.812
July		25	102	18	42	8	1	2	19	3	11	6	0	.412	.431	.569	1.000
August		30	122	24	36	5	0	5	18	17	24	7	1	.295	.392	.459	.851

(By the way, If you read the article, you'll notice how I'm actually using all the stats, whether it supports my argument or not, instead of using microscopic samples wherever most convenient, like pointing out a two-game stretch where Rodriguez had 7 strikeouts or a single at-bat where he swung at a bad pitch.)

So, anyone can notice that yes, Jeter was much better. A-Rod's June, considering his prior record, was horrific. But my point, much like my previous post, is that I fail to see a difference so substantial and extreme that Jeter can be viewed as being in the middle an MVP campaign while Rodriguez has apparently fallen into the very bowels of Hades. It looks like Rodriguez bounced back pretty nicely in July, posting a .900 OPS. And Jeter's and Rodriguez's respective Augusts were virtually identical. Is this really supposed to be 2/3 of a slump worthy of making the cover of SI?

Oh, I can hear you muttering under your breath. You're saying the expectations of Rodriguez are higher because of his $252 million contract. To that, I say: 1) good point and 2) technically speaking, several Yankees, including Jeter, are actually making more this season then our beloved A-Rod. So there.

(I deleted about five hundred words of material that originally was to belong here. It was about how A-Rod's Yankee teammates are pricks for criticizing him anonymously through the media. So, you're welcome.)

Alright, now that I'm finished throwing up (I was defending Alex Rodirguez after all), I'll get where the A-Rod bashing is well deserved. It has nothing to do with numbers, and everything to do with his attitude. He's got an awful stupid way of defending himself. It's not that hard to say "I know people are disappointed in me, and I hate that I'm not playing up to my potential, but I just have to come back to the clubhouse every day and keep focused on winning." Is this bland, over-used, cliched? You bet it is, and that's the whole point. Because otherwise, you end up saying things like this...

"A hundred players have come to third base and said, 'This is bulls---. You're having a great year.' You wonder why it bothers players so much. Tim Salmon, Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, Garret Anderson ... I could throw you a hundred names. They're looking at the scoreboard and saying, 'This guy's got 90 RBIs and I've got 47, and I'm getting cheered?'" Translation: Other people like me! Especially the sucky ones who used to be good!

"My agent, Scott Boras, was talking about [Oakland third baseman] Eric Chavez, who's a great player. He's hitting .235. He's got 16 home runs, 43 ribbies? This guy is getting cheered every time he comes up to the plate. If I can look back on 2006 and see I made 25 errors, hit .285 and drove in 125, I mean, has God really been that bad to me?" Translation: See? That guy sucks more than me!

"Reggie hit .230 one year," Rodriguez said. "That's awful. He struck out 170-something times in a year. I don't care who you are, extremes are just part of the game. I was awful [in Anaheim], but Jeter was 0 for 32 [in 2004], Mo blew three games in one week [last year].... Everybody goes through it." Translation: but that guy and that guy and that guy have sucked too!

And with A-Rod's foot placed squarely in his mouth, he then decides to shove it all the way down. *Drum roll*

"When people write [bad things] about me, I don't know if it's [because] I'm good-looking, I'm biracial, I make the most money, I play on the most popular team...."

I officially take back everything I ever said in defense in A-Rod.