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A-Rod in Pinstripes: Putting it in Perspective

Trade caps off Hot Stove season in a big way, but the real season is what matters

By: Akino Yamashita
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
February 18, 2004

So the blockbuster deal is done. The papers have been signed, the new #13 Jerseys have been sewn up, and the press conference was held yesterday, Tuesday, February 17, 2003. Alex Rodriguez, once the best player in baseball playing on one of the worst teams, is now a member of the New York Yankees.

There's been so much media coverage of this deal that there probably isn't much more left to write about it, though I'll try. Everyone seems to have an opinion about the A-Rod trade. We've heard from the President. We've heard from Ben Affleck, who may be more broken up about the Boston Red Sox's failure to sign A-Rod themselves than the fizzling of his romance with J-Lo. And of course, we've heard from the fans, both confident Yankee fans and despondent Yankee haters. This message is meant for both of those groups.

First of all, the A-Rod acquisition in no way guarantees the Yankees anything. Does it give them a huge advantage in the AL East? Sure, and I'd feel confident in predicting that the Yankees will win their division again, as they have since 1996. But the results of the last three postseasons should make apparent that October is a whole different season. Remember that the Yankees' recent run of World Series championships has been built on three things: 1. Solid starting pitching. 2. Clutch hitting. 3. Mariano Rivera. Note that the words "record-setting homerun hitter" don't appear on that list. And while the value of a good defense is hard to measure, it's quite possible that A-Rod's glove may be almost as important as his bat, at least when it comes to the "second season". It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to playing third base.

It would be fair to say that the Yankees may now have the most feared line-up in baseball. How do you pitch around Derek Jeter, when you know that Jason Giambi and Alex Rodriguez are warming up in the dugout? Don't forget Bernie Williams, either. Hideki Matsui may not be as Godzilla-like in power as he was in Japan, but he was also a solid contributor last year.

But it's also fair to air out that old cliche, "Great pitching beats good hitting." The Yankees' lineup was nothing to laugh at in 2003, either, but found themselves shut down in the last game of the World Series by Josh Beckett. On the converse, pitching problems can cost you dearly. An unexpected early exit by David Wells could be said to have changed the flow of that series, as well as an eyebrow-raising managerial decision that led to Jeff Weaver serving up a crucial homerun that lost a crucial game.

Wells and Weaver are both long gone, but so are two pitchers that were important parts of the pitching rotation last year; Andy Pettite and Roger Clemens, both gone "home" to Houston. No longer can Yankee fans blithely claim that "We have FOUR Aces!" The rotation is full of question marks. Mike Mussina can be expected to be a steady presence, but I can't say with 100% certainty that Kevin Brown can stay healthy, or that Jose Contreras can be more consistent, or that John Leiber can shake off the rust from a year, or that Jose Vasquez can adjust to playing in New York City. Unfortunately, Alex Rodriguez can't do much to address those questions.

I hope this doesn't sound like I'm trying to comfort the enemy, whether you define that as the division rival Red Sox, or the sad-sack cross-town Mets, or Chris "Mad Dog" Russo and his so-called "Crack Committee" of Yankee-haters. I just don't care to hear too much more grumbling that the A-Rod trade means that Bud Selig might as well cancel the season and personally slip 2004 World Series rings on the fingers of the Yankees. The trade does not prove that the Yankees are the Evil Empire, or that competitive imbalance is taking all the fun out of the game. Do the Yankees have a definite advantage when it comes to payroll, revenue, market, fanbase? Sure. But here's the thing. It's only competitive imbalance if it works. No one is complaining about the economic advantage enjoyed by the New York Rangers. I haven't heard any talk of "Darth Dolan", even though the Blueshirts front office seems to acquire a new superstar every season, whether it's Jagr, Bure, Lindros, or...hmm, remember when the Rangers got Gretzky, the greatest player EVER to play hockey? That got the New York Rangers about as far to a championship as A-Rod got the Texas Rangers to one. The Yankees' payroll has gone up every season, especially the past three seasons...and the Yankees have been bereft of World Series championships for three years. Who won the World Series in those years? The debt-ridden Diamondbacks, the overlooked low-budget Angels, and the perhaps even more over-looked low-budget Marlins. After all, while both the Angels and Marlins started their championship seasons with losing records, the Angels didn't change managers mid-season.

So, for any non-Yankee baseball fan who's thinking of shutting off the TV, canceling their season ticket plan, or leaving the country in protest; please don't. Not that it affects me much if you do, but it affects you. I'm no psychic, but I can almost guarantee that you'll be missing an exciting, spectacular season. And not just for Yankee fans.

And to the Yankee fans; getting A-Rod was great. We'll have the enjoyment of watching not one, but TWO high-caliber, Cooperstown-bound infielders exhibit their graceful defensive moves, and you can bet that most of the Yankee at-bats are NOT going to be a good time to take a bathroom break or line up at the hot dog stand. Even though the bottom line for the Yankees is to win it all at the end, no one said we couldn't have fun along the way.

Baseball is coming. It's almost here. And in the end, it doesn't matter how the teams shape up on the paper. What matters is what happens on the field. And I'm eager to see for myself what does.



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