Man, Alex, what are you going to do when the Yanks stop playing the Angels? You'll have to go back to normal headlines that don't involve heaven. :-)

You know, when Sportscenter lists Alex Rodriguez as (1-4, HR) it looks like he had a solid game, instead of the reality: a harshly criticized performance where he left men on base early and then hit a "meaningless" two out, ninth-inning home run.

Why is anyone making Alex Rodriguez the problem here?

Damon: 9 for his last 47, .191 (.283 OBA)
Jeter: 8 for 41, .195/.312
Cabrera: 5 for 27, .185/.290
Posada: 0 for 25!!!, 1 BB, .000/.038
ARod: 10 for 22

Extra Innings subscribers: Here's the rest of the month's schedule including the broadcast's feed.
8/14
7 pm Angels YES
8/15
7pm Baltimore CSN-B
8/16
7pm Baltimore YES
8/17
1pm Baltimore YES
8/18
1pm at Boston NESN
8pm at Boston NESN
8/21
1pm at Boston NESN
8/22
10pm at Seattle FSNW
8/23
10pm at Seattle FSNW
8/24
10pm at Seattle YES
8/25
10pm at Angels FSW
8/27
3:30pm at Angels FSW
8/29
7pm Detroit YES
8/30
7pm Detroit YES
8/31
1pm Detroit YES

Jorgie was late on everything yesterday. Lots of foul balls to the third base side. He's in a bona fide slump.

Did y'all see that the ChiSox again benefitted from a blown double play by the Detroit third baseman? It was a carbon copy of Arod's play on Thurs.

2 Because he's the Big Man and he seems to have an especially hard time driving 'em in when he has opportunities to do so in big spots.

How can you not just laugh with pity to see him hit that home run yesterday? The poor man. I felt very, very sorry for him at that moment.

Why blame Arod? I think it's natural to have someone on the team, especially someone who oozes talent as he does, who's willing to step up and say, "The buck stops here."

And he does.

He seems to accept his role on the team and he does take responsibility for his performance, which is admirable. I just wish he'd start carrying the team a bit, is all. These are the games championship teams find ways to win, whether on the back of their slugger or by other means.

I think we're all just very frustrated right now, is all, to be losing games we might have won.

To have had the opportunity to be like 5 games up on Boston and now we're (practically) all even again.

Very, very frustrating.

Here is the rub for me. If Jeter was slumping the way that ARod has been slumping, we'd all be speculating that he was hurt. He wouldn't have to explain it. But the thought that he might be hurt never came up in respect to ARod (Not that I recall). Instead, people assume first that it is mental, and second physical. That says something about ARod, but it also says something about us.

Just as I was proud of A-Rod for standing up to the ESPN and the NY media, he turns around and says something that smacks of insecurity and excuse making. Why is he even talking about injuries? All he has to say that he will continue produce offensively and work hard to improve his defense or even better tell them, "to go to hell." Now the media and fans will begin tearing into to him even more. Arggh!

Oh, I think that Derek is in a mini-slump also.

Funny thing is, Jeter's slump literally began the day that he got sat on by Melvin Mora. Check it out at BaseballMusings. I don't feel like putting the links. This tells me one thing: somebody needs to HIT Melvin Mora. I really don't care if it's "classless." Really, I don't, because his idiotic play screwed our Captain and his possible shot at a batting title.

8 True that on the A-Rod bit. Instead of giving him some props for playing through, they'll call him a [female genital].

I just saw catfishstew has a picture that shows our Alex being a below average pitcher. Messed up...Cliff's ERA seemed a bit high too, he must be having an off year.

I am glad the red sox are playing a decent team tonight. Although the tigers are slumping, i was getting really sick of seeing nothing but sub .500 teams on their sched

"...he looked good offensively until Sunday."

I'm no A-rod apologist but I would temper this a bit. His only poor AB yesterday was his first one. Weaver received a very generous strike 3 call on the 2nd K. The pitch was outside. He hit the DP ball hard but it was right at somebody and then the final laser to the net. The last few games it is apparent that he is seeing the ball better and more comfortable at the plate. I don't think yesterday changed that.

And 2 is absolutely correct. They're losing collectively as a team.

The Unit needs to go 7 strong tonight.

7 A-Rod has been asked about his physical condition on a number of occasions and, without fail, he responds "I'm fine. 100% fine. I feel great. There is no physical problem".

You gotta take the man at his word, no?

Now he tells us he's had a nagging injury?

Whatever.

Just hit, catch, throw, and run. I don't much care about the rest.

14 c'mon now, jeter says the same thing even when you see him hobble around. It is pretty common actually for players while injured to play it down, and after the fact acknowledge it was there. The rub is that even when Jeter says he is fine, 100%, we do not believe it if he is slumping. Heck, everyone I know does this in their own way in everyday life.

11 That high ERA is clearly a result of that one inning where 15 straight bloop singles was followed by 2 grand slams. If you look at his K/100 pitches and HR/9 rates, he's actually a much better pitcher than Corocan. Don't listen to the scouts when they say Alex doesn't have the "stuff." I also heard Alex throws a gyroball. And that Ken Arneson wears Alex Belth pajamas.

15 Right - but Jeter leaves it at that. You won't hear him saying later on in the year "Well, I had these injuries that shoulda put me on the DL and messed up my mechanics blah blah blah".

I don't want to make this a Jeter vs A-Rod debate. It's not about that.

If A-Rod was hurt and got all fouled up, I'm glad to hear he is feeling better. I hope his play begins to resemble the MVP player we had on the club last year. The Yankees need that player now, for sure.

17 yeah, didn't mean to make it a jeter v arod debate. Just wanted to comment how differently we treat them. But yep, me too, If ARod can get hot, that would be some serious kick ass!

Actually, a few of us speculated that A-Rod might indeed be hurt a few weeks back. It was right around the time of the throwing errors game, and even Kruk on BBTN mentioned it. Basically, the argument went that his mechanics this year seemed to suddenly go out of whack on throws and he was dropping down a lot more than he used to in terms of arm angle. At the time, since A-Rod said he was fine we chalked it up to some mental thing. It is possible that A-Rod has a nagging injury to either his right shoulder, or possibly something in area of his ribcage/hip on the right side. Both of those would account for the throws and his pulling off the ball since on the swing he would be trying to avoid excess torque to his back leg/shoulder. Remember what happened a few years back when Giambi had the knee injury to his back leg, his swing went to hell because he couldn't use his back leg as a platform. I tend to take A-Rod at his word (though maybe I shouldn't) and I'm willing to believe he has some injury that is he just recovering from. It would make sense.

14 Players never, ever reveal an injury because it would allow opposing pitchers and players to exploit them. If A-Rod comes out and says, "You know, I'm trying really hard but I have this shoulder injury and I can't get around on fastballs right now," then every single pitcher is going to be throwing him high fastball after high fastball. Jeter is the same way, its not just being a gamer, its being smart. Damon took some time to reveal his injury and only then because it didn't really hinder his play, it just hurt.

I've said this before, but I'll say it again. We have zero idea what goes on in the clubhouse. Its possible after Sheff and Matsui went down that A-Rod hurt himself, went to Torre and said it was borderline but wanted to stay with team and they agreed not to mention it to the press. Its really not that hard to imagine.

11 5-7, 6.41? Sounds like he's worth a look as a fifth starter.

"Players never, ever reveal an injury because it would allow opposing pitchers and players to exploit them."

Excellent point.

Anyone else skeptical about this injury thing?

20 Yes - I understand that - but it usually goes to the grave, or is revealed after the season. For A-Rod to say something now? A little weird, considering there are games yet to be played and his excuses have just evaporated.

But anyway ...

I don't know why everyone is so hard on Arod for hitting that homer in the 9th. I happen to remember sitting in Yankee Stadium on July 30, 2005 with the Yanks playing the Angels. I don't remember all of the details but I do remember that the Angels were giving it to the Yankees all game. Similar to yesterday. Then, in the bottom of the 9th, with K-rod pitching no less, the Yankees made a great comeback. It included several walks, and the killer was a 2-run walkoff double for Matsui. My point is that you never know when a pitcher will melt down and you will go on a rally. Arod and Giambi did their part yesterday to get that going. I realize that coming back 4 with 2 out in the 9th is a long shot, but the last time I checked, baseball is a game where you must get 27 outs to finish the game. There is always a chance, just ask the White Sox and Konerko from last week. Getting on a guy, who by the way has been one of the few bright spots offensively the past few games, for hitting a homerun in the 9th inning is just plain crazy. If you want to give him hell, do it for the play in the 1st inning that he could/should have made. Who knows how that play could have changed the outcome of the innning and game? At least in the 9th he didn't just mail it in like many players would have done in that situation. As a matter of fact, he is one of the few players in MLB that I can never remember just mailing it in at any time. Give the guy some credit.

9 You are probably right. Mora very likely hur Jeter who isn't saying anything. Ugh. I rather that he be in a regular slump.

I'll take him at his word if he says that he was injured. It sure explains the throwing problems. It would have been nice for someone else to have been able to relay the injury info so it would not have seemed like A-Rod was trying to make an excuse.

I'm glad that he is starting to hit, even if the late-inning-down-by-a-bunch-of-runs homers add fuel to the "stat padding" fire. BTW, no one will believe me but I called both of his homers this weekend. As A-Rod came to bat Friday night I told my wife that this is the kind of situation that he usually hits a homer. Next pitch, BOOM. Then again on Sunday I said the same thing to her and next pitch, BOOM again. She accused me of "tape delaying" the game with TIVO...

My biggest worry with A-Rod is his inability to catch the ball. I know he is a "guess" hitter, but is he a "guess" fielder too? Maybe he needs to play back a little more or do something to help his reaction time but he seems to miss some grounders that other 3Bmen catch. Like someone said in yesterday's game thread, his first name is starting to become "pastadiving"...

20 But now that said injuries are healed, pitchers wouldn't have anything to exploit, so I say it's possible he really was injured. And either way, if he keeps hitting .391/.481/.739 for the rest of the year like he has the past week, we'll be OK.

To me it's very simple: Put up or shut up.

Bird could carry the Celts. Phil Simms carried the Giants. Jeter carried the Yanks with very special plays during their (too-long-ago) run....

It doesn't help when writers are producing irresponsible comments like Filip Bondy today:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/story/443307p-373396c.html

"This is the best I feel all year, head and shoulders," he said after the game. "I feel 100%. Feel like spring training just ended. I'm fresh out there. Me swinging the bat like now can be conducive to a better streak."

"Is he delusional? Maybe..."

Delusional? Maybe??? How about ABSOLUTELY NOT? The insinuation is insulting. A-rod's comment is 100% fair and is supported by his recent offensive performance. You don't have to be a stat hound to see with your own eyes that A-rod is hitting better this past week. But, hey, let's look at those numbers: In the past week, his BA has jumped 9 points. So far this series, he's 5-11 with 2 doubles and 2 HR's. He hit a laser Friday night only to see Figgins make a great diving catch. Even when he makes out he's hitting the ball hard.

Sure, it's silly to pretend that there are no issues to discuss regarding his play (there are) but let's stick to some objective reporting rather than unfair insults.

24 I believe 28 helps with that.

28 I agree.

The people getting on A-Rod for hitting a homer yesterday are asinine. The guy comes up with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth with his team trailing. Exactly what do you want him to do? Is it his fault that Jeter and Abreu couldn't reach base to make his homer count for more runs? Sometimes the criticism of A-Rod is valid, like when he GIDP with runners in scoring position or makes a costly error. Sometimes its laughable. The columnists should listen to themselves, "A-Rod's meaningless homer in the bottom of the ninth with his team trailing..."

30 More importantly, he's displaying power to right and right center. He hasn't done that since May.

I've just come to accept that when it comes to the media in this town, A-Rod can't win. If he goes out tonight and he hits 5-5 with 5 HRs, there will be an article about how the last 2 came when the game was meaningless. Sometimes beat writers need an angle. In '61 it was the "rivalry" between Maris and Mantle, with Maris being the bad guy (even though they were good friends and roommates). In '06, its A-Rod is a delusional head case who is costing the team games. Fine, write it, so long as he keeps hitting I don't care.

30 Last week, Lisa Olson (I think) compared David Wright to Michael Jordan because Wright broke a tie with a 7th inning double.

Last week, on a day when ARod went 3-for-3 with a HR and 2 walks, lots of people pointed to a missed foul pop up that was probably 250 feet from home plate and tried to somehow pin the loss on ARod. With Ponson due to come out of the bullpen, the Yankees would have probably lost the game, anyway.

This is not scrutiny. This is simply bad journalism and a misrepresentation of baseball and how baseball works.

This statistical gem courtesy of Joel Sherman: http://tinyurl.com/l9t35

"And, now, eight of his 25 homers have come in the fifth inning or later with the Yanks ahead or behind by four runs."

That's good, right? A whopping 17 out of 25 have come early and close? Or late and close? He's the freakin' MVP, I guess.

Must I remind Joel Sherman of last week's Yankee game vs. Chicago? ARod's meaningless RBI single and Posada's meaningless RBI sac fly won the game. Four runs is not a lot.

33 Correction to myself: I think it was Andrew Marchand and not Lisa Olson.

We get it, we get it, we all get it.

Wright 85 rbis = MVP. ARod 83 rbis = Can't Play in New York.

Loduca gambling and cheating on his wife = no big deal. ARod sunbathing = bad.

29 This gets tiring. ARod "carried" the Yankees in the ALDS against Minnesota two years ago, as much as Jeter "carried" the Yankees through any of their previous postseason series. Yes, he fell apart against Boston, but so did everyone else.

After Jeter's magnificent series against Oakland in 2001, he was terrible against Seattle and Arizona. But those godawful series don't detract from what he did well - which is as it should be. Just give ARod a little credit for what he's accomplished, rather than having it be negated anytime he makes an out.

Unless I'm missing a key part of the quote, ARod is not even playing the injury card.

"I feel fresh. I feel great. I'm ready to help the team. I feel better than I have all year."

So do I. Maybe it's the weather.

35 Agreed. I'm probably as guilty as many fans of giving Jeter a free pass when he doesn't produce. Arod baffles me. He really does. The fact that he is hinting that he was injured the first 4 months of the season bothers me on some level. I mean, that was long ago...we survived that part of the season without Sheff and Mats (and Cano). Now let's hang on, work hard, and finish the job (AL East).

How about Giambi? The three balls he hit yesterday all went left - one grounder to short that he ran out, one long fly down the line in left, and a monster HR that landed in the monuments.

Just coincidence, or has his low average caused him to finally try to go the other way?

38 Let's hope he starts hitting it to the opposite field like that more.

It's painful to watch the Sox slowly gain on us, but I still like our chances to reach the post-season more than last year at this time. What a miracle we made it.

And at the risk of jinxing the Yanks, I really don't see the Sox pitching holding up. How many 11-9 and 8-7 games can a team win without destroying their bullpen? So call me cautiously optimistic ...

Hmmm....

Johnny Damon CF
Derek Jeter SS
Bobby Abreu RF
Jason Giambi DH
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Craig Wilson 1B
Melky Cabrera LF

Randy Johnson LHP

A-Rod's not batting cleanup...

i don't get it. Alex just started smashing the ball. Now he moves him down?

41 42 Yeah, it kinda doesn't make sense, but it also kinda doesn't matter. If Jeter and Posada (and even Giambi) don't start hitting better, you can put A-Rod anywhere and there are still going to be some holes in the line-up.

It would be nice it they scored on something other than a solo HR.

38 Great point on Giambi yesterday. I don't think I have ever seen him hit the ball to left field as much as he did yesterday. I think it is coincidence, as I don't think that Mattingly would start tinkering too much with his swing.

Why Joe, Why? Why must you continue to piss me off? A-Rod has been MASHING for the past week+, so you move him down in the line-up. I loathe you Torre. But good call on switching Po and Cano, I'll give ya that. Why can't Joe and sports writers use facts? Is it that hard to just look at some numbers the interns and statisticians give them?

31 I really don't want to get into this Arod business, but I do want to clarify the issue, because I think you make a straw man of those who would notice the irony of Arod getting that home run when he did.

No, it's not his fault that no one was on base before him, but I think the point is that it really seems as if the fact of no one being on base was a necessary condition for his hitting that homer.

In other words, there was minimal pressure.

That's why the situation just seems so ironic.

Throw all the numbers at me you like, whatever.

I'm just talking about perception.

And frankly, watching this guy at plate, my perception is that pressure gets to him

I could be dead wrong, fine, but I do watch games fairly closely when I do and I do believe I have a fairly keen eye for such things as a batter's comfort level, approach, and focus.

He seems to be a better hitter in low pressure situations.

Of course, it's possible he only seems that way because that's narrative and so I only notice what conforms to the narrative.

Entirely possible.

But it's also entirely possible that the guy just doesn't respond well to pressure, that he can't manage the adrenaline for some reason.

Is this fair?

35 I'm pretty sure Jeter was hurt in both the Seattle and Arizona series in 2001, but didn't want to come out of the lineup. Remember him falling into the stands in Game 5 against Oakland?

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B10150NYA2001.htm

ATHLETICS 8TH: RIVERA REPLACED MENDOZA (PITCHING); Jason Giambi
singled to right; broken bat; Chavez forced Jason Giambi
(first to shortstop); Long popped to shortstop in foul territory
[Chavez to second]; Jeter fell into the seats as he caught
the ball and Chavez was awarded 2B because Jeter carried the
ball out of play; Gant grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 1
H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Athletics 3, Yankees 5.

I'm pretty sure my brain was hurt reading all of this.

YES says the reason Giambi's in the cleanup spot tonight is that he's got great numbers against Lackey.

46 I agree with you about the perception. It seems like he hits a crap-load (fancy BamaMetric stat term) of those so-called "meaningless" homers. My theory has less to do with pressure and more to do with the pitcher's approach to him in that situation. They seem to be more likely to go after him and challenge him in the zone rather than risk walking him and thus pitching to Giambi with a man on. I guess they just use the Jim Kaat theory of "we've got a big lead, here it is see if you can hit it".

49 Hey Ron 45, maybe Joe really does use those "numbers the interns and statisticians give" him ;-)

46 So if he makes an out in that situation (2 outs in the 9th) it's expected but if he hits a homer as he did that's also expected?

Interesting logic you have there.

Kay and Kitty are layin' into A-Rod pretty good on the pre-game...

Good start, RJ! Keep that SOB off the bases tonight...

man, at this point I'm more afraid of Figgings than I am of Ortiz...

Jeez, even with the replay I'm not sure he got hit. Check the ball for shoe polish.

53 What were they saying, more or less?

Robbie, Robbie, Robbie...

Jorgie, Jorgie, Jorgie...

58 with his bat, I don't mind these once in a while