Now That the Wailing's Over...

Bob's Backstop for February 17, 2004
Now that we once again have your attention:

What just happened?

Is it the beginning of the end?

Or just a maintaining of the status quo?

One of the difficulties in looking at this objectively is that Alex Rodriguez is already a lightning rod of controversy, the poster boy for Greed, Ego, and "What's Wrong With the Game," although it took an agent and an incredibly stupid owner (I'd hold back on that strong a statement and make it just "an incredibly stupid act", except that Hicks subsequently hired John "Vastly Overrated and Very Lucky" Hart as his GM, and allowed Hart to make one lousy move after another (talk about a mistake...the A-Rod contract looks like a bargain next to the Park contract), and has eventually taken on so much of A-Rod's contract that he will be paying an average of 10M annually for the length of A-Rod's contract in order to have the best player in baseball play for someone else.)

But what, exactly, have the Yankees gained?

Certainly not one of the stellar players of integrity of the game, that's for sure. Not the headache on the scale that a number of their recent acquisitions can be, A-Rod nevertheless has displayed some churlish behavior that gives one pause, including his immediate feud with Buck Showalter, his grab for the mega-bucks, and his subsequent desire to turn a long term commitment into getting out of town as soon as possible. This doesn't make him different from most players, actually, or most human beings, for that matter, but it doesn't present him as a paragon of virtue and clubhouse leadership, either.

Then, there is the matter of his position. As long as he's at third base, a major part of his impact will be missing, especially with the sub-par defense currently holding down the job at short. He says he's willing to step aside for the greater good, but this is also the same guy who said he was in it in Texas for the "long haul", which turned out to be three seasons. Since he clashed with Showalter because he was not only positioning both the infield and outfield defenses, as well as calling pitches, it's hard to see how happy he's going to be playing second fiddle on the pinstriped infield. (Does anyone recall a couple of years ago, when supposed friends A-Rod and Jeter exchanged sniping in the press over their relative worth as players, until A-Rod publicly apologized? This wasn't one quote taken out of context, either, but a testy exchange of cuts that went on for a couple of days.) This may not be a 2004 problem, but I expect it to surface in 2005, when Torre is gone. Whomever the new manager is a season from now, they are going to have their hands full, as well as possibly having the Cal Ripken problem hanging like a millstone around their necks.

There's also the matter of reduced offense. How will the Yankee faithful react when A-Rod's numbers drop from otherworldly to merely spectacular? Because that's likely to be what happens. A-Rod will be moving from The Ballpark in Arlington, one of the great-hitting stadiums in baseball, to Yankee Stadium, a ballpark famous for frustrating right-handed hitters. Will that make a difference? It's highly likely. Two years ago, when Rodriguez hit 57 homers, he banged 34 in Texas. The last three seasons in Arlington, he hit .333 with a .666 slugging percentage at home.

On the road, though, A-Rod hit a rather mortal .278 with a .564 slugging percentage, good numbers to be sure, but a whole lot more comparable to, say, the better seasons of Jay Buhner.

I'm not saying that A-Rod is some Dante Bichette who will crumble after he leaves his launching pad. But I am saying something will happen when A-Rod goes to Yankee Stadium, which through the years has agitated good right-handed hitters like Dave Winfield and even Joe DiMaggio.

His gaudy numbers are likely to be going down.

(By the way, it's possible that Soriano will have a huge year now that he's getting away from that Yankee Stadium graveyard. Last year, he hit .306 with 23 homers, 62 runs and 49 RBIs away from New York. Double those numbers, and, voila, you have A-Rod. Now, no one knows for sure what's going to happen to him. Like the new acquisition for the O's, Miguel Tejada, Soriano never met a pitch he didn't like. But neither does Vlad, for that matter. Hitters like this make us shake our collective heads, but somehow, these freaks of nature keep hitting. It's likely to mean an earlier end to a meaningful career as the bat slows down, but that's not going to be the Rangers' problem, unless Hicks resigns him later on, or gives him a ten-year deal.)

Then, there's the matter of New York. A-Rod has never played in a big market before. He excelled in Seattle when Ken Griffey was the star, and he was a supporting player. He put up huge numbers in Texas when nobody cared. It's a different ballgame when you're the big star putting on the pinstripes, facing the crowds, the big games, the booing on the road, and the mood swings of The Big Stein. It's not easy seeing yourself on the back cover of the New York Post with a big old “TEXAS COW PATTIE" staring you in the face when you had a bad game.

Will A-Rod thrive in that atmosphere? Maybe. Maybe not. Lots of people don't, and he hasn't exactly displayed the most friendly and easygoing nature at times. For me, it stands out that his teammates didn't seem to be all the crazy to have him back. It probably is just my prejudice in preferring guys that other guys get along with, but, right or wrong, it always smells to me of potential trouble.

So, how much did the Yankees really help themselves here? They are quite obviously trading a great player in Alfonso Soriano for a better player. The Yankees are also adding a lot of salary, a big ego, a great shortstop to a team where that position is filled.

Plus, the problems they had before are still there. When Aaron Boone hurt himself, the Yankees did not have a third baseman. Now, apparently, they do. But now they don't have a second baseman. Is that better? The Yankees have a poorly constructed team anyway: A terrible defensive outfield, a brittle pitching staff, an aging closer, a DH playing first base, a degenerating outfielder playing DH, an overrated defensive shortstop playing short and a fabulous defensive shortstop playing third.

Are they the favorite to win it all? Sure. They've got stars everywhere.

For $190 million, you would think they could have done a little better.

I have a feeling that the $190M is only the beginning. Wait until July, when they pick up Vidro, or another pitcher somewhere between now and July to boost their brittle starting staff.

The good news is, this could have been worse, and the Yankees could have traded some minor-league bum and picked up all of A-Rod's contract, which we would have still howled about (even more so), but would have been more damaging than the swap of Soriano's numbers for A-Rod's, especially as long as A-Rod is at third instead of short.

The bad news is, of course, that it's not over. $190M is just the new threshold, but it's certain to not be the final frontier.