>> I don’t disagree, but if he can’t produce when the pressure’s on, and can’t produce in the postseason, then what good is his talent?
Alex Rodriguez is most of the reason the Yankees were in the postseason in 2007. Without A-Rod’s MVP performance, the Yankees would’ve been out of the wild-card race right around the All-Star Break.
>> He’s making way too much money to just be a cog in a finely tuned machine. He has to be a big-time producer, and he has failed to be anything of the sort.
He’s expensive, but he earned his keep in 2007. The Yankees worked back from a 10+ game deficit in large part due to ARod’s performance. The Yankees were a critically flawed team throughout ‘07 ... A-Rod made them a contender, but couldn’t carry them all the way.
I just don’t think this will be a particularly easy loss for the Yanks to get over. Albert Pujols isn’t available. Lance Berkman isn’t available. Vlad Guerrero isn’t available. How do they replace 156 RBI of production in the middle of their order? How do they replace a man with an OBP of about .420 and a .600+ Slugging Percentage?
With A-Rod, the Yankees were a borderline playoff team that couldn’t get past the ALDS in 2007 ... without him, they’re not a playoff team at all.
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Keep in mind that A-Rod wasn’t all that “expensive” at all. The Yankees only got him because Texas was paying a big chunk of his salary for the last few years.