Timing of A-Rod's Benching Raises Series Questions - Page 2

A-Rod was pumped for this series. He reportedly bought over 100 tickets for friends and family, undoubtedly excited to play in one of the few environments where he likely wouldn't be serenaded with constant jeers every trip to the plate. When speaking to reporters about his dismay in warming the bench on Friday A-Rod lamented "I was looking forward to this day, honestly, for five or seven years. It's a big disappointment."

But with arguably the MLB's most dangerous — albeit slumping — slugger that excited for a series, with the notoriously vain Bronx Peacock ready to strut his colors for the few people on this planet retaining any sympathy for the heavily tarnished figure, Joe Girardi decided that Friday's opener in Miami provided the perfect opportunity to give Rodriguez some much needed rest.

Had Alex been feeling some ill effects from his surgery or even himself professed some kind of physical fatigue maybe Girardi's PC explanation would be palatable but in the manager's own words, none of these issues factored into the benching. Said Girardi before Friday's win over the Marlins, "We just feel that he needs a couple days physically. Is he sore? No, he's not sore. But we think he's a little bit run down and that he could recharge his batteries."

So Alex isn't injured, isn't sore, and acted about as opposite from wanting a day off as one can by purchasing his own A-Rod Section at "Land Shark Stadium," and yet Girardi still chose to bench a player that has 562 career home runs and whose return literally transformed the Yankee lineup over night, for Angel Berroa (and his two, now three, hits).

Again, the evidence is only deductive and circumstantial, but given the timing of A-Rod's benching, his own profession of physical health, and the comparison of offensive output to that of the options to replace him in the lineup, it seems clear that A-Rod's benching is about more than a brutal June. It just might be that the scales have tipped once again in the saga that is A-Rod's career, and the value of his presence and his power are once again becoming outweighted by factors that aren't dictated by skill with a bat, ball, and glove.

Article Author: Anthony Tobis

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