WHY THERE'S A CASE FOR ALEX RODRIGUEZ

Alex Rodriguez had a horrendous season, for him at least. He played 99 games due to injury and surgery and while he performed well in the field defensively, the guy’s head was in the clouds at the plate. Part of it is probably lack of confidence and the other part is trusting his body again. Yes, it's true, I'm here to defend Alex Rodriguez, because while he is getting paid millions to perform like Superman, well... he's not and even the injury bug can hold people back.

Don’t forget, ARod had a knee surgery and a swing is all about the legs. While I’m down on ARod's performance in the postseason right now, I’m not going to destroy the guy totally. I understand the road back to recovery and I believe that it was more about getting him back into the lineup and the day in, day out rhythm down the stretch rather than the production. I know, your about to crucify me. "Why would Girardi do that Casey? If he can't play, he shouldn't have been in the postseason."

Here me out. If he was able to produce, that would have been great and that's what Girardi was hoping for, at any moment, at any at bat, he would snap back into place. But let's be honest, I don’t think anyone in that clubhouse actually thought ARod was 100% healthy or healthy enough to deliver. I just think they were hoping he would. Plus, it was a respect thing in the playoffs no doubt. You have a superstar making millions of dollars and you want to guy out there and he wants to be out there, but nothing happened. You can think back and second guess Girardi all you want and wonder why the Yankees didn’t he put in someone like Eric Chavez, but the bottom line is, we all knew he was sticking with Alex, no matter what.

2009 was magical for Alex and the Yankees, but 2 years in a row, Alex shit the bed ending the playoffs with a strikeout. In 2010 he was caught looking and in 2011 he at least swung but that’s behind him now, believe me. Now it's about getting healthy, something I know Alex needs. This winter is about rebuilding, rehabbing and recovery.

What do I expect from Alex in 2012? A monster season. I expect a fully healthy Alex coming into February and the talented, strong Alex will be back next season without question. There is no doubt in my mind that whatever was in his body during the dark days of his PEDs Dominican Republic stuff, it helped him heal much faster when injured and now that that's behind him, injury recovery takes longer. Now his body is free from all that garbage. If the guy stays focused and stays away from the garbage and treats his body like a temple, he will get better and dominate again in 2012. But no doubt, it's all connected. How do I know? well, remember when the world wrote off Derek Jeter and his .270 in the 2010 season? He came back and he decided that enough was enough and he proved to the world wrong. Jeter did it, drug free mind you. Injury free, mind you, but when Alex is healthy, he will too. ARod may not be the same man, but he can be confident again. It's about pure guts. He is one of the most gifted ball players of all time. Confidence and rehab will get Alex back, because he’s accomplished so much throughout his career and he can and will be on top again. One things for sure though, there is no doubt that his dark past has bitten him in the ass and only he can fix it…and I believe he will.

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