STRUGGLES AREN'T ALL ALEX RODRIGUEZ

Everything looks bad when you get the last out. That’s something Alex Rodriguez has become very familiar with lately. After Monday’s game, fans where sounding off.  BYB did here when Casey wrote THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD'S ON ALEX RODRIGUEZ.  But reviews were mixed, half really sick and tired with Alex’s performance and the other half sticking up for him.

Alright, now I need to sound off. I’m not going to blame Monday’s loss on Alex. Why? Because it wasn’t his fault. Let’s face it, the Yankees RISP failures and the errors committed by Derek Jeter Monday didn’t help matters at all.  They all struggled at the plate and that struggle continued last night for most of the game. Plus, I’m a big believer in winning and losing as a team. They lost Monday night as a team, last night they won as a team.

I'm not going to deny the fact that ARod needs to pull it together right now. Why do I say that? Because last night when Alex was pulled for Raul Ibanez, after 2 strikeouts in the game, we all knew the writing was on the wall. When in the history of the game has a talented player like Alex Rodriguez been pulled for a pinch hitter like Mr. Ibanez?  Not too often. The magic was big in the Bronx last night and it was the right call, but  now we need to see if Alex can now turn it on or crawl under a rock. Maybe that shakeup was important for Alex, we shall see.

Look, I'm not playing favorites... like any mother to her children, you don’t play favoritism and you don’t compare your children to one another, at least in public... that's a joke. But, I like Alex. Always have. I have followed his career since he played with the Mariners. When his swing is 100% he has the most beautiful, fluid and graceful swing I have ever seen. Possibly better than Robinson Cano’s.  I just want ARod to perform the way I know he is capable of. I am dying for him to shut the critics up. And I’d bet that Alex feels the same way. And now, after last night, who knows what will happen to Alex and his over thinking... it's going to be interesting to see what unfolds the next few days.

Look, I get it. As fans we reserve the right to yell and scream and get angry with whomever we so choose. Hell, I myself said some unkind things about our guys since these playoffs began. And really, who isn’t ready to see some vintage 2009 Alex or vintage Yankee wins for that matter? But at the end of the day, it not just Alex... it's the team, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher... the whole 25.

--Erica Morales, BYB Writer
Twitter: @e_morales1804




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