THE SIMPLE REALITY OF ALEX RODRIGUEZ

su·per·star  [soo-per-stahr]
noun
1. a person, as a performer or athlete, who enjoys wide recognition,
is esteemed for exceptional talent, and is eagerly sought after for
his or her services.
2. any very prominent or successful person or thing.

"Is he a superstar at that position? No. But I think when anybody signed that contract, expecting him to be at that level at that age would be unrealistic also."

"He's still an above-average third baseman. ... That means despite the contract that we had committed to him, that he's an asset at this stage still. I don't see us doing anything there. I don't anticipate it. If someone wants to make phone calls, we're more than willing to do all that stuff with any of our players, and that's fine. You can run into something that way." 
  - Brian Cashman, (ESPN Radio 10/21/12)

And what? If you just glance over ESPN.com you'd think Brian Cashman called out ARod and said he sucks. And if you think that, you'd be WRONG.

There is nothing wrong with what Cashman said. Anyone with eyeballs will tell you Rodriguez is old and his skills are declining and that his bloated contract makes him a target for high expectations. That doesn't mean he's still not an asset. Everyone is all over him, but honestly what are you going to do? You still need to pay him. What other team in their right mind is going to take on his contract. Also, who are you going to replace him with?

(In Photo: Eduardo Nunez)
Eduardo Nunez can barely play shortstop so I wouldn't trust him at third. Eric Chavez is a hangnail away from another DL stint. Brandon Laird never seemed to be Major League ready, which may be why they let him walk to the Astros. And with all considered, ARod's played pretty good defense this year.

So, there it is; ARod is going to be our third baseman for the foreseeable future. Joe Girardi obviously has no qualms about sliding him down in the lineup. Everyone needs to get over it and move forward. He's only human and is trying to do the best he can!

--Lem Allen, BYB Contributor

Email me at: bybcurmudgeon@gmail.com

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