10/09/2012
By Ivan Pereira
A-Rod again has been a no-show in the playoffs.
As the Yankees take on the Orioles Wednesday night in the Bronx with their best-of-five ALDS series knotted at 1-1, fans are already getting frustrated with Alex Rodriguez’s performance.
Saddled with a reputation for coming up small in big spots, save for the 2009 postseason, the $275-million third baseman has been dismal so far in the series, batting .111 with five strikeouts, including the final out of Game 2.
Since that 3-2 loss on Monday, fans have been venting online.
“Thinking about going [sic] the #Yankees game tomorrow! Hmmmmmmmm. But if #AROD is still batting in the clean up spot I’m not going!” Bombers fan Domingo Diaz tweeted Tuesday.
Although Rodriguez has a career .271 average in the playoffs, he’s been a different story with the Yankees outside of the 2009 season.
In his eight years in the Bronx, A-Rod most often hits below .200 in the postseason, including .111 last year and .190 in 2010.
Ben Kabak, the co-founder of the Yankees blog River Avenue Blues, said the low numbers put the 37-year-old All-Star under tougher scrutiny than other struggling players, given that he’s the highest paid player in baseball.
The last playoff home run Rodriguez hit was in 2009, when the Yanks last won the World Series, and fans are clamoring for that A-Rod to return.
“BREAKING: Liam Neeson announces he is now looking for the 2009 #A-Rod #Kidnapped,” one fan tweeted.
Manager Joe Girardi told reporters in a conference call Tuesday that he hasn’t ruled out moving Rodriguez down in the lineup but he cautioned that any team changes wouldn’t be based on one performance.
“I think that we’re going to do whatever it takes to win this three game series,” he said. “Nothing that we do will be something that is just a knee-jerk reaction.”
In 2006, Joe Torre famously stuck Rodriguez in the eighth spot in the lineup against Detroit, with the slugger finishing with just a .071 average in the playoffs.
But bloggers agreed with Girardi, saying nothing drastic is needed to get A-Rod going.
Dom Cosentino of Deadspin said it is way too early to panic over Rodriguez.
“He has shown he is capable of playing in the clutch and helping this team win a championship. I don’t know why the sky would be falling,” he said.
