Idiots & A-Rod
Posted By Blair Lovern in Keep It Country on July 24, 2006
Yankees are in town tonight and you know what? Screw 'em. But what the hell is this A-Rod sucks talk? I can't hold back on pure lunacy any more. From The Dallas Morning News the other day on A-Rod: A-Rod not measuring up to MVP standards:
"Beyond the enormous fielding problems, A-Rod has been dreadful at the plate this summer. He hit .213 in June with only three home runs."
Huh? There are 350 American League players on active rosters at any given time (560 players from which to chose total.) So far this season, 15 guys have a better OPS than A-Rod, 10 guys in the league have hit more home runs, 10 guys in the league have driven in more runs, eight guys in the league have scored more runs, seven guys in the league have walked more. And guess what? It's still July. A-Rod could move up on those lists, or he could move down. And guess what? We don't know what's going to happen because we are not the soothing psychic John Edward. And guess what else? He'd have to totally tank the rest of the way to truly earn suck talk. Looking at his numbers now, he's better offensively than 97% (give or take) of all current American League players.
A-Rod's batting average sucks this year, but batting average is a statistic for losers. Throwing errors? Yes. Something is screwy with his arm. And I will boo him when I go to the game tomorrow night (Adam Eaton's first start - can't wait), and hope he throws them all in the stands and goes 0-for-13 this series.
But get some perspective, good Lord: 450 career HRs, and only the eighth player in MLB history to reach 2,000 hits before age 31. The only A-Rod who sucks at MLB this year is the A-Rod from Houston pictured below, who plays jazz bass and not MLB, but if he did, would suck.
kevin, says:
Out of all the people in the world who Blair would stick up for. Not sure if I would have had A-Rod on that list.
Come on, Blair. It's just plain FUN to mock A-Rod!
Staff
3 years, 4 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Blair Lovern, says:
Oh, I'll be mocking him Tuesday night. I just have to keep it real like American Idol super judge Randy Jackson.
Staff
3 years, 4 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Dan Gattuso, says:
I'm with you Blair. I don't understand the bashing this guy takes. Youngest ever to get to 450 HR, and it's hard to drive in 110-140 runs every year without some clutch hitting, another dumb knock against him. It's not his fault his vampire of an agent suckered Hicks into that contract. (By the way, Hicks let himself get suckered again by Boras on Millwood--they're going to regret that deal.)
Verified
3 years, 4 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Michael Harberg, says:
If put in the same situation (with an owner negotiating against himself...and outbidding himself for your services), how many of us would turn down a quarter of a BILLION dollars to play a sport? From that point on, nothing he did/does will ever be good enough. The guy was the MVP, the premier player (offensively and defensively) at his position and then voluntarily changed positions (to "the hot corner" no less) and offered to take less money (to the dismay of the players union, who wouldnt allow it) to move to a team with a shot to win. Sure Seattle and Texas both improved almost immediately upon his departure, but all that proves it that a baseball team can be improved by spreading an extra 25 million (per year) around the diamond in additional talent. Its tough to feel sorry for a guy who practically has his own money (like Coming to America), but I enjoyed watching him put up Texas sized numbers while he was here.
Verified
3 years, 4 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
kevin, says:
Not that I've delved too deeply into why people really dislike A-Rod, but wasn't he viewed as somewhat of a clubhouse prima donna when he was here? (I wasn't in Texas when A-Rod was, so I'm just relying on what others have said to me.) I think he just doesn't strike people as your typical ballplayer. Fans want to root for the guy with the beergut spitting tobacco juice, not the collector of impressionist paintings whose most memorable playoff moment was a failed bitchslap.
Staff
3 years, 4 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal