How NYC can eat you up

Being a Red Sox fan I sure hope so. He had a great year last year and didn't hear much from the fans or the media. It is one thing to do great when everything is going good, but it is another to do great when you're struggling. Yankee fans are a lot like Red Sox fans, they praise you when you do good, but let you hear it when you do bad. If you're playing in New York you better be prepared to be booed, it happens to everyone. Jeter had his share of boos and bounced back fine. It is up to A-Rod to prove if he has the mental toughness to play in a city like New York.

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Has NYC gotten to AROD?

Yes it has...it goes to show you just how tough it is to play in this town regardles of how talented you are...it will challenge your mental and emotional make-up like no other...

As ole blue eyes used to sing...if I can make it there...I'll make it anywhere. Is that the truth

$25 million a year...can't imagine he cares.

Been

Perhaps that is part of his problem

Agree with Beenthere.

The "Cooler" dont care.

$25 million bad boys a year soothes the wounds.

LOL

He's going to snap out of it eventualy. I would't say he's having a bad year, but defintly not his best. He's been solid since he's came to New York. He defintly hasn't been very clutch this year, but their is still a whole half of a season left, I'm sure he'll turn it around.

If he didn't care it wouldn't be getting to him. The CONTRACT creates added pressure.

I don't think everyone's analyzations of A-rod are so true. He had 1-2 bad games, made some throwing errors and thats it- NYC has gotten to him- true the contract adds pressure, but you have to let him sort it out. The fact that Yankee fans boo him annoys me to no end...And I am a yankee fan. What- these fans don't think he is trying his hardest?

Eveyone should ease off of him, he is a great and phenominal ball player, and he may not be best in the clutch- but he doens't do it on purpose.

catch

The bottom line is not that he doesnt do it on purpose it is simply he has NEVER PRODUCED IN THE CLUTCH !!!


And now the kid across the river does it every time he has opportunity

And then there is Ortiz in Boston--talk about clutch!!!!

A-Rod is a great player -- perhaps one of the greatest ever. His record in the clutch is also pretty darned good.

No one player is worth $25 million. No one can live up to that. But someone agreed to pay him that. Not one of us would have turned it down if offered and obviously he didn't, either.

But the guy was MVP a year ago and he has still put up some decent numbers again this year and has won them some games with some clutch hitting, I might add.

He's in a fielding slump. He'll work his way out of it.

Other than that, if he can stay healthy he'll be the first guy to get 800 homers, he could end up with 3,500 hits or more, etc. etc. And I'll bet that between now and his retirement he'll add to his gold glove collection, too.

If NYC doesn't want him, a town populated by fans who appreciate him for what he is will take him off their hands. It's that kind of attitude that makes the rest of the world hate the Yankees and their fans.

P.S.

Nick Green is not a rookie. Played for the Braves and D-Rays for some years before getting picked up by the Yankees.

Green is a rookie in the NY spotlight

I will tell you this there are many players I would take before AROD if I were starting a team

If you underpeform in a city like New York, Boston, or Chicago the fans are going to let you hear it. A-Rod has performed in the clutch, but he's never been in a slump like this. Yes, it's mainly in the field, but he's also struggling a little at the plate. Most of his throws are routine and arn't even close. Great players get booed if they play in a city with a great baseball tradition. Jeter was booed in New York, Nomar and Damon were booed in Boston, and the entire Cubs team was booed in Chicago.

I don't recall Jeter ever being booed, and to mention Jeter, he is extremely clutch.

Bottom line, every player has slumps, but naturally, 25mil player is never allowed to get into a slump.

ARod will be fine. This is just a window for Mets fans to feel better about themselves because they have Wright to hang onto. ARod will recover and be, well, ARod again.

Jeter was booed earlier this year.

How tough are NY fans...they have even booed Mariano Riveria at times and he's only the best closer that ever lived and IMO the best player in the game over the last 10 years.

Yankee Stadium has got to be the toughest of all places to play. Especially for those not playing well!

On another note: Just saw on a White Sox (I think) televised game... The player leading the league with the MOST game winning hits this year? Yep! Alex Rodriguez!

I'm not the world's biggest ARod fan, but doesn't it seem like when he does well there is no story... When he does ANYTHING wrong it becomes a big topic?

Every player who has ever played has failed a lot! Even the highest paid players! I think it's the salary that causes the scrutiny... So here's a question... What should Alex Rodriguez be paid for a salary? What figure would make him a value to his team?

1 - Should salary be based on performance and/or statistics?
2 - Should it be based on how the team does?

If #1 is the way to go – Should ARod be the highest paid player. If #2 is used, who should be the highest paid player?

By the way, in a way it’s good to see that no player is immune to the mind controlling what the body wants to do. It’s amazing what happened to players like Steve Sax and Chuck Knoblauch who never had a problem throwing and all of a sudden couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. That area between our ears, sure gets in the way at times!

PG,

Just think about this one.

Adjusting for inflation (backwards in time) - you could have the following for $25M per year:

16 Art Shamskys
12 Cleon Jones
11 Tom Seavers
14 Kenny Boswells
3 Al Weis's
12 Jerry Koosmans
1 Choo Choo Coleman
18 Ed Kranepools

And you would still have money left over for 5,000 delicious Shea Stadium hot dogs and 564 cups of warm watered down Ballentine.

LOL

I think Pujols should be the highest payed player, but A-Rod should be a close second. I don't know if the money causes the boos, it's just the high expectations. A-Rod is one of the best players in the game, the fans don't expect him to be in a slump like he is in now. He's also playing in New York, a city that stresses the importance of winning.

Pujols is the top player right now, but I would hope no one would make the mistake of putting $25 million/year into one player again. Heck, what if he gets hurt?

The problem with $25 mill is that it leaves you with two choices. Either you are the one fan draw on a team destined to lose (because the team cannot afford anyone else), or you play for the Yankees.

Better to take "only" $15 mill and be happy than to be miserable with $25 mill. What difference does that extra money make anyway? What do you want that can't be had with $15 mill?

Last year - The "Cooler" wound up getting paid approx. $128,000 per hit.

In 2004 he got about $145,000 per hit.

My guess is that he is going to ask for a raise soon.

LOL

When you pay a player that much money not only does he take up so much of the team's salary, he is also pretty much untradable if something happens.

TR, what players would you rather start your team with than Rodriguez? I'm interested to see, as my friends often tell me I'm crazy when I say this. I personally would take Liriano or Pujols before him, and there are many more as well.

I'm not sure what show it was on ESPN, just some talk show. But the so called "experts" were trying to say AROD won't get out of this slump until he's traded. I found this ridiculous.

Hmmm. 2 for 16 with 4 E-5's in Toronto. If he doesn't get it together he is gone. He might end up somewhere else next year.

if only my angels could land him this offseason

ahh,what a dream

Your angels have one of the best, if not the best, minor league prospect in all of baseball, who happens to also be a shortstop. I don't think they'd be in a hurry to go after A-Rod. It's also very hard to trade a player like A-Rod, the amount of money involved is just rediulous. Although I don't like the Yankees, I think with time A-Rod will get better. The only problem with that is if the Yankees will give him the time he needs.

Upstate

I start with Pujols at first and Wright at third and Santana on the mound--

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if only my angels could land him this offseason

They might get him. He has a no-trade clause to waive. He would need a big market team like the Cubs, Dodgers, Angels, maybe St louis, Arizona. I doubt Boston would be any less stressful than New York. Boston might make him too nervous also.

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Boston might make him too nervous also.

This is probably true but imho, there is more protection in Boston's line-up than NY's right now which may make it easier for him. Take away Manny and they may start grumbling about Ortiz as well.

The title of this thread should be, "How NYC fans eat THEMSELVES up".

If you listen to the pundits (on Baseball Tonight and elsewhere), they're talking about A-Rod never being able to get through this and maybe needing to move on. I hope that's not the case, but imagine if that actually happens. You would have Yankees fans actually costing their team one of the premier players in the game because they just can't keep their big, know-it-all mouths shut.

Suits me, I'm not a Yankees fan. It would serve 'em right if he went to some place like Toronto and led them to the divisional title!

This is like complaining about having a gorgeous wife with a high libido, because once in a while the house gets messy. If you don't appreciate her while she's there, you'll get to miss her when she's gone!

Seems to me some of you who truly have the Yankees' best interests at heart ought to start appealing to your fellow so-called fans to get off the man's case and maybe create an atmosphere more conducive to your team winning. If the season ended right now, the Yankees wouldn't even be in the playoffs. If they think they're going to get there without a surge from A-Rod, they're kidding themselves.

Funny how the most financially secure player seems to be the most emotionaly insecure player. Crazy game.

I wrote here about the "cooler" a few months ago and everybody came out to hang me. He is his own worst enemy. Roid Head Giambi got thru the boo's and the threat of demotion and he's having a great yr for those who think the Yanks have nobody else. Come on, Jeter, Damon, Giambi, Posada, A-Rod is well protected.
His mind is the only thing getting him.
I suggested that he thinks or feels that he's the only reason baseball exists in Ny, and now the so-called baseball insiders on ESPNY are suggesting or reporting the same thing. If the Yanks loose, its not his fault. If he whiffs, he has to know he gets another turn. His facial expressions show some kind of dry mouth and nervousness everytime he fails. If he doesn't overcome it, sure he'll win lots of mvp's. The media will give him that. But I think the ring will remain elusive until he grows up and plays team ball. JMHO.

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But I think the ring will remain elusive until he grows up and plays team ball

They won't shut up until he carries them to a ring.

I think half of NYC fans were in Toronto Sunday. 40,000-50,000 in attendance each of the 4 games and most booing the Yanks. It was an exciting weekend. Fans love to hate them.

I keep going back to Paul O'Neill when I think of the Yankees. I don't believe they have won a ring since he retired. Him and Jeter were two guys that always seemed to be counted on in the clutch. There were others to be sure but I still don't think a suitable replacement has been found for O'Neill and that includes A-Rod imho.

Jeter and O'Neill brought heat to Yankee Stadium.

And everyone who saw them knew it.
Even folks like me - who hated the Yankees.
You may not have liked it - but you had to admit it.

Arod is a high power Air-conditioner.
The ultimate "Cooler".

$25 million of dry ice baby!

quote:

Arod is a high power Air-conditioner.
The ultimate "Cooler".

$25 million of dry ice baby!

Not a real clutch gamer. I think he was voted Most Likely to take The Collar in a Huge Game.

Dad04,

Give me a Tommie Agee over a $250 million "Ice Cube" any day of the week - every week - every year.