Ken Davidoff has a new column up where he opens with this:
All right, world, you have your chance now.
For the next six to nine weeks, you’ll get to see what life is like without Alex Rodriguez. You’ll view the mighty, regal Yankees, rid of their “albatross.”
You’ll look at Mr. Perfect, Derek Jeter, liberated from the cumbersome task of playing alongside one of the greatest players in baseball history.
Based on what people have been saying out there, I’m betting the Yankees go 35-1 while A-Rod rehabilitates from arthroscopic surgery.
Not exactly attempting to persuade anyone on the other side of this debate, huh?
To be fair to Ken, he goes on to provide a more balanced view of A-Rod throughout the rest of the piece, but the opening makes it abundantly clear where he stands on Alex. Davidoff is one of the better sportswriters we have in this area, the fact that even he would resort to such hyperbole just illustrates what a polarizing figure A-Rod is. No one seems to have a balanced, nuanced view when it comes to Alex. People either support him 100% or blame him 100%. It’s either all his fault or nothing was ever his fault, the blame lay elsewhere. Of course, as usually is the case in these situations, the truth lay somewhere in the middle.
Here are some facts about Alex:
-Is he one of the best players in Baseball? Yes.
-Has he choked in the playoffs? Yes.
-Has he helped the Yanks win in the regular season? Yes.
-Have fans ever warmed up to him? No, and the reasons go beyond baseball.
-Are much of his PR problems his own doing? Absolutely.
If people can embrace all of the pros and cons about him, then we can have a worthwhile conversation about him. But until then, there’s really no point.
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0 Responses to The McCoys fire back at the Hatfields
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TIQ IQ
I’m pretty sure that the first part of that article was written tongue in cheek- he is basically saying that all the people who criticize A-Rod are getting their wish, and things may not turn out the way they expect. This is a pro-Alex column all the way through. I will agree that your point holds, that the people Davidoff is referencing hate ALex indiscriminately.
Moshe . . . . you’ve been sucked in to the McCoy camp. And you’re proving my point. I’m not taking sides here, just pointing out how polarizing Alex has become. I’m agnostic on Alex, and have been for a long time.
I just dont see it that way- in that part of the article, he has albatross in quotes to denote that it isnt his word, sarcastically calls Jeter Mr. perfect, and calls Alex one of the greatest in history. I have to disagree with your reading, particularly in light of the rest of the article.
In re his postseason history-he’s had some excellent series in postseason. He carried us through the 04 Twins series, and was a big part of the reason we were up 3-0 vs Boston that same year. (The latter series saw Jeter be really bad all the way through, and Mo fail to close the deal after the Yanks had brought him in with a lead.)
He also has a lot of good series with Seattle.
Meanwhile, TO is the headline on ESPN again, and they’re not saying anything bad about him.
“Has he choked in the playoffs? Yes.”
Yes and no would be a more accurate answer…..
I think that as a Yankee, he has failed in the postseason. He did have one and a half good series, but his three bad ones since then have helped lead to first round exits.
“I’m pretty sure that the first part of that article was written tongue in cheek”
I can’t believe anyone could read that paragraph and not realize that right away….
Why is it never mentioned that yes Alex has failed in the postseason but so has everyone else pitching included. Its not as if every time he came to bat it was base’s loaded with one out, and grounded into double plays. Watching the Yankees try to hit in the playoffs these last few years, was like watching them hit last season incredibly frustrating.
Oh, definitely. That does not change the fact that his failures have contributed, and the fact is that the guy hitting in middle of the order is more important, and his failures will draw more attention.
I think the other side, when they are making the argument that the Yankees are better off with out him they mean that the Yankees would be better off putting their resources in other directions. $30 million a year could be 2 regular all-stars at $13 million a year and then a $4 million for a reliever or a bench player.