Orioles 6 Yankees 5
Well, well, in looking through the box score for last night, the number that stands out more than any other is 5.
That's 5 men left on base by guess who?
That's right, good old A-Rod.
Pardon my French, but what heck is Joe Torre doing in stubbornly keeping A-Rod in the clean up spot?
I don't care if A-Rod takes more swings than anyone else during practice sessions.
I don't care if A-Rod gets to practice an hour or two before anyone else.
The bottom line is that he is not well suited for the clean up spot.
Batting A-Rod in the 4 spot is costing the Yankees many runs and games.
Until Joe Torre develops some courage and moves A-Rod down to the 6th spot and inserts Matsui or Giambi in the clean up spot, the Yankees are destined to be a .500 ball club at best.
Once again, here is what our line up should look like:
1. Damon
2. Jeter
3. Matsui or Giambi
4. Sheffield
5. Matsui or Giambi
6. A-Rod
7. Posada
8. Cano
9. Bernie
The 7th through 9th spots don't really matter so much. Cano could just as easily switch positions with Bernie to make the line up more "circular."
Bottom line: Joe Torre needs to exert some courage and do what's best for our club.
- Joshua
InsideTheYankees.com
That's 5 men left on base by guess who?
That's right, good old A-Rod.
Pardon my French, but what heck is Joe Torre doing in stubbornly keeping A-Rod in the clean up spot?
I don't care if A-Rod takes more swings than anyone else during practice sessions.
I don't care if A-Rod gets to practice an hour or two before anyone else.
The bottom line is that he is not well suited for the clean up spot.
Batting A-Rod in the 4 spot is costing the Yankees many runs and games.
Until Joe Torre develops some courage and moves A-Rod down to the 6th spot and inserts Matsui or Giambi in the clean up spot, the Yankees are destined to be a .500 ball club at best.
Once again, here is what our line up should look like:
1. Damon
2. Jeter
3. Matsui or Giambi
4. Sheffield
5. Matsui or Giambi
6. A-Rod
7. Posada
8. Cano
9. Bernie
The 7th through 9th spots don't really matter so much. Cano could just as easily switch positions with Bernie to make the line up more "circular."
Bottom line: Joe Torre needs to exert some courage and do what's best for our club.
- Joshua
InsideTheYankees.com
2 Comments:
I completely agree with you about moving A-Rod to the sixth position. But in Joe Torre's defense, he's under a huge amount of pressure to use A-Rod in that cleanup spot because of A-Rod's numbers and because of who he is: the supposed "Best Player in Baseball." If the Yankees were to continue to lose with A-Rod putting up great numbers at the sixth position or at any other position, Torre would be under fire about why A-Rod wasn't batting cleanup. Sure, it should always be about what's best for the team and what's going to win games, but to the people who are in the middle of it all, it's also about playing the political game and keeping their jobs.
I hear you, harper. I guess it's very much like most 9 to 5 jobs where a great deal of energy is spent on protecting one's own job.
No doubt, Joe Torre would face intense criticism and possibly get fired if he were to move A-Rod down and the Yankees were to continue to struggle.
Ultimately, I think that Joe Torre will be remembered as a manager that most players liked playing for. Maybe this is what he wants his legacy to be.
He certainly won't be remembered in baseball circles as a manager who had guts and thought "outside the box."
Billy Martin is the polar opposite of Joe Torre. He didn't have a lot of friends, but by golly, he commanded a lot of respect as a manager who had nuts of steel and a sharp melon to go along with them nuts.
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