June 07, 2005

Wife: A-Rod wasn't mentally ready for NYC: Alex Rodriguez's wife says her husband was so uncomfortable when he first joined the New York Yankees last year that at times she barely recognized him.

posted by Marla Singer to baseball at 10:44 AM - 17 comments

It was obvious he was trying too hard. A-Rod still doesn't hit in the clutch.

posted by jbou at 11:43 AM on June 07, 2005

I thought last year he looked like he didn't want to step on Jeter's toes....but after the early season chew-out by George, he appeared to have shed that timidity.

posted by garfield at 11:50 AM on June 07, 2005

Thanks for the link-nice article. Wow-all that talent and money and he still struggled.....emotionally, that is.

posted by daddisamm at 12:09 PM on June 07, 2005

A-Rod still doesn't hit in the clutch. Really? Regular Season Splits for 2002-2005: Bases Loaded: .991 OPS Men on, 2 out: .926 OPS Man on 3rd, < 2 out: .998 OPS Scoring Position: .973 OPS Scoring Position, 2 out: .861 OPS Close and Late: .937 OPS Post-season: .978 OPS Post-season as a Yankee: .320 AVG, .393 OBP, .600 SLG, .993 OPS

posted by grum@work at 12:11 PM on June 07, 2005

Take a look this year, Arod doesnt hit well in the last 3 innings, (under 260) has hit all but a couple of his of HRs against below .500 teams. Plus how many playoff appearances has he made in his career, and how many League Pennants/ WS has he won in his career?

posted by dbleR at 01:14 PM on June 07, 2005

Yes...errr....I know how A-Rod feels moving from Texas to New York last year...hence my nickname. It's not so bad, really.

posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 02:09 PM on June 07, 2005

Com'on,folks.Be real.Is Cynthia Rodriguez adjusting to "The Big Rotten Apple" such a big deal.Sure concern from her star husband may distract him a little.Though I really don't think it is affecting his game.A-Rod is well into another MVP year. The kind i wish he was doing in Camden Yards not Yankee Stadium.So to Sport Talk Geeks like dbleR.A-Rod is either leading or close(as usual) in offensive categories.His glove is a little off,but not damaging.And,by the way.Baseball is a team game.There are 23 others that must contribute to win a title.Sure some "Greats have done it.But not many. To Marla Singer and jbou.He is doing the job.Just check out my man,grum@work.You too,dbleR.Wife or not,the "Man" is on fire.

posted by clarencesmmns at 02:49 PM on June 07, 2005

Take a look this year, Arod doesnt hit well in the last 3 innings, (under 260) has hit all but a couple of his of HRs against below .500 teams. According to MLB.com, in late innings of close games, ARod is batting 3-for-8 (.375 AVG) with 4 BB (.583 OBP) and a double (.500 SLG) for a 1.083 OPS. And if you are just looking for AVG only on an inning by inning basis, considering he's batting .317 overall, that means he's gotta be smoking the ball for the other 6 innings of the game (which are still important). (btw: Where do you find inning-by-inning statistics? MLB, ESPN and Baseball-Reference don't seem to carry them. Is it a pay-site that has them?) Also, he's hit 7HR against teams .500 and above and 9HR against teams below .500. Plus how many playoff appearances has he made in his career, and how many League Pennants/ WS has he won in his career? He's played in 26 playoff games and his teams have never won a pennant (or World Series), but he's made it to the ALCS 3 times. But then, I don't see how a team's performance reflects on an individual player. That would be like suggesting Ted Williams or Ernie Banks or Barry Bonds are not "clutch" because the teams they've been on have never won a World Series.

posted by grum@work at 03:32 PM on June 07, 2005

Sorry: that's 7HR vs +.500 teams and 10HR vs -.500 teams.

posted by grum@work at 03:34 PM on June 07, 2005

OK, now we've got grum@work all worked up about "clutchness" again. Everybody, please do not mention the Yankees' other shortstop. ;-) Seriously, hasn't clutchness finally been totally dismissed by sabermetricians? I am honestly asking, as I don't follow this too closely.

posted by qbert72 at 03:58 PM on June 07, 2005

So, as with everything else we've learned this year, are we really supossed to feel sorry for him? He has a paycheck that Trump would'nt mind cashing every week. Pressure is trying to find a job and still keep your house! At 41, I still play some kind of ball, and am actively involved with 3 boys at various levels of the game. I'll go to NY, or at least hope my kids get a shot. Get real! Your the highest paid player in baseball. THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL! You guys are'nt even playing .500 ball!!!!!!

posted by volfire at 04:08 PM on June 07, 2005

OK, now we've got grum@work all worked up about "clutchness" again. Everybody, please do not mention the Yankees' other shortstop. ;-) Please do! I'm all frothy with anticipation! Actually, the Flying Jeter is super-duper-clutch-a-riffic this year: 5-for-9 in late innings of close games, for a whopping 1.600 OPS! He's just oozing clutch this year.

posted by grum@work at 08:38 PM on June 07, 2005

Geoff Jenkins popped his clutch Monday night, yo. And Derrick Turnbow did it again last night.

posted by rocketman at 10:59 AM on June 08, 2005

I hadn't realized that A-Rod secretly desired to be like Ed Whitson...who knew?

posted by chris2sy at 12:49 PM on June 08, 2005

Geoff Jenkins popped his clutch Monday night, yo. And Derrick Turnbow did it again last night. I saw those after I wrote what I did. Still, being 5-for-11 in late innings of close games is still pretty "clutch". Of course, if it was ARod who failed to come through in the "clutch" those times, he'd be showered with hate from the NYY fans. Which would then be followed by a collection of "Jeter would have gotten the job done" crap.

posted by grum@work at 01:09 PM on June 08, 2005

hasn't clutchness finally been totally dismissed by sabermetricians Yes, but then Bill James watched David Ortiz last year and now he claims he's reinvestigating the whole thing.

posted by yerfatma at 02:58 PM on June 08, 2005

now he claims he's reinvestigating the whole thing As indicated by this article and other recent ones...

posted by chris2sy at 03:20 PM on June 08, 2005

You're not logged in. Please log in or register.