dammit. I meant I "hate" the guy. not "had". I would never have ARod in any kind of meaning...biblical or not.
It doesn't make sense to me either. There are players who do great with the game on the line. Not everybody can handle the pressure.
The Mariners never got better when AROD left. They had that great year in '01 and haven't been to the playoffs since. That's not getting better. And Texas Rangers have been horrible since they game in the league back in 1972. They're last winning season was AROD's last year in Arlington in '03 and they yet to have a winning season since. Texas Rangers associated with decent pitching staff is an oxymoron.
Because there's not, and it doesn't. Given enough opportunity, the vast majority of athletes will perform "in the clutch" to pretty much the same percentages as in situations which are not "clutch". Most of the time, someone's status as a "clutch performer" comes from the arbitrary impressions of fans or media. For instance, Jeff Bagwell was railed a few years back as "not clutch", but when you looked at his RISP numbers they were among the best in the league. Some folks saw one or two examples of Jeff not nailing the big hit and voila, he's not clutch. Now Chris Burke, that dude is "clutch".
Just because the media likes to make anyone "clutch" or "unclutch" after a few good or bad games doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It just means the media overuses the term. You said "vast majority" and "most of the time" - that indicates that it doesn't apply to all athletes, which implies that clutch does exist for some people.
I haven't read this thread, nor do I believe we stand a chance when it comes to getting A-Rod, but I would just like to say that when it's all said and done, A-Ros will be the best player of our generation. The man will easily have 3,000 hits, and probably have more than 800 home runs. What he does is simply amazing.
if he does that...particularly as an infielder...he will make a solid case for being the best player of all time.
The treatment of A-Rod is just proof that baseball "fans" in NY are spoiled little babies. If it were last year or any other time, he would be the second coming of Jesus for them. But, he has a few months of slump and now they boo him. Absolutely ridiculous and I think it says a lot about Yankees fans...they are bandwagon jumpers.
Not all of us. I think it is rediculous the treatment ARod is receiving in New York, not only is it unwarranted, but it is self-perpetuating. They boo him because he is pressing and he keeps pressing because they boo him. With the deal the Yanks are getting on him, I don't see how they could even think about getting rid of him. He needs to see a hypnotist or a therapist or take a couple thousand grounders to work out his throwing issue, but there are very few players for whom I would trade him. The Yankees have been without two of their biggest bats for most of the season, Randy Johnson was out of sorts until about a month ago, but they are still within striking distance of the Red Sox.
90% or so of baseball fans of any team, in any city, are basically morons. Yankee fans just get a bigger soapbox.
I am embarrassed. I am sorry, I should never have lumped everyone together. I hate when others do that to me and I sincerely apologize.
How is this any different than fans on this board turning on Lidge and Ensberg? This happens with every team in every sport.
A-Rod's not going anywhere. I doubt he'd waive his NTC anyway. He wants to succeed in NY. As for him not being 'clutch', he got the biggest hit of the Yankees season to date (walkoff vs. Braves), and he was fantastic in the 2004 ALDS. He hit the go ahead homer in game 4 of the ALCS; if Mo nails down the save, he's MVP of the Championship Series. While it's true that he didn't drive in a run in last year's ALDS, neither did then-reigning MVP Vlad Guerrero, and A-Rod DID have a .381 OBP in the series (despite a .133 BA). The Angels pitched around him. A-Rod will break out of his slump and the fans will forgive him. The man did have arguably the greatest offensive season for a third basemen EVER last year.
Brett was terrific in 1980 and his averages were out of this world. That said, he only played in 117 games, and that counts for something. Games played, IMO, is one of the most underrated stats in baseball (Rob Neyer had a great column on this a while ago, I'll look for it), and A-Rod played in all 162 games last year. With that in mind, Schmidt has the better argument. It's not slam dunk for either, but A-Rod's 2005 season certainly ranks among the best.
