After striking out and grounding into a double play in his first two at bats, Alex Rodriguez came up with a chance to do damage. 

In the bottom of the fifth inning in a crucial series opener against the AL Wild Card leading Red Sox, A-Rod stepped into the batters box with runners on first and second, one out, and his team trailing 6-3. 

Rodriguez worked the count to 2-2 before popping out to Coco Crisp in center. 

The Bronx crowd booed their all-star and former MVP third baseman as he walked back to the dugout. 

In the bottom of the seventh inning, A-Rod stepped up to bat with another opportunity to bring the Yankees back into the game. The bases were loaded with one out and Rodriguez grounded into a 6-6-3 inning ending double play. 

Again, Rodriguez was booed as he waited for his hat and glove to be handed to him. 

Now in the ninth inning, A-Rod was booed as he walked up to home plate with two outs and a man on first. 

Last season, Rodriguez drove in 31 runs in the eighth and ninth innings. 

This season... two. 

When A-Rod struck out to end the game, stranding his seventh runner, Yankees fans booed in disgust as they started moving towards the exits. 

A-Rod has not delivered in the clutch the same way he did last season, but he is still batting .308 with 28 dingers and 78 runs batted in. 

Yankees fans don't like to see their $28 million a year third baseman get out in clutch situations, so they boo. 

The fact is, A-Rod was not the only Yankee to mess up tonight. The Yankees scored three runs on ten hits, two of which were solo home runs by Johnny Damon. 

The Yankees as a team left twenty men on base; A-Rod was responsible for seven. Jeter, Nady, and Molina were the only three Yankees who did not leave a man on base.

It is not fair for fans to boo Alex Rodriguez because he doesn't come through in the clutch once. Sure this was not the first time A-Rod failed in the clutch, but what about all the times that he produced in non-clutch situations? 

If A-Rod deserves to be booed after getting out with runners in scoring position, Jeter does too and you can't boo Jeter. The Yankee captain has never been booed and never will be. Granted, he is notorious for clutch performance, but this season A-Rod has better overall stats than him.

It's not like A-Rod hasn't hit well lately. Prior to tonight, the last time he didn't reach base in a game was on August 7th against Texas.

Do you think A-Rod is meritorious of these boos?

Feel free to comment if you have good reason to support your stand.

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