People to Blame for the Yankees Missing the Playoffs, Part Five: Alex Rodriguez

This is Part Five in my series of People to Blame for the Yankees Missing the Playoffs.  In Part One, I explained why Manager Joe Girardi was most at fault.  In Part Two, I heaped some blame on General Manager Brian Cashman.  Third on the list was Hitting Coach Kevin Long.  And the player most to blame was Jason Giambi.  Up next is A-Rod.

5. Alex Rodriguez

How do you blame a guy who led the team in runs batted in, home runs, and on base percentage?

By watching the games.

It's easy for an outsider to look at A-Rod's stat line and say he had a good year, but for someone who watched nearly all of his 594 plate appearances this season, it's a different story.

Johnny Damon reached base 21 more times this year than he did in 2007, yet his run total only went up by two.  Derek Jeter hit .300 but scored the least amount of runs in his career during a full season.  And Bobby Abreu crossed home plate 23 less times in 2008 than in the year prior, despite the fact that he reached base only four less times.

Why?  Because Rodriguez and Giambi continually failed with runners on. 

The Giamzero was far worse, but A-Rod wasn't too impressive himself, hitting just .271 with runners in scoring position.  That average dropped to .264 with two outs and the third baseman hit only .257 in close and late situations.

With runners on, Rodriguez preferred hitting into double plays rather than driving in runs.  He grounded into 16 of them this season, including an astounding 11 during the crucial month of August when the Yankees fell from 4.5 to 12.5 games out of first.

Like Giambi, most of Alex's homers came with no one on base.  Twenty-three of his 35 bombs (66 percent) were of the solo variety.  While slightly better than Jason's atrocious 69 percent, A-Rod's rate is well behind those of fellow sluggers Ryan Howard (46 percent) and Carlos Quentin (56 percent).

This is a far cry from 2007 when only 18 of Rodriguez's 54 home runs (33 percent) were solo shots.  That year, Rodriguez had a .333 average with runners in scoring position and a .357 mark in close and late at bats. 

A-Rod's past success makes me confident that he can turn things around in '09.  In fact, Alex tends to have his best seasons in odd numbered years, winning MVPs in '03, '05 and '07. 

Maybe it's because he's such an odd guy.

 

Jordan Schwartz is Bleacher Report's New York Yankees Community Leader. His book "Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man" is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorhouse.com. Jordan can be reached at [e-mail]