Alex Rodriguez: Can Yankees Ever Win Another Ring Dragging His Dead Weight?

The New York Yankees just lost an absolute dogfight of a Game 3.  In the long-anticipated showdown between aces CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander, the Detroit Tigers came out on top and won 5-4 to take a two games to one lead in the series.

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, just two years removed from a postseason in which he was the definition of clutch, the highest-paid player in baseball has been anything but that for the past two years.  Tonight, he was 0-for-2 with two walks and an RBI, which came on a groundout in the first inning.  In the ALDS, he is 0-for-10 with two RBI.

Simply put, I am at a loss for words.  In the 2009 playoffs, Rodriguez hit .365 with six homers and 18 RBI as he finally won the World Series ring that had long eluded him.  Yet, the next year, he was back to his old ways and was again the player who just couldn't do it in the playoffs as he hit .219.

I could sugarcoat things right now and say how A-Rod isn't himself because he was hurt most of the year, but I'm not going to.  The fact is that he is 36 years old and slowly becoming dead weight.

Even if the Yankees advance to the next round, it won't be because of Rodriguez.  It will be because of clutch pitching and some team play at the plate.  It will be less about getting that big home run and more about manufacturing runs the old-fashioned way.

To put it bluntly, Rodriguez just doesn't seem to care anymore.  He has his ring and a myriad number of awards to go with it, not to mention a sure-fire shot at making the Hall of Fame, so what else does he have to play for? 

The man just looks lackadaisical at the plate, minus the intensity we saw from him in 2009 and early in his career.  It's as though he's just looking to pad his already impressive (at least in the regular season) resume.

That all being said, can the New York Yankees ever win another World Series with Rodriguez's selfish attitude?  Well, in all honesty, it's tough to say.  He is a talented veteran who still appears to be in great shape, but age and possibly the lack of steroids have robbed him of the form that made him a star years ago.

Thus, unless he changes his approach from "hit to get home runs" to "hit to get on base and subsequently score," the Yankees could be sunk.  The other eight guys in the lineup can only do so much and seeing as how baseball is a team game, it is up to Rodriguez to study the scouting report on the opposing pitcher so that he can make every at-bat an effective one.

Seeing as how he has one of the biggest egos in baseball, I'm not banking on that happening.  Thus, the Yankees will remain ringless as long as Rodriguez is on the team and poisoning the lineup.