Yanks Go Yard
FanSided

Yankees News: Alex Rodriguez calls the Yankees his family

By Caleb Gebrewold

facebooktwitterreddit

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has found himself in the news yet again, as he has called the Yankees his family.  This comes on the heels of GM Brian Cashman statement that the team plans to meet with Rodriguez after originally denying Rodriguez’s request for a meeting. This saga has been continuous since the third baseman was hit with a season long suspension, and responded by filing lawsuits.  Hopefully for the sake of the organization, the constant scrutiny, tension, and drama between the team and Rodriguez will come to an end as the season nears closer, but this seems rather unlikely.

Rodriguez spokesman stated that “Alex considers everything with the Yankees to be family business and family business stays within the family”.  Going forward, it would be nice to see Rodriguez and his team keep this same mentality, as he should solely be focused on what occurs on the playing field, and earning his playing time.

For the first time in a long time, Cashman, Rodriguez, and manager Joe Girardi seem to be on the same page, yet there are still issues between the disgraced ballplayer and the organization.

For one, the Yankees don’t seem willing to pay Rodriguez the $6 million bonus he is owed for each of his home run milestones.  No matter how much money Rodriguez has made in his career, this has the potential to be a big problem, as he is entitled to the money, and nobody willingly will sacrifice at least $6 million (with the possibility that it rises to $30 million, though it is unlikely that figure will even reach $12 million).

More from Yankees News

Another issue is that the Yankees don’t seem to have the playing time for Rodriguez that he has come to expect as they re-signed third baseman Chase Headley over the winter, and traded for Garrett Jones to back up first base, while sharing the DH duties with Rodriguez, and several other veterans.  Rodriguez has been preparing as he normally would, as if the third base job is his, working out at third.

With the ego that he has, it is easy to see why Rodriguez would not want to give his job away without a fight, and he shouldn’t either.  If he feels he is still the superior player, then he should do everything he can to earn the playing time.

The last time we saw Rodriguez before his suspension, 44 games in 2013, he produced a little, and if he is the superior player then he should be getting the at-bats.  He is expected to be a platoon DH only facing left handed pitching.  This is something that does not seem to be well thought out, as in 2013 Rodriguez hit much better versus right handed pitching than left handed, and even better than Jones did.

While this could very well change in 2015, with Rodriguez coming back after a year off, and Jones moving to the left handed hitter friendly Yankee Stadium, it would not be surprising at all if Rodriguez was still superior versus right handed pitching.

While there are obviously issues to be hashed out in regards to the money owed to Rodriguez, and his playing time, it is a good first step that Rodriguez still feels that he is a part of the Yankees family.  Hopefully for the organization, Rodriguez, fans, and everyone involved, the meeting between Rodriguez and Cashman goes well and the 3-time AL MVP can enter 2015 focused, healthy, and confident.

If he can stay healthy and perform like he has shown he is capable of, Rodriguez figures to be a key component of this Yankees lineup that looks much weaker than it has in a long time.

Next: YGY Radio Rewind: Prospects and James Shields

More from Yanks Go Yard

Home/Yankees News