Is Alex Rodriguez Done Or Just Slumping Terribly?

As controversial as his career has been, New York Yankees DH Alex Rodriguez has long been one of baseballs most feared hitters, as even at the age of 40, in 2015, Rodriguez put fear in opposing pitchers, having a strong bounce back year hitting in the 3-hole for most of the season.  To begin 2016, Rodriguez is back in the 3-hole, but looking more like the hitter that struggled to the finish line than the one who launched 33 home runs, and helped carry the Yankees to a brief postseason return.

More from Yankees News

• Did Yankees troll Jon Heyman with Aaron Judge contract tweet?
• Matt Carpenter leaving Yankees for massive raise is hard to argue with
• Yankees top prospects butt heads after Giants’ gritty win over Commanders
• CC Sabathia defends Yankees’ massive Aaron Judge contract
• Scott Boras closed Yankees-Carlos Rodón deal from Fenway Park, put cherry on top

Rodriguez, who has been around baseball long enough to know that it is a game of streaks, is not concerned about his, or the teams, slow start:

Yeah, it’s perspective.  If something like this happens in July or August, you don’t think too much of it, but you want to go out and do well.  There’s two things that you can control everyday when you come to the park, your attitude and your effort, and I feel pretty good about both.

Rodriguez added that he is not trying to put the team on his shoulders, and feels that the Yankees are still in a good position, even after their early season struggles:

No player in here should feel like they should put the team on their shoulders.  The key for us is not try to do too much.  The good news is for us is we’ve had apt opportunity here in the first week or so of the season with one hit to break the game open.  We just came up a little bit short.

While Yankees fans will not accept coming up a little bit short, Rodriguez’s point is a good one, as there is still a lot of baseball to be played before playoffs are determined, and unlike a football season, where one small slump can ruin an entire season, the Yankees, along with just about every team, still have a shot at making the postseason.

Rodriguez knows that he must do better though, as his role on the team is strictly due to his bat.  While many fans have been quick to call for a benching, it is far too early in the season to worry about Rodriguez, and he knows that, yet still wants to perform better:

You want to perform.  You want to come through for your team, but it comes down to basics.  You want to get a good pitch to hit and hit it hard.  It’s a long season.  Sometimes you get out of it with a walk or a home run.

Although Rodriguez has struggled, he is a very smart hitter with a high baseball IQ, and he has been here before, as his recent 0-for-19 skid isn’t the worst of his career.  He actually went 0-for-21 during his 2007 MVP season, as well as during 2002.

Obviously, that was a much younger A-Rod, when he was the games best player, but even at an old age, a slump shouldn’t discourage Rodriguez, and it shouldn’t discourage the fans.  The baseball season is a very long one, and slumps happen to every player.  When they happen in April and May, they are just a lot more noticeable, as was the case with Carlos Beltran in 2015.  If Rodriguez’s batting average is still just over .100 come the summertime, then that is when panic levels should be raised, not after 11 games.

What do you think Yankees fans?  Is A-Rod done?  Let us know below.

Next: Forgotten Yankees: Ken Phelps

More from Yanks Go Yard

• Did Yankees troll Jon Heyman with Aaron Judge contract tweet?
• Matt Carpenter leaving Yankees for massive raise is hard to argue with
• What on earth is going on with Yankees, Fernando Tatis Jr. and flight to New York?
• 4 former Yankees players New York can still reunite with in free agency
• Yankees top prospects butt heads after Giants’ gritty win over Commanders