April 20, 2007

A-Rod caps off winning rally : Trailing 6-2 in the ninth, Josh Phelps homered, and Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu hit RBI singles to pave the way for Alex Rodriguez's 10th homer, a walk-off shot to sweep the Indians.

read story | posted by BornIcon to Baseball at 5:19 AM CDT (39 comments total)

We'll see in the long run how Arod holds up, but he sure is on a tear now. The way the single season home run record falls every couple years lately, I wouldn't be surprised to see him break it. I wouldn't be dissapointed, either.

posted by kcfan4life at 5:54 AM CDT on April 20

I was at this game with my son. It was a great day. Fans definitely showing Arod the love, even before this.

The real story here is 3 strong outings against a tough team by young Yankee pitchers.

posted by sfts2 at 6:00 AM CDT on April 20

For some reason everytime I see A Rod spelled Arod I see Arnold, so, I guess that's what I'm going to call him from now on. Does Arnold recent "clutchness" make him a true yankee? Is last season forgotten already?

posted by apoch at 6:31 AM CDT on April 20

WTF is a 'true Yankee'? Who cares if he is a 'true Yankee' or not as long as he continues showing that he is in fact the greatest baseball player ever. His career speaks for itself~

posted by BornIcon at 7:01 AM CDT on April 20

what's with the ~ at the end of all your comments, chief?

posted by jerseygirl at 7:10 AM CDT on April 20

The baseball must be looking like a beach ball to Alex right now. It's really an amazing April, and it's only the 20th! The entire month to this point, though, revolves around the games that start tonight in Fenway. A-Rod needs to continue leading with his bat in these games, support the young pitchers in the rotation, and help the team make a statement. Beating the Tribe is nice, but it won't be a blip on the radar if the Sox shut them down this weekend.

posted by dyams at 7:18 AM CDT on April 20

what's with the ~ at the end of all your comments, chief?

Do you have nothing else to do with yourself than to worry about what I end my posts with, sport?

Please deal with the subject at hand~

posted by BornIcon at 7:30 AM CDT on April 20

It was just a question. We were discussing it yesterday. No one seemed to know why you were doing it, so I figured I'd just ask you next time you did it. Since you don't have an email address listed, this was the way to reach you.

But, hey! Thumbs up on the snippy attacking reply.

posted by jerseygirl at 7:35 AM CDT on April 20

I'm sorry about that JG, I didn't mean to come across as some asshole. My sincerest apologies, honestly. I use ~ to end my posts, that's all.

Again, I'm sorry

If anyone wants to email me, your more than welcomed to: bornicon77@verizon.net

posted by BornIcon at 7:39 AM CDT on April 20

Me too:

clownpenis.fart@fleshbot.ca

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 8:03 AM CDT on April 20

Nice email address Weedy, your just lucky that no one took your screen name~

posted by BornIcon at 8:06 AM CDT on April 20

Borowski earned an ERA of 81.00 and a WHIP of 9.00 for his little stint against the Yankees. Let me tell you that can cause all kinds of damage in a roto league.

posted by bperk at 8:46 AM CDT on April 20

Did the homer A-Rod hit last night land yet?

posted by BornIcon at 9:35 AM CDT on April 20

Arod is certainly tearing it up lately. I'd say it is too early to peg him for over 70 homers but there is no denying that he has been simply incredible lately.

YYM

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 10:44 AM CDT on April 20

I'd say it is too early to peg him for over 70 homers but there is no denying that he has been simply incredible lately.

If arod could face a gassed borowski 600 times a year I think he'd break a hundred. Last year I was about 5 for 30 in called shots. As of yesterday I'm 1 for 1. It almost looked like child abuse. A bigger shock would have been getting the out.

posted by justgary at 11:23 AM CDT on April 20

I think he might hit 70 + home runs. Of course that wouldn't include any home runs he might hit in the playoffs/world series. But then again how many could he have batting his usual .150 when it really counts!

posted by americanleague at 12:51 PM CDT on April 20

The key, of course, americanleague, is he (A-Rod) is playing in the playoffs. Regardless of his stats in the playoffs, he's still a major reason the team continues to make it into the playoffs.

posted by dyams at 1:11 PM CDT on April 20

For some reason everytime I see A Rod spelled Arod I see Arnold

I'm the same way. I'm sure there's some psychological reason for it...

posted by jmd82 at 1:27 PM CDT on April 20

A-Rod's on a tear, all right. But it's April.

posted by swerve at 1:56 PM CDT on April 20

With the numbers he's putting up, he might end up with a pretty good contract.

(removes keyboard from seat of pants)

posted by THX-1138 at 2:10 PM CDT on April 20

Of course that wouldn't include any home runs he might hit in the playoffs/world series. But then again how many could he have batting his usual .150 when it really counts!

Except, of course, he's batted .280/.362/.485 (for a .847 OPS) in the post-season. No reason to let reality get in the way of a good joke, right?

A-Rod's on a tear, all right. But it's April.

Which is the equivalent of going on a tear in May, June, July, August or September, since a win count equally in all of those months.
If the Yankees squeak into the playoffs by a game or two, I'm pretty sure these games will mean something...

posted by grum@work at 4:10 PM CDT on April 20

Of course, the weight on anyone's shoulders when the magic number is 150 is much lighter than when the magic number is 2 and the date is September 30. The perceived importance of the games has greater weight than their actual importance with regard to the psychological effect on a player's performance. Nobody has ever doubted A-Rod's ability to win games in April when this weight is, really, pretty managable, even in the Bronx (and I say this fully conceding that his performance so far this year exceeds by a wide margin anything I ever thought he would accomplish in pinstripes).

posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 4:21 PM CDT on April 20

I'm really pretty far from being a fan of the Yankees or A-Rod, but with the amount of abuse that always gets heaped on him, I'm actually sort of feeling happy for the guy right now.

Oddly enough, A-Rod has managed to make me kind of hope the Yankees win it all in a "root for the underdog" kind of way. That is kind of sick.

But, yeah, last night's homer was pretty jaw dropping.

posted by Joey Michaels at 6:56 PM CDT on April 20

A-Rod has managed to make me kind of hope the Yankees win it all in a "root for the underdog" kind of way.

Now I've heard it all.

posted by justgary at 8:00 PM CDT on April 20

I use ~ to end my posts, that's all.

Don't sign posts with graphics, names, or anything else. Your name's already on the comment.

posted by rcade at 8:43 PM CDT on April 20

Oddly enough, A-Rod has managed to make me kind of hope the Yankees win it all in a "root for the underdog" kind of way.

Please turn in your Red Sox Nation card at the nearest kiosk. I'm sorry we won't be able to refund your $10 fee. We'll also be taking your Varitek jersey, as well as your well-worn Red Sox cap. We will be confiscating your Red Sox sticker from the bumper of your vehicle and for good measure, we're going to cut the cable line leading to your house that delivers NESN and Teetha Cervasio to your family.

In 4-6 weeks, you'll receive your Yankees Beginners Pack in the mail.

posted by jerseygirl at 8:45 PM CDT on April 20

Another two home runs as of this comment. Arod is just a demon out there on the field.

posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 9:17 PM CDT on April 20

That was awesome. The game, that is.

posted by jerseygirl at 9:30 PM CDT on April 20

Good lord, that was excruciating.

The Yankees are living in some kind of Bizarro World, in which Jeter can't stop making errors, Rivera can't get anybody out, and A-Rod can't stop hitting in the clutch (his ninth inning at bat tonight notwithstanding -- hard to knock his performance tonight). This just isn't the world I know -- get me Salem, Mass on the line.

That Okajima is ridiculous. Where did that guy come from? He is awesome. His 80+ MPH pitches looked like they were moving 120 MPH on my screen.

I missed why Papelbon wasn't in the game, though. Is he hurt? Or are the Red Sox saving him for more important games?

posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 9:41 PM CDT on April 20

Okajima is awesome. Such a violent delivery. Came from the Nippon Ham Fighters as a free agent. They've got him for two years - cheap - at ~1.5m each year and I think there's an option for '09.

They used Papelbon Wednesday and Thursday nights. He's fine healthwise, they just don't want to overuse him. Okaji did well.

posted by jerseygirl at 9:47 PM CDT on April 20

By the way, I didn't have the stomach for the post-mortem, but finger pointing has to be done at the positioning of Mientkiewicz in the eighth inning. In a situation where any team has to be playing a no-doubles defense, why in the world was he so far off the line, allowing Crisp's easy double play ball to go untouched down the line? Somebody blew it there.

Still, great job by the Sox clawing their way back.

posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 10:22 PM CDT on April 20

Nah, I'm still all about rooting for the Sox. I just can't help hoping that somebody that Yankees fans hate does well. :P

posted by Joey Michaels at 11:57 PM CDT on April 20

That was a great game. And I finally get an HD-DVR this afternoon, just in time for the afternoon game. Now if only it weren't for those pesky exams coming up.

posted by tieguy at 7:09 AM CDT on April 21

And I finally get an HD-DVR this afternoon

From one HDR-PVR guy to another:

Baseball looks BEAUTIFUL in HD. However, if you've got an ugly person sitting behind home plate, it becomes a little distracting.
Hockey, not so much.
Football looks very detailed, but really shines when they show close angles. You'll use the FF/RW/Pause function a lot with this sport.

Other things: You'll watch more NASCAR than you ever did before. I don't follow the sport, but the crisp images and the surround sound make it really jump out, so I'll watch 15-30 minutes some times.

Things you'll save: Maria Sharapova tennis matches.
Things you'll delete: Between period hockey interviews.

posted by grum@work at 2:32 PM CDT on April 21

I missed why Papelbon wasn't in the game, though

Crafty, he had worked in the last 2 games in Toronto, throwing 47 pitches total between the 2 games. The decision was made to not overuse him. It probably took a couple of months off of Terry Francona's life expectancy, but it worked out well.

Note that Paplebon was out there to close it today (4/21).

posted by Howard_T at 9:37 PM CDT on April 21

Rivera did not look good the first game. I know he's gone through rough patches before, and I know the sox didn't exactly light him up, but even when they've gotten to him in the past he still looked like Mo. Friday, and it's a tough call watching him on tv, his ball seemed to have none of the movement, the bite, that it's had in the past.

I think with arod it's gotten to the point that teams should pitch around him until he cools off.

posted by justgary at 11:16 PM CDT on April 21

Thanks J-girl & Howard for the info.

I just can't help hoping that somebody that Yankees fans hate does well.

So it's not the Yankees you hate, it's the Yankees fans. Noted.

posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 9:09 PM CDT on April 22

Post-season averages with the Yankees:

2004 .421
2005 .133
2006 .071

career post season batting average .256, I stand corrected.

posted by americanleague at 3:12 PM CDT on April 23

Post-season averages with the Yankees:

2004 .421
2005 .133
2006 .071

career post season batting average .256, I stand corrected.

I think you are missing some info:

2004: 16-for-48 = .333
2005: 2-for-15 = .133
2006: 1-for-14 = .071

Career post season batting average as a Yankee: 19-for-77 = .247
Career post season batting average overall: 37-for-132 = .280

But using batting average to judge a hitter's ability isn't a good idea.

For example:
Alex Rodriguez (2007 to date): .371 AVG
Placido Polanco (2007 to date): .377 AVG

But nobody in their right mind could possibly suggest that Polanco is a better batter than ARod in 2007.

Alex Rodriguez (2007 to date): 1.418 OPS
Placido Polanco (2007 to date): .870 OPS

posted by grum@work at 7:38 PM CDT on April 23

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