You would know that Alex Rodriguez has a torn labrum in his right hip. Since then we have heard 2 different sides of the story. We have heard A-Rod's brother say that he is getting surgery, and we have heard the Yankees saying they want to take a "conservative" approach to A-Rod. Basically, what they are saying is that they want their third baseman to play through the season, hurt, for 7 months including postseason, and get surgery in the offseason directly after that, take 4 offseason months to recover, and be ready, completely healthy, for opening day in 2010. I have one thing to say to that. Big Mistake. I have many reasons, and if you hear them, it should be an easy decision.
First of all, remember, this isn't the 2008 Yankees. This is the 2009 Yankees. We've added a lot of great guys. Sabathia, Burnett, Teixiera, are all healthy and all be productive in 2009. Yea, Alex is really important, and the lineup really suffers without him. However, We have one of the best rotations in baseball. We don't need a great lineup to win ballgames. Does it help? Of course it does! But is it required? No. The Yankees of 2004-2008 really needed a strong lineup to win because they really had no reliable pitchers. 2004 they had nobody. 2005, they had Mussina, but nobody after that. 2006, they had nobody after Wang and Mussina. 2007, they had Wang and Pettitte, nobody after that. 2008, Mussina, nobody after that. We have had no more than 2 reliable starting pitchers in a season since 2003. Now, we have CC, Burnett (if healthy, which I expect he will), Wang, Joba (if he stays healthy), and Pettitte if he can have a comeback season. That is 4, possibly 5 reliable starting pitchers. Now that we have a powerful rotation, we don't need as much a powerful offense. Basically, my point is that this team is stacked and could swallow the loss of A-Rod for half a season.
Secondly, I think it will be good for A-Rod to get away for a little bit. Selena Roberts book on A-Rod comes out in April. The thought of his steroid use is fresh in everyones mind. Remember, no matter how much Rodriguez just wants to "get back to baseball," fans won't think that way. He will be booed everywhere, and it will be bad. Also, remember that he isn't the most emotionally stable guy in the world. He doesn't handle these things really well. I believe that it might be good for Alex to get away from the game of baseball a little bit. Let the stories die down. Let the thought of steroids go away from everyones mind. I think it would be good for him emotionally to miss a little bit.
Thirdly, remember at the end of 2007 he signed a 10 year, 275 million dollar contract. Thats a lot of time, and a lot of money. If he tries to play through this injury, and his hip blows up, it could end up being a lot worse. He would miss the end of the season rather than the beginning. He would miss postseason. And his future in baseball may start to be questioned. Will he ever be healthy enough to play again? We wouldn't know. I don't think it's worth the risk. This is a big investment. The Yankees shouldn't risk it. Remember, A-Rod is trying to prove himself again. It wouldn't be good if his career ended a year after his steroid episode, would it? All Hall of Fame chances would be destroyed, and 275 million dollars from the Yankees would be wasted.
I also need to say that Mike Lowell, the Red Sox third baseman, also had a torn labrum. He tried to play through it last year. What happened? His production decreased. Also, the pain got to be so much that he missed the postseason! So Lowell played worse than he otherwise would, and missed the playoffs. What if that happened to A-Rod? I would rather have a productive Rodriguez for the second half of the season and postseason, than a less productive Rodriguez for 5-6 months, with no postseason, and a possible chance of permanent injury. Mike Lowell is evidence that something bad is very possible. We wouldn't want that to happen.
Well, when you look at all this, it is an easy decision. We won't fall out of the AL East race without him, and it is too big of a risk. He should have surgery. Will it hurt our team without him? Of course it will! Any time you lose a player like A-Rod for an extended period of time it will hurt your team. But the Yankees have to look at the big picture. Keep him healthy in the long run. It may hurt the Yankees even more if he decides to play. Get surgery, come back in July, have a strong second half, and help the Yankees win a World Series!
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