He's A-bit off
Without Tex, Alex slumping
There might be nothing wrong with Alex Rodriguez’s swing that Mark Teixeira’s presence couldn’t fix.
Rodriguez is enduring a slumpridden September, the beginning of which virtually coincided with the start of Teixeira’s absence. Teixeira suffered a fractured right leg in late August and was placed on the disabled list Sept. 4.
And in September, Rodriguez, whose season was one of the most remarkable comeback stories of the year, has been a mere .208 hitter (15of72).
“One thing is not having Tex there. That is absolutely one reason because that was a pretty good dynamic duo,” hitting coach Jeff Pentland said Friday before the Yankees’ 52 loss to the White Sox at the Stadium. “That pair meant a lot of runs no question.
“You saw [Thursday]. [Chris Sale is] throwing 9798. He’s throwing Alex offspeed pitches. You have Tex behind him, that might be hard.”
Manager Joe Girardi didn’t concede to the Teixeira factor, though he admitted it “could” be a culprit for Rodriguez’s recent plunge. Girardi’s thinking seems more in line with the rationale that players simply go hot and cold.
“Hard to say. Tex was a pretty big force behind him. Hitters just go through things. It’s hard to predict when a hitter’s going to be hot and when he’s not,” Girardi said. “And what you try to do is ride out the hot times as long as possible. If they go through a tough streak you give them a day to physically get them back on track.”
Rodriguez’s overall numbers remain beyond what anyone could have anticipated. After going 0for3 on Friday, he’s batting .249 with 32 homers and 83 RBIs. Before the season began, the projections were far more minimal. Rodriguez was a force for several months. Now he has slowed.
It’s called baseball, said teammate Carlos Beltran. They are not splitting atoms here. It happens.
“He’s been in the league more than anybody. He’s a guy that has gone through stretches like this before. He knows what he needs to focus on,” Beltran said. “This is not the first time a player has gone through bad stretches. Every year, next year, we’re going to be having this same conversation, either about me or somebody else. It’s just part of baseball, playing a long season.
“Right now he’s going through a moment where maybe he doesn’t feel right, but based on how I see it, I see him good, I see him OK.
“He’s just not getting the same result he was getting early in the year.”
After Thursday’s game Rodriguez said he felt he was one hit, one swing away from a bustout. Maybe it is simply the wear and tear of a long season on a 40yearold. And maybe it is not having Teixeira behind him. But the Rodriguez he and others have seen has seen some silver linings of late.
“He had three good at bats [Thursday]. When you hit balls straight up in the air like that, he’s like a quarter of an inch off,” Pentland said.