On A-Rod

The amount of coverage that A-Rod has received over the past season is incredibly overblown, but does that mean there isn't anything to worry about? Of course not. A-Rod's VORP this year was 50.4, good for 29th in the league. That's a 40 point drop off from last year, and his worst ever in a full season. All the people who in response to the A-Rod coverage point out that he still had a good season are only partially right. Maybe it is a good season for almost anyone else, but for someone who has had his consistent level of success, it's a warning sign.

So the thing that the Yankees need to figure out is what's causing the slump and how it can be fixed. At this point it's fairly obvious, at least to me, that it's mental, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. If the problem is one that he can try to work on in the offseason, maybe see that therapist of his again, then the Yankees should certainly keep him. But if it's a problem with the pressure and his inability to handle it, a trade might be the best option.

Here's the key thing to remember, though: The Yankees only pay about 2/3rds of A-Rod's annual salary, on average. At the time when they aquired him, they owed him 112 million over 7 years. When you consider that Beltran was paid 7 million more when you include the signing bonus, A-Rod goes from the most overpaid player to a very reasonably paid one, at least from the Yanks' standpoint. Moose, Giambi, and Jeter were all paid more by the Yanks than A-Rod was, but only Jeter was more productive. So money really isn't an issue when you talk about trading him.

Personally, I wouldn't even think of trading A-Rod unless i got an unbelievable offer. This offseason, however, such an offer might be likely because of the weakness of the FA class. Sori and Lee might see 5 year, 80 million deals, and Alex has 4 year, 64 mil left and is almost guaranteed to be more productive than either. I still don't think that you'll see the 5-1 deals like with Schilling and Randy Johnson, though, which is what it would take to be worth getting rid of him. For now, keep him, and if he continues to struggle in '07, reconsider.