Today will be the day that the Yankees get their third baseman back. That’s Joe Girardi’s hope, anyway. He’s planning to put Alex Rodriguez in the lineup for tonight’s series opener in Toronto. If Rodriguez struggles in batting practice, then he’ll adjust accordingly, but for now Girardi’s planning to play A-Rod.Yes, I'd agree with that.
“I don’t want to mislead you guys,” Rodriguez said on Wednesday. “I haven’t touched a bat in five days. Maybe he has more confidence in me, but hopefully that kind of works out.”
The Yankees haven’t had a full-strength Rodriguez since mid-June when his knee began bothering him, leading to surgery and a stint on the disabled list. In his first game back from the knee injury, Rodriguez sprained the thumb and was once again a diminished player. He said his timing hasn’t been an issue, but it’s been a while since he was able to put any “ authority” into his swing.
“I think I was to the point that I had to stop because I wasn’t able to do my job,” he said. “To say it’s going to feel 100 percent, it’s not going to do that until next spring, but that’s fine… This time of the year, there’s not one guy in this clubhouse that is not playing with bumps and bruises. And that’s what I want to upgrade to.”
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“There’s no question that we’re in a franchise that, the most important month is October,” Rodriguez said. “Obviously with a good performance and the team attaining it’s goal, then I think everyone would agree that everything would be forgotten.”
There was another interesting article on A-Rod from The Star-Ledger's Jeff Bradley, who wonders how much the Yankees actually need A-Rod. I think the Yankees have proven this year that besides Mo and CC, no one player will make or break a season. That's one of, if not the biggest luxury about having a $200 million payroll. But at the same time I'd much rather go into October with a healthy A-Rod, and I don't think any Yankees fan would disagree. As we saw in 2009, in a short series a bat like that can put you over the edge.