A-Rod and A Hard Place

So the New York Yankees have been eliminated from the playoffs by the Detroit Lions.  Let me get congratulating the Tigers out of the way.  CONGRATULATIONS DETROIT TIGERS AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONS.  There is no shame in losing to the Tigers, they have arguably the best pitcher and the best hitter in baseball on their payroll as well as a core of talent around them that had many predicting they would get this far anyway.  Unfortunately for the Tigers the story of this ALCS will be how terrible the Yankees looked.

You've all heard the stats from the series for the vaunted Yankees lineup many of whom couldn't hit a beach ball let alone a baseball the way they were swinging the bats.  It was so bad that many "big name" players were benched at various times in the four games due to how bad they were slumping.  These names included Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson, and Alex Rodriguez.

Yes that Alex Rodriguez.  Listen I'm not an A-Rod hater, in fact like many of you I marveled at his talent when he first entered the big leagues as a Seattle Mariner blessed with every tool you would want in a ball player.  You can't hate him because multiple times in his career owners have felt the need to give him the richest contract in major American sports history, for many years his talent warranted it.  But the last contract that the Yankees gave him may well go down as the worst in sports history.

He is now 37 years old and they owe him over 100 million dollars over the next five years.  100 million dollars to a guy you aren't even sure can play everyday at an average level let alone at a highest paid player in baseball level.  What should the Yankees do?  How do their fans feel about this? 

The Yankees should at the very least try and trade A-Rod, problem is no one is going to eat this salary.  So they will either pay him to play poorly for them or pay him to play poorly for someone else.  Remember the scene in 'Money Ball' when Billy Beane is talking to David Justice about how much the Yankees were paying him to play against them?  I have a feeling that's where this is headed.  Yankees fans should come in off the ledge.  You will still have the highest payroll in baseball and while many players are getting long in the tooth the team should still be competitive. 

And just for the record yes I was happy to see them get swept out of the playoffs and look so bad doing it.  To my friends who are real Yankees fans this is not me rubbing it in.  I respect those of you who were fans before they started winning again......all 9 of you.