It amuses me to see the move to 3rd base issue still generating heat, too. It is so hard for some to even grant the guy unselfishness? If the management was stupid in moving him, if they weakened team D, they did it for a reason, no? That reason is surely personnel, ‘team chemistry’, ego. Michael Young certainly didn’t go gently to 3rd base this spring, did he? He’s there (for now) but compare it to ARod’s process. It isn’t necessarily a slagging of Jeter to note that Rodriguez made the move with an absolute minimum of fuss, and considerable hard work.

I think I asked this before: would any ballplayer NOT have taken that contract from Texas, given what Seattle had tabled? And my strong sense is that Rodriguez’s ‘troubles’ date precisely to that signing.

We all want it to end, even me, I’m tired of this shit, but ARod, the greatest baseball player EVAH, the guy that unselfishly gave up his position to accommodate the inferior Jeter, the guy with the 158+ VORP, ARod just can’t make it all go away by being truthful and giving the media enough plausible and factual information to make them happy.

I wonder if they will ask ARod these questions during the WBC:
1. Has it been a lifelong dream of your cousin that you play for the Dominican Republic too?
2. Is he here in Puerto Rico watching you?

The circus WILL never end with this guy. He’s too stupid to stop tripping over his own dick. I guess if he went to college he’d be better at that. Then again, I went to college and it hasn’t helped me. Oh well…….9 more “glorious” years left.

FACT: A rod claimed he was 24/25 years old when he took steroids.

FACT: When A rod turned 25, he was a Mariner.

FACT: In 2003 (the last year he claimed to have taken steroids) he was 27/28 years old.

POSSIBLE FACT: A rod took steroids when he was a Mariner?

PROBABLE FACT: A rod doesn’t know how old he is.

**side note: A rod said his two best seasons were when he was 20 and when he was…in 2007. (A rod cannot subtract 2 from his current age)

Ultimately, I think we’d have the same string of failure, with A-Rod continuing his antics (because I don’t think he can help himself) and Derek Jeter pouting for five years. So the constant frigging circus that is this team would just add a tent.

One doesn’t have to be a stat person (the Torre/Cashman distinction made in Torre’s book) to realize that Jeter’s 2003 UZR/UZR 150 of -2.0 /-3.5 was reflective of a real world reality that A-Rod (11.0/11.2) was a vastly superior defensive SS.

So if we credit both Torre and Cashman with being able to understand that obvious fact, whether they reached that assessment through observation or a reliance on statistical analysis, what other reasonable conclusion can be reached to explain the decision to leave Jeter at SS?

I would argue that the absence of quotes attesting to that fact is further evidence that no one wanted to risk hurting Jeter’s feelings.

I do remember reading at the time that Jeter was quoted as saying that Alex knew that he had to play 3B in order to come to the Yankees, so it’s not like he was willing to open the position up to a competition.

Also, I read a curious quote by Cashman this week:

“We are a bad defensive team, so a guy that prevents the ball from being put into play is a good thing for us.”

If Gardner plays CF, he showed signs of being very good defensively. Damon, in terms of range, grades out well in LF, and Swisher is at least average in RF. Tex is highly regarded at 1B and Alex is about average at 3B.That leaves the middle infielders, and Cano, imo, has the potential to be good defensively when his head in his the game. Just sayin’.

Agreed! How about some Sir Sidney jokes?

When it comes to remorse, quality counts more than quality. I don’t happen to believe A-Rod is “remorseful” or “sorry” (other than for the fact he got caught), and that opinion will not change just because he holds a series of press conferences and/or interviews. Maybe someday I’ll think he’s sorry.

In any case, I don’t really care whether he’s sorry or not. I have my views on this situation, and on PED use in general–they are well known to those who read these threads. All of this grandstanding, by the commissioner and the media and A-rod and other players, doesn’t have a lot of substance, and the endless flogging of the story (by the media and fans alike) grows tiresome.

I’d question your view on this..how many times must someone apologize before you would believe he has “remorse”? Also, again, it’s not cheating if what you are doing is not against any rules.

[30] It is actually double “utter horseshit.” Cashman told the media that it was made clear to Alex and the Rangers that they already had a shortshop and they were trading for a 3rd baseman. Alex didn’t have to agree to the trade. He could have honored his contract and waited for another possible trade opportunity with the Red Sox that Gammons was convinced would happen or he could have waited for his opt out year. Itiis Alex’s selfishness that made him accept the trade to the Yankees. This fallacious argument to make Alex look good is tired and old now and after his cheating butt has been caught seems even more ridiculous.

Fair enough, but I would still say, it’s part of the GM’s job to look at his roster and envision it 5 years down the line..and to see that Jeter’s D would continue to decline. I don’t know, but the Robin Yount example to me is a perfect one. Even Pete Rose moved positions several times..

Can you please cite the evidence for this? Quotes from players? Torre commented on this in his book? Cashman?

…(since he didn’t offer to move voluntarily)…

Again, what is the evidence? Did Jeter offer and the management said no? Did A-Rod inform the team ahead of time that he wanted to change positions?

…Consequently, putting A-Rod at 3B was a move made to accommodate Jeter.

I’m sorry, your conclusion does not follow logically.

Then his position change was to accommodate the management, not Jeter, and your claim remains horse…er, inaccurate. And whatever the case, A-Rd to 3rd was not an unselfish gesture–that’s just plain silly. It was a practical maneuver that facilitated his sought after escape from Texas.
.
.
.
Now, to the more interesting substance of this discussion: should the Yankees have tried to move Jeter to third or second? That is not so clear cut. Yes, A-Rod would have been more valuable at SS. But would Jeter have been as valuable at 3B? And, if they moved him to 2B (as you suggest), who would have played 3rd? No matter how they shuffled the deck, Jeter and A-Rod would still be hitting in teh same lineup, and from that perspective it doesn’t matter whether A-Rod’s 50* HRs came from 3B or SS.

Meanwhile, in 2005, the Yankees added a player called Robinson Cano at 2B. Had Jeter been moved to 2B, it’s likely that Cano would have been blocked.

Much of the complaint that Jeter was not moved from SS stems from his declining defense, but at this point, it’s not clear that the much bulked-up A-Rod would still be a good fit at SS himself (hell, I predicted he’s move to 3B when he went to Texas).

So in the end, it is not at all clear that the Yankees made a clearly bad decision by moving A-Rod to third rather than moving Jeter to 3r or 2nd.

Now, one can argue that Jeter should have rotated to the OF years ago. But that argument is independent of A-Rod’s position change.