Darren O?Day isn?t a conventional pitcher. He?s given plenty of quality right-handed hitters a tough time during his big-league career. Still, it was kind of telling that Alex Rodriguez couldn?t ?catch up to his 85-mph fastball in Thursday?s loss to the Orioles.
A-Rod did get a single and a walk in five plate appearances Thursday. However, Yankees manager Joe Girardi again made the call to pull him with the game on the line. Unlike Wednesday, it didn?t pay off tonight, as Eric Chavez lined out in his place to end the 13-inning marathon. Still, pretty much everyone figures A-Rod would have struck out anyway.
Starting Rodriguez against left-hander Joe Saunders on Thursday was the right move. Now that the Orioles are going back to a righty in Jason Hammel for Game 5, it?s time for Rodriguez to take a seat. His bat is too slow to make him a threat right now, and if he?s capable of guessing fastball and cheating on it, he certainly hasn?t showed it so far.
Chavez should play third base in his place. Chavez hit .298/.365/.543 with 16 homers in 245 at-bats against righties during the regular season. A-Rod hit .256/.326/.391 with 10 homers in 317 at-bats.
Really, as bad as A-Rod has looked, this doesn?t even make for a tough call. Rodriguez is hardly the only Yankee struggling ? Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson aren?t getting it done either ? but Chavez has been the superior option against righties for months now and with the season on the line, the Yankees can?t afford to be going with their lesser players. It?d do or die, and A-Rod appears long dead.
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