WHY LOSING A-ROD CAN MAKE US STRONGER

Ever since the Yankees Championship win in 2009, Alex Rodriguez not only officially became a New York Yankee to many, but he became a favorite of many. Like I’ve said time and time again, it is my opinion that at that moment of World Championship status, Alex Rodriguez matured greatly and the man learned relax a bit. I think it truly taught him to be himself and not some fictitious figure who was larger than life. Sure, Alex knew he was talented, but so were so many already on the Yankees. Alex thought he had to live up to the hype and when he didn’t and just played ball, it all fell into place. With that, Alex gained new fans, all who continue to root for him to succeed to this day.

That’s why when news came down that he needed surgery on his right knee to repair the torn meniscus (HERE), it was both sad and annoying to me. This is a guy that’s been pretty solid all year, minus the home runs. Now, I would suspect the knee is affecting his home run power. Kevin Long constantly talks about leg power when hitting, and he’s helped many Yankees get over their own humps by re-training them to use their legs more when at bat. Could the knee be contributing to Alex’s lack of power at the plate? Perhaps… just asking.

This surgery will then put Alex out of commission for 4 to 6 weeks and while he’s recovering, we have some searching to do. The big question, who will play third base? Joe Girardi had mentioned that Eduardo Nunez will get the bulk of the playing time, but I needed to go through my own head to think through on if there was someone else:

Yes, it's doubtful we would put someone like Ramiro Pena in that spot for 6 weeks, with lack of power and the errors he’s been offering, but expect him to fill in once in a while. Pena does what Pena does best, bench help.

Eric Chavez clearly would be the guy if he wasn’t nursing his own back, foot and abdominal injuries. Wow, what a shame, Chavez would have been the perfect candidate.

Eduardo Nunez was tapped by Girardi and you all know, it's not my first pick to replace Alex as the 3^rd base guy, but who else do we have? If Nunez can cut down on the errors, it will be a good, temporary fix, but me personally, I wouldn’t overuse Nunez in the hot corner if someone like Chavez comes back within those 6 weeks. Why? because Chavez is a veteran who I trust, unless he were to get hurt again. Nunez just needs to stop the errors and sloppy play, but damn, I love his bat.

SB Nation had the story about the Chicago connection and the Yankees talking about bringing in someone like Aramis Ramirez. While the Ramirez trade is appealing, I do wonder if the Cubs would be willing to part with him, and if in fact Ramirez would waive his no-trade clause. Coming to a contender would be a big deal for Ramirez, but he’s been with the Cubs for such a long time, he may not want to mess with his comfort level.

One thing is for sure, Alex’s bat not being the Yankee lineup can disrupt the teams momentum, but we CAN manage without him temporarily...there are options and we have subs. The good news to all of this is when Alex comes back, he’ll be 100% ready to kick ass with 1 month left to go in the season. At that point, both the Red Sox and Rays will be Top the AL East with the Yankees in what for sure will be a bloodbath. But know this, if Alex comes back swinging and healthy, expect a Division win, not a Wild Card, especially if the rest of the Yankees are pitching and hitting as well as they’ve been this year. After all, it’s our Quest for 28… anything less would be a failure.

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WHY YANKS ARE EYEING A SORIANO REUNION

If you had an opportunity to bring back Alfonso Soriano’s bat, would you? The Yankees are looking at a few options coming out of Chicago, the Chi-town connection that always seems to run deep between Joe Girardi and the Cubs (Read THE CHI-TOWN CONNECTION.) This time, it's not talk about Carlos Zambrano. Instead, there is talk about former Yankee Alfonso Soriano coming back to the New York Yankees to help out with some hitting help in the DH slot for their run at the playoffs. I have mixed feelings about this, money being part of it.

Alfonso Soriano has enormous power and plays a good outfield but the Chicago Cubs still owe him about $65 million on his contract through 2014. To me, I can’t imagine the Yankees paying that full amount and even if the Cubs pay say $40 million of it, that’s $24 million still owed on a home run hitter that also strikes out an awful lot.

That being said, the reunion could be fun and be truly effective if the Yankees want to make a serious run and bury the Red Sox in their division after the All Star break.

Soriano was loved during his time in pinstripes and after the 2003 playoffs, Soriano immediately was on Steinbrenner’s radar. Next thing you know, Soriano went to the Texas Rangers for none other than Alex Rodriguez. I remember it well, I was on my way home from a signing with Bucky Dent and Mike Torrez and heard it on the radio. It was a bittersweet day. Clearly I loved Alex on the Yankees, but seeing Soriano go was hard. The next few years Soriano went from the Rangers to the Nationals and then to the Chicago Cubs where he signed that monster deal.

Clearly the talent is there, and clearly Soriano is not the only player in baseball that strikes out a lot, yet delivers great numbers each year. If the Yankees can be smart about it, and still pick up some lefty relief and maybe even an extra starter too, I have no problem with this. The other part of this is the big question; Would Soriano go back to the Yankees? He doesn’t have to, he can veto the move, but I would imagine he would rather be with a contender than a loser. But look, this is all just talk at this point, I don't want to get ahead of myself.

The Yankees are looking at 2 other Cubs as well, Aramis Ramirez and lefty reliever John Grabow according to SB Nation. I’d be curious if they can snag someone like Soriano and Grabow. Again though, Soriano has a lot of money owed to him, that will be tricky. I know one thing, as a New York Yankees fan, I ‘ve seen it time and time again... when they need a bat, or a pitcher, they go out and get it. Why? Because they can, they’re the God damn New York Yankees, so while this might just be talk... it fun to think about the reality of this. Stay tuned.

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