WHY IT'S ALL ABOUT ALEX...AND DEREK

Breaking down Alex Rodriguez may sound difficult, but it’s simple…bad hip, bad year. I should stop there, but I won’t.

Look, I wouldn’t even say it was a horrible year… but it was a bad year, if you’re Alex Rodriguez. With all this talk about Cliff Lee, Jeter and Mo, Free Agents and Torre Gala’s, Teixeira injuries and GM Meetings, people forget something, Alex Rodriguez wasn’t vintage Alex… but should we worry? Not necessarily. Here’s why:

A hip is a hip and if you hurt your hip, you can’t exactly give your full strength when you swing. Yes, He had 30 home runs, Ok, fine, but Alex at full health hits 45 to 50 easy. That’s why the Yankees signed him. He will be the next Home Run champion.

A-Rod batted .270 this year. A lot of people don’t realize that. Not so great. Between 1996 and 2009, Alex Rodriguez never batted below a .285 average. In 2009, he batted .286 but don’t forget, he was hurt. Hitting in the .280’s is respectable, but not for Alex. Again, the legs are majorly important in baseball, equally important in pitching and hitting and if your hips cranky, you’re not 100%.

He had 125 RBI’s which is good for Alex so I won’t get on his case for that, but there is one reason and 1 reason only that Alex is a New York Yankee. Hitting and Home runs. The RBI’s come when Alex cranks it out of the park. He finally showed that in playoffs in 2009 and I predict, he starts with a bang in 2011.

The Yankees locked up A-Rod for a long time, they’re not stupid. Alex will break many records in the years to come. To all the critics of Alex that claim that he’s paid too much money and he’s too old understand this,one bad year does not a bad player make. Look at Derek Jeter. Everyone is killing the guy right now because his numbers sucked this year. Yes, he’s 36 and yes, if he had a Jeter year, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. But the facts are the facts, at the end of the day, 2 All-Star Yankees came off years that didn’t play up to their potential, but they will reign again and the bottom line is, we want these guys in our organization for years to come.

Next year will be a big year for both Alex and Derek. It will show everyone what they have plenty left in the tank. A healthy Alex is a great Alex. A focused Jeter is an iconic Jeter. I expect a health Alex and a Jeter career year next year. Hopefully many Yankee Fans agree.

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