New York Yankees: Will Alex Rodriguez Be Healthy Enough to Produce in 2012?
March 5, 2012 · Doug Rush · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are about a month away from beginning the 2012 season.
Right now, they are down in Tampa prepping for the season with spring training. They’re the reigning 2011 American League East Champions and are favored again to win the division.
Going into the season, they have a lot of certain things in their lineup, like Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira.
However, they do have a question mark in their lineup: Alex Rodriguez.
The 36-year-old third baseman’s health has been a cause of concern since 2008, the year after he signed his 10-year, $275 million deal to remain with the Yankees.
In consecutive seasons, A-Rod has missed 24, 38, 25 and 63 games, which is 150 total games. That’s a lot of games to miss from a guy who is making $29 million, like he will in 2012.
That’s a lot of games to miss for a guy who is supposed to average 30-40 home runs and 100-110 RBI per season.
A-Rod’s health has been such a cause of concern, he took it upon himself to travel to Dusseldorf, Germany in December to have a blood spinning procedure done by Dr. Peter Wehling.
It was a procedure that Los Angeles Lakers star guard Kobe Bryant had done by Wehling, so after taking Bryant’s recommendation on the procedure, A-Rod had the Yankees get Major League Baseball’s approval to allow him to travel to Germany and get the blood spinning done to his knee and shoulder.
A-Rod said Kobe “felt like a 27-year old again” after it was done. Maybe the Yankees can get the A-Rod who was hitting 50 home runs and 140 RBI.
However, those numbers are a huge stretch; I’d take 30 home runs and 100 RBI from A-Rod at this stage of his career. The numbers he put up last season (16 home runs and 62 RBI) are nowhere near the numbers the Yankees expected out of him. The Yankees need more out of their star third baseman.
With A-Rod out 63 games, Robinson Cano transitioned into the team’s best and most dangerous hitter, especially in the postseason where Cano was crushing the ball and A-Rod was striking out.
A-Rod will still be the team’s cleanup hitter and the Yankees will be relying on his bat to produce in 2012 and for another five seasons.
However, his health is the biggest question. After A-Rod had hip surgery in 2009, the doctor who performed it, Dr. Marc Philippon, said he needed to lighten his workout load and schedule, advice at first he ignored.
Three years later and a knee, shoulder and thumb injury later, A-Rod is listening to his doctors and taking it easy on his workouts to get ready for baseball.
The fact that A-Rod is listening to his doctors on lightening the work load and getting a procedure done to help him get back into a health where he was a productive player says a lot to me.
It tells me that at age 36, A-Rod is taking baseball seriously, which is good for the Yankees and bad news for opponents because when healthy, A-Rod can still cause havoc at the plate. After all, he didn’t hit 629 home runs on accident.
The Yankees made an investment into Alex Rodriguez, and they’ve made him an extremely rich man over the course of nine years. Now, A-Rod owes it to the Yankees to make their investment worth the time for a few more years and give them quality production.
If A-Rod can play in 145-150 games, hit 35 home runs and 110 RBI, that will be a productive season for a guy who will turn 37 in July.
However, the only question is: Can his health hold up for the Yankees? Only time will tell.
Stay tuned, Yankees Universe.
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