Have Trust In Teixeira, A-Rod

As Yankees fans, we too often leap to quick conclusions.

A free agent joins the team, starts slowly and many are quick to write him off as a bust after as little time as a month. A guy struggles in a certain situation and many paint him as a choker.

Saturday, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez reminded us why such it is foolish and often wrong to apply such labels to players.

Teixeira went 4-for-4 with a homer and four RBI and scored the winning run on A-Rod's two-run, walk-off homer in the 11th to give the Yankees their fourth straight victory, 6-4 over the Twins at Yankee Stadium.

Teixeira has had a rougher start to his Yankees tenure than most anticipated. Historically a slow starter, Teixeira was hampered early on by a sore wrist and struggled to find a rhythm offensively. His average dropped as low as .191 this month and many fans were grumbling that he was a bust.

It's not the first time a big star joined the Yankees, whether via trade or as a free agent, and struggled out of the gate. Heck the Yankees' first big free agent signing, Catfish Hunter, went 0-3 with a 7.36 ERA in his first four starts with the Yankees in 1975.

More recently, Tino Martinez struggled in his first six weeks with the Yankees in 1996, hitting .246 with 5 homers and 28 RBI.

Both guys went on to have excellent Yankee careers.

But apparently there are a lot of us who just don't learn. One month or six weeks is way too short of a sample to draw any conclusions about a player, especially one such as Teixeira, who ahs an established track record and is in his prime.

Teixeira has hit in four straight and six of last seven (coinciding with A-Rod's return), going 11-for-27 (.407) with three homers, eighth RBI and seven runs, raising his average to .238.

Frankly, I was surprised at the criticism of Teixeira. He's a guy who's been nothing but a professional throughout his career. He grew up a Don Mattingly fan and has patterned his approach to the game after Donnie Baseball. He cares, damn it.

And anyone who has heard Teixeira being interviewed would swear he went the Derek Jeter school of media relations. Teixeira says a lot without saying anything. He keeps the focus on the team and projects a modest image.

Teixeira deserved more time before he started hearing boos from the home crowd.

Of course, it is much harder to feel sympathy for A-Rod. He has created so much of his own troubles. His foibles are so well documented and it's impossible to overlook his use of PEDs. He's a cheater and will always have to live with that stain. But as long as he's wearing the pinstripes ... well, as Seinfeld said, we root for the laundry, and he's wearing ours.

But A-Rod should not be blamed for everything.

It's hard to feel badly for anyone making the kind of money A-Rod is, but that contract also is something of an albatross. It brings about huge expectations. He's the best player in baseball and is expected, certainly by fans and at times by himself, to perform at unrealistic levels.

Those expectations don't afford him any time to get out of a slump or recover from an injury. He's a week back from hip surgery, still trying to get his swing down and find a rhythm, but after grounding out in the sixth Saturday, he was showered with boos.

Luckily for A-Rod, it doesn't take much to turn those boos to cheers.

He's not going to get a hit, much less homer, every time up. He's not going to get every clutch hit or drive in the big run in every big spot. Even for A-Rod, success is still measured at about three hits in every 10 at-bats (.300).

What's worse is that the spotlight shines so bright on A-Rod that his failures get magnified. It can't be argued that aside from the Twins series in 2004, Rodriguez has been awful in the postseason with the Yankees.

Yet somehow, that has been turned into A-Rod never comes through in the clutch. Yes, in 2004, '06 and '08 he was not up to snuff in close and late situations. But in 2005 and '07 he won MVPs in large part because he delivered in those situations. Here are the numbers:

Close and Late
Career -- .279, 135 HRs
2004 -- .275, 2 HRs
2005 -- .293, 4 HRs
2006 -- .237, 2 HRs
2007 -- .357, 6 HRs
2008 -- .257, 2 HRs

Another stat to note: A-Rod has eight career walk-off homers. Five have been with the Yankees.

It seems to me that when talking about A-Rod and hitting in the clutch in the regular season, he has a big of a split personality, and we should be wondering which A-Rod we'll be getting this year.

If the homer in the 11th is any indication, A-Rod has his focus where it should be.

"I’m so tired that I’m just happy to get through 11 innings," Rodriguez said.
"It’s been a while. But for me, I gave you guys something to talk about and
write about in the 11th inning and I didn’t have to open my mouth. That’s kind
of the way I want things. Stay out of my own way."

In '05 and '07 A-Rod kept things simple, keeping his focus on the field and he name out of the tabloids. He says he's back in that mind-set this year. We have to hope this walk-off is a sign of things to come.

The Good
Joba Chamberlain changed his pregame warmup, facing three simulated batters in the bullpen to help him get over his first-inning struggles. The change appears to have worked as Joba had an efficient and scoreless first. Still Joba got through only six innings as the Twins did a job of working the count and spoiling pitches. Chamberlain allowed two runs on three hits and four walks. He struck out six, threw 66 of 108 pitches for strikes and left with a 3-2 lead.

The Bad
We're going to have to get used to the offense bailing out the bullpen. Phil Coke got the Yankees out of a Jose Veras-created mess in the seventh without allowing a run, but faltered in the eighth, surrendering two runs and the lead. I still trust Coke, but it is clear he is starting to get a bit overexposed and overused. Brian Bruney could return from his elbow injury this week. If Bruney he is 100 percent and regains his form, Coke will be the biggest beneficiary.

Runners In Scoring Position
Saturday
2-for-7 (.286)
Season
82-for-331 (.248)

Up Next
Today vs. Twins, 1:05 p.m., YES
Kevin Slowey (5-1, 4.91 ERA) vs. A.J. Burnett (2-1, 5.36)

The Yankees have won a season-high tying four straight and would love for Burnett to get back on track to make it five.