They shoot centaurs, don't they?

Bravo, #1.

People like ARod and Albert Belle should stop fleecing these mid market teams out of money with their degenerative hips

Bo Jackson too.

I had a good friend who always had trouble with hips.

She never had that trouble again after having her first child.

Joel Sherman tweets...

"To repeat, can report exclusively A-Rod almost certainly needs more hip surgery, will miss piece of '13, this is not a retirement."

Is saying 'almost certainly' worthy of being labeled as exclusive reporting? Basically he's exclusively reporting something that may or may not happen. Whoop de damn doo.

[7] He might have exclusive knowledge that A-Rod has met with a doctor and that doctor has not only recommended surgery but that the doctor says that surgery is the only option provided it doesn't heal on its own in the next x amount of time, which he has absolutely no expectation of happening. WHY it's "almost" and not "absolutely" is what gives the report the value. If Sherman thinks he may have overheard something, and that's why he's hedging, that's a problem. But there are plenty of valid reasons why "almost certainly" can be very valuable and exclusive news.

I came here ONLY to make a centaur joke, but #1 is so good that I will refrain from diminishing this thread with a less funny version of the same joke.

Nicely played....

On the bright side, this means he won't have to decide whether he's American or Dominican this year.

And at 36 (37 in late July)

He turned 37 this year.

On the bright side, this means he won't have to decide whether he's American or Dominican this year.

With the way MLB handles nationality for this thing, I fully expect A-Rod to be suiting up for Spain or the Houyhnhms one day.

"To repeat, can report exclusively A-Rod almost certainly needs more hip surgery, will miss piece of '13, this is not a retirement."

It's that last part that is super interesting. What if A-Rod is so damaged that he has to retire by, say, 2015?

What if A-Rod is so damaged that he has to retire by, say, 2015?

The Yankees cheer loudly about getting out from under A-Rod's contract, and then sign some random free agent to a stupidly huge long-term deal.

Assuming, of course, that A-Rod doesn't decide to take the Albert Belle route.

If a team buys out a retiree by agreeing to defer money, does that still count against the reported salary? If A-Rod really misses most of this year, I could imagine the Yankees offering him a sweet deferred buyout to eliminate his 2014 salary from the books.

Assuming, of course, that A-Rod doesn't decide to take the Albert Belle route.

I'm so sick of all these ballplayers like A-Rod and Albert Belle with all their degenerative hip problems and retirement and everything.

What if A-Rod is so damaged that he has to retire by, say, 2015?

The Yankees cheer loudly about getting out from under A-Rod's contract

That would be extremely magnanimous of A-Rod. The Yankees owe him that money regardless of whether he's capable of playing or not.

I don't wish anyone ill. But this seems fitting. To me, this player is the poster boy for the steroid era. If only the '09 playoffs were different.

My guess is this leads more NYY fans to demand A-Rod be traded.

That would be extremely magnanimous of A-Rod. The Yankees owe him that money regardless of whether he's capable of playing or not.

If A-Rod is actually so injured that he can't play, he won't have to retire. He would get paid and insurance would cover it for the Yankees.

I don't wish anyone ill. But this seems fitting. To me, this player is the poster boy for the steroid era. If only the '09 playoffs were different.

Let me translate this:
I don't wish anyone ill, except right now, when I am wishing A-Rod great ill.

That would be extremely magnanimous of A-Rod. The Yankees owe him that money regardless of whether he's capable of playing or not.

Well paying Rodriguez so much money does give the Yankees an unfair advantage.

Many teams stopped doing the insurance thing on contracts due to the fees going through the roof due to the high risk.

Of course, for the Yankees there are advantages of A-Rod getting paid for nothing - no $6 mil bonus for each of HR 660, 714, 755, 762 and 763. Just 13 away from the first of those so any health and that is $6 mil down the tubes. 54 more after that though... used to be a sure thing but now?

#1 is awesome. Gonfalon always brings the funny.

I came here ONLY to make a centaur joke, but #1 is so good that I will refrain from diminishing this thread with a less funny version of the same joke.

Is is a tragedy that there is so much hip dysplasia in centaurs. There is so much in breeding. I blame the large commercial breeders.

If A-Rod is actually so injured that he can't play, he won't have to retire. He would get paid and insurance would cover it for the Yankees.

Assuming they have insurance on that contract.

So, now a C, 3B and RF are all needed.

What evidence is there that he will retire or that this is a career-threatening injury?

Translation: We reap what we sow.

"I don't wish anyone ill. But this seems fitting. To me, this player is the poster boy for the steroid era. If only the '09 playoffs were different."

A-Rod is pretty far down the list of steroid poster boys to me. Better candidates are:

1. Jose Canseco, for being the first to be prominantly identified with steroids, and the books
2. Barry Bonds, for rising to the greatest heights with steroid assistance

But my #1 guy has to be Manny Ramirez. For being dumb enough to be caught twice, or just too oblivious to stop.

1) he's 37
2) he hasn't played 140 games in a season since 2007 and just 221 the last 2 years
3) WAR 3 years prior to surgery -- 20. WAR 3 years after surgery -- about 10

A serious injury, perhaps especially a re-injury, at age 37 is pretty much by definition career-threatening.

What evidence is there that...this is a career-threatening injury

He's 37 years old and having significant hip surgery. At that age a surgery that is going to cost you six months, a second surgery on that area, has to be considered a potentially career-threatening injury. Mike Lowell was 34 when he had hip surgery and he was never the same.

ESPN now saying it's the other hip, out for six months.

News just broke that he will have surgery and all we know is that it's a potentially torn labrum in the left hip so I don't know how you medical professionals here are diagnosing him and then comparing his injury to other injuries. Just because the word "hip" is present doesn't mean you know how his injury compares to Belle/Lowell/whoever. (A "re-injury," Walt? A "second surgery in that area," Jose? No. That is not the report.)

I fully expect A-Rod to be suiting up for Spain or the Houyhnhms one day.

This did not get the credit it deserved.

You're right, I don't know for certain which is why I'm not saying "Alex Rodriguez' career is in major trouble and I guarantee he's cooked." I think for the reasons noted by Walt and I in 31 and 32 it's fair to question the impact of this though obviously I made a bad assumption about which hip.

When old players suffer significant injuries it almost has to be a concern that it will threaten their productive career.

News just broke that he will have surgery and all we know is that it's a potentially torn labrum in the left hip so I don't know how you medical professionals here are diagnosing him and then comparing his injury to other injuries. Just because the word "hip" is present doesn't mean you know how his injury compares to Belle/Lowell/whoever.

Well, no one's done any of that. But other than that, you're spot on.

He's 37, he's got a bad hip. It's certainly possible that this will be career threatening, and some folks speculated on what would happen if it were.

Then you came in to rush to refute the non-existent claim. And here we are.

So, now a C, 3B and RF are all needed.

The yankees love nunez...i would assume an offseason of winterball at 3B is in store for him, and very likely he opens the season there....if they can find this year's version of eric chavez to pick up the slack for when they realize last years slash line of .292/.330/.393 is probably his upside, then I'm ok with that. Catcher and Rf...you're guess is as good as mine right now.

This is not meant to be the cliched Jeter-baiting but is actually a sincere question: Is there any possibility that they have Jeter move to 3B this year?

I fully expect A-Rod to be suiting up for Spain or the Houyhnhms one day.



This did not get the credit it deserved.

It just dawned on me what that meant. I laughed.

@30 - I grant you Manny is a good choice for poster boy, but I'll stick with the Centaur who's been juicing since Junior High.

He turned 37 this year.

Which is to say 4, in centaur years.

This is not meant to be the cliched Jeter-baiting but is actually a sincere question: Is there any possibility that they have Jeter move to 3B this year?

I doubt it. It's not like Jeter is keeping some stud in the minors by playing short.

Semi-related, Harold Reynolds and Derek Jeter had their picture taken yesterday and Cap'n Jetes looks much less like Rich Garces in this particular photo.

This is not meant to be the cliched Jeter-baiting but is actually a sincere question: Is there any possibility that they have Jeter move to 3B this year?

if there was a real alternative out there, I would say Jeter to 3B, arod to DH to try and stay healthy makes sense...but as 43 points out, who is out there for this to work? anyone worth having is going to cost an arm and a leg to get...and anything "freely" available is probably not worth the effort...if the talk-radio rumors of Giancarlo Stanton to the yankees were true, then it would be logical to try and get Yunel Escobar in the same deal...but Yunel on his own doesn't seem like a huge upgrade for the upheaval the media/fans would create.

2nd thing to consider is I'm not sure Jeter to 3rd will result in a good 3B...back when Arod was acquired, my personal preference was Jeter to the CF (with Bernie to LF)...as he had the speed to handle the OF, a good arm, and has always been strong going back on pop-ups...probably couldn't handle CF anymore, and the bat won't translate to LF...so basically you have 3B, 2B or DH...unless you want to try cano at SS or 3B, neither of the infield spots work.

Simplest solution is find good all-around guy who can handle 3B (in tandem with nunez) until Arod is back...then have the 4 of them cover SS/3B/DH 5-6 days a week...with the remaining DH days going to Tex, Cano, Granderson, RF, etc.

The other thing to consider is that Arod, when healthy has actually been a pretty good defensive 3B the past few years...unless he is completely broken down, he is probably their best bet to help put a solid defense on the field...nunez is a butcher, and I don't think Jeter would be anything better than below average there...chavez seemed OK, but is just as likely, if not more so, to end up injured if he has to play more than 3-4 days a week.

I think Stephen Drew would be the target.

That's why I've heard too...but everything I'm seeing so far is drew at 3B, jeter at SS...i think I'd rather Drew at SS, Chavez/Nunez at 3B and jeter at DH most of the time.

unless they are willing to make a trade - but who's out there? I assume Tulo isn't going anywhere...JJ hardy would be a good fit (and realistic if it weren't inter-division with Machado coming along)...escobar I could see...other than Tulo - none of those (including Drew) are long term solutions, which is what the yankees are going to need sooner rather than later...cano might actually be the best shortstop in the organization right now...and he hasn't played a game there since 2003 (when he also caught in one game for some reason - http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=cano--001rob)

MLB Network is about to show a Cashman news conference about A-Rod.

After the "E5 Nuñez" disaster in 2011 the Yankees basically shifted Nuñez back to SS full time in AAA last year. He probably fills in at SS a bunch to open the year while Jeter DHs as he's coming off of the ankle surgery. Then when ARod comes back in May or June he probably takes most of the DH ABs with Jeter playing more SS and Nunez riding the pine. They'll probably need someone who can basically be a full time third baseman. Chavez as part of a platoon seems like the obvious solution, with someone like Jayson Nix or Jeff Keppinger on the short end.