Is Alex Rodriguez better than Tony Womack?

It's hard to say after reading Mike Lupica's article regarding the AL MVP.

Sure, ARod has numbers. If you're into numbers. Numbers, numbers, numbers, numbers. Blah blah blah.

But has ARod "carried the team"? No. Of course not. Heck, if the Yankees had Eric Soderholm at third base, they'd probably have a five-game lead by now.

A gold-glove third baseman hitting .320 with 45 homeruns and 120 rbis is probably the fourth- or fifth-best Yankee.

Mariano is better (even though Lupica warned us in April that Mariano was shot).

Giambi is better (a couple of more homeruns since July 1, not including last week, though. Don't forget Giambi's stellar fielding and baserunning, either).

Sheffield is better (not better overall, but his batting average with runners in scoring postion, so there ya go).

Is there anybody who ARod is actually better than?


"A-Rod has become a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman. And the ones who want to vote for him will point to games like Saturday's matchup against the Blue Jays, when he got a great bounce on the backhand and started that neat double play to end the game. It was something to see, ending the best fielding game the Yankees have had in a long time. But say it again: Nobody who votes for A-Rod will be voting on that glove. They'll just say that."

Couple of things:

(1) Nobody is voting for ARod solely because of his glove. Ortiz said recently that his competition is not gold glovers who hit .230 win the MVP. He's right. I agree. Hitting is the most important and most valuable thing a major league ballplyer can do.

But ARod ain't hittin' no .230.

Try .318, .418, .606., 45 hrs, 120 rbis, 113 runs, 15 stolen bases if that's your thing. .291 with RISP, .291 with RISP and 2 outs, .429 with the bases loaded.

Also, more game-winning rbis than Ortiz.

(2) If ARod is a gold glove-caliber third baseman, what is this wacko talking about on June 12th?:

"Maybe next year A-Rod can take fly balls in center in the spring, see if he can catch them better than he can catch pop flies in the infield. Because more and more, it looks as if A-Rod, first-to-400 homers A-Rod, will eventually be something other than the Yankee third baseman of the future. He goes to center, or he goes to first. Maybe first is more likely."