"It seems hard to remember now after all that has happened with A-Rod, but it was only 19 months ago that he chose to become a free agent and upstaged Game 4 of the 2007 World Series."
That's an odd thing to say. It's not hard to remember at all.
It's hard to remember if Todd Greene was the backup catcher before or after Chris Widger.
It's hard to remember what I ate for breakfast on August 20th, 2005.
It's very easy to remember when ARod signed his ten-year contract with the Yankees.
"Remember those 18 days, though, those plans to move on that the Yankees made? What were those plans? And would the team be better off now on the field if A-Rod had been allowed to sign with the Dodgers or Cubs or Angels or whomever? What would the Yankees look like today?"
Well, since it's so hard to remember, I believe you answered your own question.
"Best guess: Scott Rolen at third base, someone other than Jorge Posada behind the plate, and a younger, less expensive lineup and pitching staff."
Well, Scott Rolen would have been a disaster, so I'm glad we quickly cleared that up.
No idea why Scott Rolen's presence would have compelled the Yankees to reject Posada.
Also, no idea why Scott Rolen's presence would have compelled the Yankees to spend less money on a lineup and pitching staff.
"Perhaps the Yankees would have been more willing to make the Johan Santana trade and pay him like a free agent if they hadn't just dropped $330 million or so on A-Rod and Posada. And that could have led to less need to splurge on CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett this offseason."
Kind of a weird way to look at things.
Santana was the property of the Twins. The Mets got Santana relatively cheaply, in a trade, because the Twins were not going to trade Santana to an AL rival.
So, now, after the Santana trade is completed, the Yankees don't have ARod, Posada, Sabathia, Burnett, Hughes, Cano, or Cabrera.
"The free-agent pool was shallow after Lowell, with Pedro Feliz the top third-base name. He went from San Francisco to Philadelphia. After that were second-tier options such as Mike Lamb and Morgan Ensberg, whom the Yankees did sign and then released when they realized he couldn't hit."
So ... you're pretty much proving that the Yankees are far better with ARod.
"Why would no A-Rod mean no Posada? Well, the A-Rod Decision (the one to re-sign him) begot the Posada Decision (to re-sign a 36-year-old catcher for four years) which begot the Mariano Rivera Decision (to re-sign a 38-year-old closer for three years)."
Not a particularly convincing cause-and-effect scenario.
"Rivera? He's still top-notch even if his velocity has been inconsistent after shoulder surgery."
Mariano Rivera? He's still a top-notch reliever? Thanks for the update.
"Is it all A-Rod's fault? Of course not. He still has the ability to do wondrous things on a baseball field.
But for 18 days 19 months ago, the Yankees had a chance to move on without him. Think they wish they could have a do-over?"
Well, they're 13-14 without him and currently engaged in a tie game in the ninth inning.
Their #3 hitter is 0-for-5 and their third baseman couldn't hit one over the wall if he was standing on second base.
What do you think?
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