A-Rod = A-mazing

BronxBomberz · **A-Rod = A-mazing -** 09-09-2007, 11:02 AM

It's hard to think of anything to say about Alex Rodriguez that hasn't already been said. He is simply having not only the best season of his fine career, but one of the best seasons any player has ever had while wearing a Yankee uniform. His two HRs yesterday (in consecutive at-bats) set a single-season record for a third baseman, according to the AP. He now has 52 HRs on the season, 49 as a third baseman.
Only four Yankee players have ever hit 50 HRs in a season: Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, and now Alex Rodriguez. Kat O'Brien does some quick math and realizes that A-Rod needs 11 HRs to break Maris' AL record, 61.
Babe Ruth's 1926-32 seasons arguably rank as the best single-player seasons in Yankee history, with Lou Gehrig's best seasons just behind Ruth's. But Alex's 2007 season stacks up well against any of Joe DiMaggio's best when looking at park-adjusted statistics such as OPS+, even the 1939-41 stretch. Rodriguez is just off of the pace set by Mickey Mantle in some of his best seasons.
This all deserves more in-depth analysis, but we're trying to wait until A-Rod's 2007 is done before going into too much detail. The fact that A-Rod can even remotely be compared to any of those players' best seasons illustrates what elite company he's putting himself in. Larry Brooks has some nice words for Alex, especially in light of the fact that he's (hopefully) and all-natural guy playing in an era with steroid-inflated numbers.
In addition to A-Rod going yard yesterday, Johnny Damon and Wilson Betemit also homered and had big games. Bobby Abreu continued to heat up, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Andy Pettitte pitched into the seventh inning, yielding two runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings of work.
The AP reports that the Yanks are a major league-best 37-19 since the All-Star break. They'll look to continue their domination over the Royals (8-1 this season) and complete the sweep behind Chien-Ming Wang (17-6, 3.68 ERA), who will be going for his 18th win. Zack Greinke (6-5, 3.87 ERA) will pitch for Kansas City.
In other news...

Derek Jeter left last night's game early, and will sit out today because of an irritated right knee.
Mike Mussina is going to start Wednesday against the Blue Jays, according to Yankees.com. If he doesn't like his current situation, his next start is as good a time as any to begin changing his current fate. Mussina is trying not to view this as a make-or-break game, telling Newsday, "I can't look at it that way. I don't think anybody's going to pitch well if they think this is their one shot on the mound." Moose has no idea what to expect the next time he gets the ball. He told Mark Feinsand, "What's going to happen Wednesday? I have no idea. My arm is in pretty good shape, but I haven't been pitching. It could be good, it could be bad. I don't know how it's going to be."
Regarding Mariano Rivera, one veteran scout told Kat O'Brien that the Friday night was "... the best I've ever seen him... Ever." On the heels of that quote, we'll dismiss the ridiculous notion proposed by Jesse Spector today that Rivera should set up for Joba Chamberlain in the postseason. Let's see... Bump the best postseason closer of all-time, who happens to be pitching very well right now, for a rookie that has pitched all of 12 innings in the majors? Sure, great idea. We love Joba, we think that's pretty clear. But we're not ready to hand over the postseason closer role to the guy.
Nice piece from Ed Price today on how Ian Kennedy has been as good as advertised.
Jason Giambi hasn't been swinging the bat well lately, to the point that Wilson Betemit started at first yesterday. Giambi told George King that he feels like he's getting closer to working through this slump.
Interesting column from Dan Graziano on how careful teams are being in terms of pitch count levels for their organization's young arms. Graziano looks at the decision the Red Sox made in moving Clay Buchholz to the bullpen for the rest of the season. He also wonders if Joe Torre might have called Brian Cashman for his approval to leave Phil Hughes in the game if Hughes wasn't forced to leave that no-hitter in Texas with an injury earlier in the season. Torre says he was ready to.