Yank angst: Girardi makes dugout call to spare A-Rod’s feelings
The Alex Rodriguez melodrama continues.
When pinch hitting for the aging slugger in the ALCS, manager Joe Girardi reportedly made a call to the Yankee Stadium public address announcer to ask that only the replacement’s—and not A-Rod’s—name be announced.
The report, from CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman, included confirmation from Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. Yankees fans would likely have reacted with gusto to hear that Rodriguez was being subbed from the game, so the move was likely meant to spare his feelings.
Typically, public address announcers include both the player subbing in and the one exiting the game—but apparently are only required to announce the pinch hitter. As such, Girardi’s move appears technically legal but potentially unethical.
Rodriguez stumbled to a 3-for-25 postseason batting effort, including an even more abysmal 0-for-12 with eight strikeouts against right-handed pitching.
In the midst of the drama over A-Rod’s benching, a report surfaced that he had hit on a fan during an ALCS game by tossing her a baseball with a request to return it with her phone number.
Then, while the Tigers dominated the Yankees in a sweep, New York tabloids carried speculative reports that Rodriguez—and his behemoth of a contract—to his hometown Miami Marlins.
Needless to say, it’s been a tough month for A-Rod.
