After an upsetting 2014 season with the New York Yankees finishing in 2nd place in their devision, and once again for the second year in a row failing to reach the playoffs, the Yankees have a lot of question marks going into this offseason, and need to get those questions answered immediately. It starts with a replacement for Derek Jeter, as to who can be the man to carry and represent that Yankees team. As everyone knows, Derek Jeter was the heart and soul for the New York Yankees, for many, many years, and for that reason, he completed that Yankees team, and made sure they always came together, whether it was through good or bad times, but he always delivered no matter what. This, however, isn't about Derek Jeter anymore (with all due respect to him), this is now about the future sake of the Yankees franchise, and there's only one man who can answer after Derek Jeter, that man is Alex Rodriguez; their last hope....How, and Why?
Now I know what you're all thinking, how could A-Rod possibly be the man to follow within Jeter's footsteps, how could he carry any role of responsibility or leadership after all of his wrong's and injustices? The bottom line is, Alex Rodriguez is getting healthy, he's recovering (getting in shape) and he is a great baseball player, whether you people like him or not. With or without steroids, he delivers at a high level, and he delivers at a high level ESPECIALLY when he knows it's his team, when he knows and feels like he's the man of the team. He has only 2 years of his contract left once the 2015 season starts. Yankees need to capitalize on that.
Offense Improves When He's In The Line-UP If He's Supported
In 2013 when Alex Rodriguez made his return in the second half of the season, he actually brought some power back to that line-up that they were missing that entire year, the Yankee bats started showing more life, and although he wasn't the old Alex Rodriguez, he was still performing at a decent level. In 2007, an MVP year for Rodriguez, although the Yankees didn't win the world series, everyone saw what a great year he had because of the support he had from the team and the fans, and because it was his team that year. One cannot deny the money he brings in to Yankee stadium everytime he is scheduled to play, fans pay to this guy no matter what; it's a fact. If the Yankees want to succeed in 2015, they can do all the free agency shopping they want this entire winter, but it all comes down to letting Alex Rodriguez play and admitting that this is his team now. Yankees cannot let Rodriguez's past haunt the team or himself, because if you let his past get to your head, and his head, then the entire team will collapse; period.
Draws Attention and embraces it
Let Alex Rodriguez deal with the attention he gets. Alex, when motivated, when supported, does his best, and he's no stranger to being the center of attention, so who cares if he's constantly in the eye of the media, it wouldn't be a distraction to the team; I would embrace it, and use it as a positive vibe. In 2013 when Alex was dealing with the entire MLB organization and appealing a suspension, he seemed to have no issue playing on the field and the attention that time, didn't seem to bother him at all. Let's also take into consideration that at least some or most of that attention would no longer be focused on him as much as he took off for an entire year, and when he comes back, he will be both 100 % mentally and physically prepared. If you let Alex do what he does best, which is play the game of baseball, and support him while doing it, you will get Alex Rodriguez who plays at a very high level. When his bat comes alive, everyone loves Alex Rodriguez again anyway, and History has proven that especially in the Bronx.
Eliminate The Distractions, Simply Focus On Winning
This is where the responsibility of the New York Yankees comes into play. The entire team as a whole must eliminate the hate, eliminate the drama, and any problems involving Alex Rodriguez, if Yankees start feeding into all of this mess they will fall, don't do anything to hurt him, because it might cost the team as well, and yes im referring to benching him, putting him to bat in any spot of the line-up, or even having someone pinch-hit for him. When you give Rodriguez pressure, he sucks, and he sucks badly, and that ends up making the Yankees suck as well. Look at the 2012 playoffs for example, pressure was added to Rodriguez when they started screwing around with him, and the Yankees were victims to that as well because they all choked offensively. The power of the line-up needs to be protected and supported. If A-Rod does well, the entire Yankees will do well. And Rodriguez is a guy who has never been given that opportunity to be the man in New York (for an entire season). As I mentioned above, he's the only man who should deal with the problems. Yankees should formulate the best possible team that can play with Alex Rodriguez, to win baseball games for them in 2015. If they can sign younger, talented, hungry players who can play along with Alex, that can not only bring confidence to Rodriguez, but also make him feel more comfortable knowing he now has support in the line-up, and he has backup. Also, playing with younger players can help him grow as a leader, as a mentor for the team, and that too, will help Rodriguez in the long run. If the Yankees expect to have the same team in 2015 with the addition of just Alex coming back and no offseason moves, and win a championship with him, then they're crazy and it only makes things worse, because we all know they'll just blame A-rod if the team fails, and as mentioned before, A-Rod can't function right when he's pressured or blamed.
There is no other active player on the Yankees roster right now who anyone could truly think of and label them as the "man". Jacoby Ellsbury is a solid, talented, outfielder but he doesn't have the star power and doesn't influence a team as much, he also gets hurt a lot, and doesn't have much experience as a Yankee. Brett Gardner is a candidate due his heart and guts for the game but he too has gotten hurt many times in his career, and he needs batting impact offensively all the time if he wants to take over, which he doesn't really have. He's also not a big name in New York and while fans love him, do fans consider him a megastar? Brian McCann is a player with intense emotion but that's all he brings to a team, and he hasn't had enough experience as a Yankee to take over. Mark man can't be trusted due to age and injuries and he's very hot headed. Alex Rodriguez is clearly the favorite, who has experience, batting power, great fielding, star power, attention grabber, controversy, and resiliance, all added to his name. He's your last Yankee.
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