Kuzul

The ALCS begins this Saturday night (8 p.m. ET, TBS) as the New York Yankees host the Detroit Tigers in a rematch of their first-round playoff series of a year ago.  This matchup is chalk full of storylines, none bigger than the status of Alex Rodriguez.  Will he find himself riding the bench for the second straight game?

New York doesn’t have much time to reflect on their Game 5 win in the Division Series against the Baltimore Orioles, and for many, that’s probably a good thing. 

Numerous Yankee stars struggled throughout the series besides Rodriguez.  They’ll look to turn that around tonight and in Game 2 on Sunday afternoon (4 p.m. ET, TBS) before the series shifts to Detroit for Games 3-5.

Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson and Rodriguez all hit .158 or lower against the O’s.  As a result, Eric Chavez got the start in place of A-Rod at third base in the deciding game.

Fortunately for the Yanks, Tigers ace Justin Verlander pitched in Detroit’s Game 5 ALDS win against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday.  Detroit will have Doug Fister on the mound for tonight’s opener.

So what does Yankee skipper Joe Girardi do with Rodriguez? 

His decision would be more difficult if Chavez had taken advantage of the opportunity.  Instead, the veteran went 0-for-8 with four strikeouts in the Division Series.

Girardi has tried to keep Rodriguez away from right-handers lately, and all four Tigers starting pitchers are righties.  According to Cliff Corcoran of SI.com, A-Rod’s 1-for-9 with two walks and three strikeouts in his career facing Fister.

Forget for a minute your personal opinions on Rodriguez.  There’s no denying he’s a polarizing figure, especially after his steroid issues came to light.  The only thing to consider is who gives the Yankees a better shot at winning? 

There’s an old saying in sports:  “You go with the guys that got you there.”

Sure, Rodriguez didn’t have great numbers during the regular season (.272, 18 HR, 57 RBI).  He also played in only 122 games. 

But when you compare their career postseason numbers, everything favors A-Rod being in the starting lineup.  Rodriguez has a career playoff average of .268 in 72 games, while Chavez is hitting a paltry .205 in 31 games.

How quickly Yankees fans seem to forget Alex’s performance in the 2009 playoffs, the last time New York won the World Series.  He hit .378 with six HR and 18 RBI in 15 games.  However, it is worth pointing out that that was three years ago and Rodriguez is now 37. 

Yet, it’s also worth pointing out that Granderson only hit .232 during the regular season and followed that up with a .158 clip against Baltimore.  Is anyone calling for him to be benched? 

If Girardi plays Rodriguez, he struggles, and the Yankees lose the series, critics will be all over him.  But if he plays Chavez and the same exact scenario plays out, the criticism will be much worse.

The Yankees are better off letting one of the game’s most prolific hitters sink his own ship than they are if they don’t let him “on the ship” to begin with. 

Baseball fans everywhere eagerly await your decision, Joe. 

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The Texas Rangers completed their late-season collapse by losing 5-1 to the Baltimore Orioles in the AL Wild-Card Game Friday night.  They now have a decision to make that will alter the course of the franchise.

Are they better off with or without Josh Hamilton?

Hamilton was showered with boos after his three-pitch strikeout in the eighth inning left him 0-for-4 in the one-game playoff.  If this was his last game as a Ranger, he certainly had a better ending in mind.

In fact, his performance was a culmination of Hamilton’s struggles in the last few weeks of September.  The left fielder finished the year going 10-for-43, with no home runs or walks and 19 strikeouts. 

That went hand-in-hand with Texas losing eight of its last 10 games.  The Rangers coughed up home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs and were swept by Oakland to hand the A’s the AL West title on the final day of the regular season.

Despite hitting 43 home runs and driving in 128 runs, Hamilton’s year will be remembered most for his critical error in that division-deciding loss to the A’s. 

Couple that with a stat shown during the telecast of the Orioles game that said Hamilton had one home run in his last 82 postseason plate appearances and it’s easy to understand why he may not be back in a Texas uniform next year.

So are the Rangers better off without him?

In the short term, the answer is no.  But as a whole, when you look at the direction this franchise is heading, that no becomes a yes.

There is no quick fix to replacing Hamilton.  This upcoming crop of free-agents is less than impressive. 

The only outfielder available who has even close to the numbers that Hamilton does is Curtis Granderson.  David Wright and Robinson Cano are free agents, too.  However, all three have team options for 2013 that are expected to be exercised. 

Assuming none of them are in Arlington next year, the Rangers will have a glaring hole in their lineup. 

Keep in mind, though, Hamilton is looking for at least a five-year deal worth $20 million-plus a season.  And, as Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports points out, Texas already understands its situation:

The Rangers are entering a transition period in which they try to do what only the most successful franchises can: reload instead of rebuild. They’ve got the goods for it: the money, the prospects, the front-office brains, the air of success. Paying Hamilton that sort of salary for that long goes against much of what they believe, which can be summed up thusly: Do not give large sums of money to aging players.

They say all good things come to an end.  So even though amilton’s tenure as a Texas Ranger will probably have concluded on an incredibly sour note, that doesn’t erase the five years of success they shared together.

It just means that, at this point, a mutual parting of the ways between player and team is the best thing for both involved.

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The Washington Nationals are the biggest surprise of the 2012 MLB season.

And Stephen Strasburg‘s starting pitching is a big reason for that success.  So how does this team expect to advance in their first playoff appearance in franchise history without their ace?

If the playoffs started today, the Nats would face either the Atlanta Braves or the St. Louis Cardinals in the division series.  The Braves are a division rival and the Cards are the defending champs.

Strasburg was shut down effective immediately after going 15-6 this season with a 3.16 ERA and 197 strikeouts in 159.1 IP.  Those are Cy Young-worthy statistics for the young right-hander who rebounded from Tommy John surgery in August 2010. 

So can anyone explain why—at 86-53 and atop the NL East—the Nationals wouldn’t just rest Strasburg for the rest of September? 

They pretty much have a playoff berth wrapped up at this point, so I can understand giving him a few weeks off.  He could rest up and take some time to prepare himself physically and mentally for Game 1 of the NLDS.

Instead, the Nats’ brass has stuck to their original game plan by ending his season prematurely…and completely.  In their eyes, the risk of Strasburg re-injuring himself is greater than the reward of a possible World Series title.  This logic defies the idea that you “play to win the game.” 

The last time I checked Strasburg was 24, not 10.  Stop treating the guy like he’s made of glass.

The Nats have way more to gain by stashing him until October than shutting him down for the entirety of the season.  What if Washington made it to the NLCS? Even if they lost, wouldn’t the playoff experience gained by Strasburg be invaluable to his overall development?

The answer is most emphatically yes.  You can’t “baby” a player of his talent, especially in the prime of his career.

Let’s understand one thing here.  The Nationals are more than just Stephen Strasburg.  They have the second-best team ERA in the majors at 3.29.  Their lineup is solid if not spectacular.

However, the buzz and momentum Washington has built up over the season will deflate as October nears.  Instead of talking about what a great year they’re having, all people will talk about is this decision.

It’s a shame that such a promising squad is destined for a first-round exit in the division series, no matter whom they play. 

At least he’ll be healthy come April, right?

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