Olney On A-Rod, Marlins, DeRosa

I can sense the anti A-Rod posts about to begin...

Nolasco, in his game vs Boston last week looked like the Ace of the Fish from last season. I think that Mark Wiley and Nolasco has gotten himself squared away and just in time for the NL East pennant chase.

I would be fine if the Marlins gave up some pitching for DeRosa. Say Ryan Tucker, Aaron Thompson, and a lower level player. That way we get Bonifacio off the field finally and get an actual hitter.

God I am tired of all these DeRosa posts. I mean, I understand he is that desirable to all the teams and everything, but.

That said, I am probably just bitter because the return is bound to blow away what we got from the Indians. And really, I second this

“I miss having DeRosa on my Cubs...screw you, Hendry.”

the Marlins getting DeRosa would be nice, we could just use Bonifacio as a backup 2B or pinch runner, and put DeRosa at 3B

We do. I don't know what it'll take to forgive him for his offseason BS.

I cringed when they announced the ARod extension but understood why. Doesn't mean I can't cringe though lol

As much as it pains me to be the one to say it... I think people are overreacting to Arod. I doubt the steroids made him the hitter he was, without them he probably was still an all star hitter. Sure he looks bad in the field, will have to be DH eventually, and giving a 10 year contract to a guy who's 42 when the contract ends is a bad idea... but odds are he'll be a hard out for the next few years. He's just a guy who has a tendency to do poorly under pressure.

Does anyone else see a pattern with hitting over the last couple of years? For the last couple of years the average runs per game has been dropping and by my calculations this year is continuing that trend... is it solely the work of steroids or are we seeing better pitching/defense in the majors?

The A-Rod signing was a disaster to begin with.

1. The dollars were way too much. Not one other team was confirmed to contemplated $20m or more per year (although I'm sure Boras could have coaxed someone out their cash).

2. Even then, the dollars would have been OK for the Yanks. The big problem was the years. And here no one was going to come close to 10 years. A normal contract for a superstar 32 YO, 5 years maybe. With A-Rod you might push it to 7. But 10?

A-Rod will be fine this year. And he will probably be worth his paycheck over the next 3-4 years. However, when he is 37, can't field his position, he stops running and his power drops ... well, then it won't be so sweet.

"1. The dollars were way too much. Not one other team was confirmed to contemplated $20m or more per year (although I'm sure Boras could have coaxed someone out their cash)."

Do you really think so bjsguess? Both Boras and ARod thought that Boston was going to get coaxed into the bidding, but they pretty much ignored him right off and resigned Lowell real quick, then all of a sudden, the Steinbrenners and Alex got together and a contract was done and we never heard about any other offers if there were any.

We were hearing during the season the rumors he was putting out of his "desire" to play in Boston, probably just to get a bidding war going that never materialized.

"Yeah, wouldn't it be nice if Bonifacio was gone and jacobs was back?"

It would be nice but then we don't have that speed and just another strike out or home run hitter. Plus we wouldn't have Ross Gload or Leo Nunez if we still had Jacobs.

"Why dont the Marlins just play Chris Coghlan at 3B?"

The Marlins don't have the best OF. Coghlan, Ross, Hermida is the starting line up. It is pretty much between starting Brett Carrol or Bonifacio and at least Bonifacio has amazing speed.

"Uggs has smooth hands, just short on range."

Hence the reason he plays 2B. His range isn't even that bad, it's Hanley's range that sucks.

I truly think Arod should get a pass for how he's hit thus far. Look how long other swho had hip surgery had to recover:

Lowell: October 20th
Played 1st game: April 7th
Recovery time: 167 days

Utley: November 24th
Played 1st game: April 5th
Recovery time: 131 days

Arod: March 8th
Played 1st game: May 8th
Recovery time: 60 days

***STILL NEEDS ANOTHER OPERATION IN NOV 09 TO COMPLETELY REPAIR THE INJURED AREA

Why doesn't anyone get this? I mean the guy had the same injury as the other two, came back 2 to 3 months before either Utley or Lowell AND had to IMMEDIATELY get back into spring training and back on the field. The other two guys had time to rest and completely heal before having to do competitive baseball activities.

If anyone feels Arod is a jerk for the steroids then fine. If you think he's a loser because he slumps in the playoffs then so be it. But damn...use common sense and keep your expecations reasonable. For some reason people feel that if you're paid like superman then you must be able to perform superman'ish acts. He's still skin and bones. Obviously the Yanks rushed him back because they needed him. Obviously if he still needs surgery in Nov then he's not 100%. Obviously he's been away from the field and is still trying to find his way. Hate the man for other reasons (steroids/not being a winner) if you want, but cut the guy some slack. I'm sure Arod will find his way and finish somewhere around .280/.3670 25 hrs and 75 rbi. Far, far from what you want from a 27 a year guy but I still think once he's healed he has another 1 or 2 MVP type seasons in his body.

Unfortunately, he's signed for 10 years, but these are the NY Yanks and his 27 mil a year salary will not keep the Yanks from fielding a good team. If anything it means the Yanks have tod develop the kids AND be more selective in who they sign. We can't afford any more Carl Pavano type signings.

Ha ha ha... the comment that scouts aren't impressed with Arod anymore is hilarious.. I bet if you offered him to anyone of those scouts they would fight over him.