Here we are, less than two months into the 2006 baseball campaign, and Alex Rodriguez is already subjected to Bronx Cheers on any given night at the Stadium. After a slow, mildly unimpressive start to the season, A-Rods head is already being called for. Before we join up with the rest of the mob and crucify Alex, lets take a look at some telling statistics of A-Rods time with the New York Yankees, and why I believe that the criticism of A-Rod is indeed unjust.

The image that is portrayed by the media and a good number of Yankees fans is that Derek Jeter is the epitome of clutch, and Alex Rodriguez is in fact the antithesis of clutch. Let us first start with the 2005 season, in which the New York Yankees, despite all of the adversities that they were faced with, eventually ended up taking the AL East, once again, from the Red Sox. Alex Rodriguez had an absolute monster campaign, in which he won the award for Most Valuable Player of the AL East. However, this was overlooked in the off-season, after the Yankees poor performance in the ALDS against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, in which A-Rod did not play to his full potential. A-Rods name and actions (glove slap anyone?) are also deeply entrenched into the hearts of all, after the Yankees historic collapse against the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS. Let us all forget about how A-Rod out-hit the Captain, Derek Jeter, in that 2004 ALCS. Let us also overlook the fact A-Rod is a career .305 hitter in the postseason, but I digress. Let us tackle the issue of A-Rods incompetence and attempt to dispel the critics that are constantly putting down A-Rod.

First of all, the grounds of which A-Rod is critiqued are quite shaky. The crux of the argument against A-Rod is that he is not a clutch player, and that he consistently fails to perform in the big spot for his team. First of all, the whole notion of a player being clutch and performing under the clutch is an entirely discretionary call made by a person. These big spots in which a player must perform are entirely arbitrary and really have no place in determining the worth, or the talent of an individual player. A person may make the case that a players performance when the game is close, or if the game is late in the game, is obviously more indicative of the players value to the team. This simply isnt the case. Lets take the 2005 season for example. Alex Rodriguez put up gaudy numbers for the Yankees, as they frantically played catch up in order to stay in contention for the postseason. A-Rods stats easily overshadow any other Yankee in the 2005 season, as you could say that A-Rod put the team on his back and carried them to the postseason. With everything aside, I was displeased with how A-Rod played in the postseason, but Im not going to hold it against the guy forever. A-Rod was criticized for his poor play in the postseason, and attributed it due to the pressure and the clutch scenarios, in which A-Rod simply could not perform. However, is it not more clutch of a player to put up consistent statistics throughout the course of a 162 game baseball season? A-Rod was counted on for the entire season to put up MVP numbers, as he was forced to shoulder the offensive load. Just by simply glancing at his statistics, if A-Rod had a bad day, it was certainly much more detrimental to the team than someone such as Gary Sheffield or Derek Jeter having a bad day. To say that A-Rod did not perform in the clutch is somewhat of a ludicrous statement in itself, as its a discretionary issue; A-Rod put up consistent numbers throughout the entire season, and performed under the pressure for 162 games.

Secondly, the New York media and Yankees fans have come up with the notion that play outside of late-innings or against divisional rivals such as the Red Sox, is pretty much meaningless. Lets say for example that a player hits a two-run homerun in the first inning of a game, and the team goes on to win the game by a score of 2-1. What exactly made that homerun less of a clutch play, than say a two-run, walk-off homerun hit by a player in the bottom of the 9th inning? As aforementioned, the entire notion of clutch play and performing under the pressure is pretty much arbitrary.

Now well take a look at the slow start that A-Rod has had thus far in the 2006 season. I for one believe that A-Rod is not performing as well as he is capable of, as his statistics certainly are not demonstrating that he is. So far, through May 30th, A-Rods statistics are as followed:

AVG: .290
OBP: .393
SLG: .538
OPS: .931
HR: 13
RBI: 42

Those numbers certainly are not MVP worthy, and certainly demonstrate a sense of underachievement for A-Rod. However, he is on pace to hit 43 HRs, and drive in 139 runs. Lets take a look at the average statistics that A-Rod would put up in a given 162 game season, based on career statistics.

AVG: .307
OBP: .385
SLG: .577
OPS: .962
HR: 44
RBI: 125

So basically, Ill even concede that A-Rod is off to a slower start than last seasons MVP performance. But he is basically on pace to drive in a similar number of HRs and RBIs, which he does in an average season. The most telling aspect of his slow start, I believe, is that his average and slugging percentage are both considerably down. Last season, A-Rod hit .351, with a .666 slugging percentage, and 26 HRs at Yankee Stadium. Up until last week, he was hitting just a measly .250, a .413 slugging percentage, and only had 3 HRs so far. If his performances in the last homestand are any indication as to how hell be playing at home, then there is no doubt that he will be putting up numbers similar to last years. Those numbers were all considerably down from his usual performances in New York. In the past three seasons, A-Rod has hit .311, with a .576 slugging percentage, both as a visitor and home player in the Bronx. These low statistics are simply an anomaly and are not consistent with A-Rods performances over the course of his career. Listen, A-Rod has had a slow start to the season, but the injury situation of the Yankees hasnt helped him either. Pitchers simply have not had to pitch to A-Rod, and have been able to either put him on base, or throw him bad pitches. A-Rod hasnt been hitting well at all, but his OBP is basically what is always is, which to me, demonstrates that he is being walked and basically pitched around. A-Rod is on pace for 99 walks this season, which is a 25 more walks than his average. What about hitting in the clutch; that is certainly something that A-Rod has failed to do, right?!? Well, A-Rod, despite his slow start, has a .317 batting average with runners in scoring position, and a .333 average with runners in scoring position and two outs. Talk about not hitting in the clutch!

With the return of Gary Sheffield to the lineup, A-Rods numbers will certainly improve as he will see more quality pitches from starters. If Jason Giambi can turn things around, then the sky is really the only limit for these Yankees. A-Rod is already finishing the month of May strong, and I expect that will continue into June and July, because we all know how much A-Rod loves being selected for the All-Star Game! For the time being, lets just let A-Rod do his thing, and perhaps offer him some support in the Bronx, as thats where hes struggling the most. This criticism certainly isnt justified as A-Rod has been hitting in the clutch, which I would say is RISP w/ 2 outs; booing him wont do him any good, nor will it do the Yankees any good.