Joe Girardi said he’s not ready to call DH a platoon position for the Yankees, nor is he ready to declare Alex Rodriguez “done.”
Still, Girardi’s actions suggest otherwise.
On Monday Rodriguez found himself on the bench a second straight day against a young righthanded starter, and Girardi said there likely will be more of that to come. Aaron Hicks started in right and Carlos Beltran, still red hot at the plate, was the DH.
DataA-Rod's career home runs
So is DH now a platoon?
“I’m not necessarily saying that,” Girardi said before Monday’s game. “But we’re going to look at things on a daily basis and make our decision.”
Girardi added: “It’s a hard decision. Alex has meant a lot to this club over the years. But right now we’re going to do something a little bit different and see how it works . . . things change. Nothing is set in stone.”
Rodriguez, who entered Monday’s game with a .223/.264/.398 slash line with eight homers and 26 RBIs, said he was “a little surprised” not to be in the lineup a second straight game.
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Rodriguez said of the possibility of being benched against righty starters for the foreseeable future. “I’m not in there today. I’ve said all year, all you can do is control your attitude and your work ethic and I feel pretty good about both. He’s [Girardi] trying to win games and he feels that the best lineup today is the one he put up.”
Overall Rodriguez, who turns 41 on July 27, hasn’t been very good this season, but the numbers are even more extreme against righthanders.
As of Monday, Rodriguez had a .200/.236/.348 slash line against righthanders, with five homers and 17 RBIs, compared to a .275/.327/.510 slash line with three homers and nine RBIs against lefthanders.
“No. 1 is swinging at strikes,” he said, comparing this season to last, when he hit a team-high 33 homers and drove in 86 runs. “For me, I missed 21 days or so when I was off [on the DL May 4-25 with a right hamstring strain]. That messed with my rhythm a little bit. But look, there’s a lot of baseball to be played. You haven’t heard the last of me. And I’m looking forward to, when my number’s called, to come back and be very productive.”
Girardi, who said Rodriguez would be in the lineup Tuesday night against lefthander Cole Hamels, didn’t believe the DH’s struggles to be the inevitable, permanent slide of an older player who simply doesn’t have anything left.
“As I’ve said, righthanders have given him trouble, lefthanders he’s been pretty successful,” Girardi said. “So as far as him being done, no, I’m not saying that. I just think righthanders are giving him trouble right now and it’s something we have to look at.”
..... - Newsday