That Is That

Saturday night saw the Senators respond well (except for the first twenty minutes) to a long layoff and the Rockies respond poorly to a change of scenery. The Senators continue to provide precious little by way of story lines, winning a game and then quietly preparing to win another. Remarkably, however, the first two days of the baseball off-season have been far more dramatic than the World Series was. Alex Rodriguez has opted out of the Yankees and those same pinstripers have hired Joe Girardi (and his one year of managerial experience to guide them into next season). Other questions swirl around the Yankees with major contributors Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Petite in limbo with regards to next season.

The questions surrounding Rodriguez are multiple and intriguing. Clearly, the best hitter in baseball right now; he is also a strong fielder and excellent baserunner: the total package. His recent postseason statistics, however, raise questions about his ability to hit in the clutch, though his career playoff numbers are decent by anyone else's standards and he did hit a remarkable .475 in the ninth inning this season. The money that he is looking for immediately diminishes the field of contenders for his services and two of the most interesting scenarios involve him moving back to play shortstop (with either the Cubs or the Red Sox) and hitting in the middle of already potent lineups. The other two obvious possibilities are the two LA teams. The Dodgers rumoured pursuit of Joe Torre may remove them from the running but the Angels could be very tempted by the possibility of a one-two punch of Vladimir Guerrero and A-Rod that would probably be even more intimidating than the Ortiz-Ramirez duo in Boston. In that scenario you probably get the most out of your investment, adding both Rodriguez' production and likely bolstering Guerrero's by forcing teams to pitch to him to avoid A-Rod. How this plays out will be very interesting.