Spring Break
The case for A-Rod
Jonathan Magnuson
Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: Opinion
Though I know almost ninety percent of the people who read this will disagree with me I still have to let it be known. The Boston Red Sox made one of the biggest mistakes by not signing free agent Alex Rodriguez.
Alex Rodriguez, who is hated throughout Red Sox nation, is no doubt the best player in the game today. His statistics have always been there to prove it; this isn't a one year thing. Since his first full season of play (1996 with Seattle), he has never hit less than 23 home runs, only once did he hit under 100 RBI's (1997), and not once has he hit less than a .285 batting average.
He has been for years becoming an obvious Hall of Famer with these staggering numbers. The same year that he and Jason Varitek had their confrontation in July 2004 was the most memorable series and year in the Red Sox outstanding history. Still, people need to realize what he could have brought to this line-up.
As a righty hitter his favorite target is left field, which as all Red Sox fans know. Fenway has an incredibly vulnerable left field wall.
That of course, combined with his potential linuep order of Manny Ramirez and David "Big Papi" Ortiz would have made the 3-4-5 punch of our line-up nearly unstoppable.
However, there is the argument of fan favorite Mike Lowell. I am a personal fan of Lowell and what he has done for our team. In 2006 Mike Lowell hit a very respectable .286 with the Red Sox, only to improve in 2007 with a .324 batting average. This is great, although his stats are still not even close to those of Alex Rodriguez. As I mentioned before A-Rod has never hit under the average of .285, while Mike Lowell has only hit above that number twice in his career. Only three times in Lowell's career has he hit more than 23 home runs, something that A-Rod has done every single year of his glorious career.
Some may argue that when signing a player like A-Rod you will lose the defensive aspect that Lowell brings. Obviously these people do not know what they are talking about. People may say that A-Rod has committed 111 more errors than Mike Lowell has, which is correct. What people never seem to realize is that A-Rod has also been a part of more than double the put outs that Lowell has (1453 more put outs to be exact). Making A-Rods fielding percentage at a very respectable .974, only .001 lower than Mike Lowell's.
Proving again why he would have been the better choice.
Alex Rodriguez, who is hated throughout Red Sox nation, is no doubt the best player in the game today. His statistics have always been there to prove it; this isn't a one year thing. Since his first full season of play (1996 with Seattle), he has never hit less than 23 home runs, only once did he hit under 100 RBI's (1997), and not once has he hit less than a .285 batting average.
He has been for years becoming an obvious Hall of Famer with these staggering numbers. The same year that he and Jason Varitek had their confrontation in July 2004 was the most memorable series and year in the Red Sox outstanding history. Still, people need to realize what he could have brought to this line-up.
As a righty hitter his favorite target is left field, which as all Red Sox fans know. Fenway has an incredibly vulnerable left field wall.
That of course, combined with his potential linuep order of Manny Ramirez and David "Big Papi" Ortiz would have made the 3-4-5 punch of our line-up nearly unstoppable.
However, there is the argument of fan favorite Mike Lowell. I am a personal fan of Lowell and what he has done for our team. In 2006 Mike Lowell hit a very respectable .286 with the Red Sox, only to improve in 2007 with a .324 batting average. This is great, although his stats are still not even close to those of Alex Rodriguez. As I mentioned before A-Rod has never hit under the average of .285, while Mike Lowell has only hit above that number twice in his career. Only three times in Lowell's career has he hit more than 23 home runs, something that A-Rod has done every single year of his glorious career.
Some may argue that when signing a player like A-Rod you will lose the defensive aspect that Lowell brings. Obviously these people do not know what they are talking about. People may say that A-Rod has committed 111 more errors than Mike Lowell has, which is correct. What people never seem to realize is that A-Rod has also been a part of more than double the put outs that Lowell has (1453 more put outs to be exact). Making A-Rods fielding percentage at a very respectable .974, only .001 lower than Mike Lowell's.
Proving again why he would have been the better choice.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
ravendra
ravendra
posted 9/16/08 @ 7:09 AM EST
Frond End
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Text;
using System. (Continued…)
ravendra
rave
posted 9/16/08 @ 12:22 PM EST
using System ;
public class SortableCollection : System.Collections.CollectionBase
{
public void Sort( string sortExpression, SortDirection sortDirection)
{
InnerList. (Continued…)
ravendra
ravendra
posted 9/16/08 @ 4:39 PM EST
//Sort Class
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Imports System.Collections
Imports MPN_Data_Objects
Imports Microsoft.VisualBasic
Public Class Class1(Of T)
Implements IComparer(Of T)
Dim Con_String As String = Configuration. (Continued…)
ravendra
john
posted 9/19/08 @ 4:07 PM EST
//New code
//Account Class
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Imports System.Collections
Imports MPN_Data_Objects
Imports Microsoft. (Continued…)
ravendra
ravendra
posted 9/22/08 @ 4:58 PM EST
''9/22/08
'Collection base
Imports System.Data
Imports System.Data.SqlClient
Imports System.Collections
Imports MPN_Data_Objects
Imports Microsoft. (Continued…)
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