BALTIMORE — For all their distrust of him personally, for all of their anger at his deceit, the unmistakable truth of this pennant race is that the Yankees need Alex Rodriguez. He is free on bail, essentially, appealing his 211-game drug suspension, and his line-drive doubles helped spark a 7-5 victory over the Baltimoreand drive it to all fields.”
Alas, Rodriguez is not the most reliable player to depend on for a playoff push. With his surgically repaired hips, his documented history of performance-enhancing drug use and his age — 38 — he is a risky bet to hold up very long.
So it was that Rodriguez doubled to start a go-ahead, four-run rally in the top of the eighth inning, and then was replaced in the bottom of the inning by David Adams. He said he felt a knot in his left hamstring coming around third to score, but iced it and said it “checked out O.K.”
Manager Joe Girardi said he would probably use Rodriguez as the designated hitter Wednesday.
“We need to keep him in there,” Girardi said, “so we’ll figure something out.”
Rodriguez went 2 for 4 on Tuesday with a run batted in and a run scored, improving his average to .301 in 31 games. Small sample, maybe, but as a hitter, Rodriguez looks a lot better than an average or slightly above-average third baseman, which was General Manager Brian Cashman’s stated expectation.
Rodriguez has been playing, while Derek Jeter sits with soreness in his rebuilt left ankle. The Yankees traded for Seattle shortstop Brendan Ryan after the game, adding more depth to a depleted left side of the infield.
Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Alfonso Soriano, Curtis Granderson and Mark Reynolds helped in Tuesday’s comeback, with Soriano homering twice. But Rodriguez has that look again, showing flashes of being one of the greats his career numbers say he is — however he did it.
“He’s looked really good; that’s why we moved him up to the 2 hole,” Girardi said, adding later, “I don’t think you can ask him to do much more.”
Rodriguez’s emergence helps explain why Girardi’s confidence in the team — which never wavers in public — has a reasonably solid foundation.
Soriano is the biggest reason, with 15 home runs and 47 R.B.I. in 43 games since his trade from the Chicago Cubs on July 26. Since then, no player in the majors has hit more home runs.
But Granderson, Reynolds and especially Rodriguez, who is slugging .496, have also come along to support Cano as hitters who can quickly change a game.
“I always believe these guys are going to fight back,” Girardi said. “I think that’s the belief you have to have, because I’ve seen them do it. With the punch that we have, you feel you can come back now.”
The Yankees did their punching with their bats Tuesday; nothing spilled over from Monday’s clash of managers, when the Orioles’ Buck Showalter confronted Girardi for barking at the Baltimore third-base coach, whom Girardi suspected of telegraphing pitches to hitters.
Showalter’s willingness to challenge Girardi — he was restrained by the umpires — should have surprised no one. Having spent so many years in their organization, Showalter acutely understands the importance of the Yankees, to his players and the fans, symbolically and, of course, in the standings.
Last year, the teams split their 18 games in the regular season. This year, the Orioles have won nine and the Yankees have won eight.
“It’s two very competitive groups that are competing for the same thing,” Showalter said. “That’s the way it’s supposed to be. It matters. You care, it matters, like a lot of things in life. You’re not very passionate about things you don’t care about.”
For all the noise generated last month by some Boston Red Sox, who said Rodriguez should not be playing while he appeals his suspension, Showalter’s objections had little traction. In comments he later said he never intended for publication, Showalter told USA Today that the suspension was too harsh because it could give the Yankees a temporary escape hatch from his bloated contract.
“If Bud lets them get away with that, they’re under the luxury tax,” Showalter said, referring to Commissioner Bud Selig. “If they can reset, they can spend again and I guarantee you in two years, Matt Wieters is in New York.”
Wieters, the Orioles’ two-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove-winning catcher, would be an easy fit in New York. But the point was that the Yankees should suffer from the bad deal they made with Rodriguez.
On Tuesday, that deal helped the Yankees win a game they badly needed. They gained on every team they trailed for the second American League wild-card spot, and now stand just two games behind Tampa Bay and a half-game behind Baltimore and Cleveland.
Rodriguez will have a big say in the outcome, as long as his body cooperates. The Yankeesand their fans can thank the appeal process for that
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