Wither A-Rod: Does He Stay with the Yankees or Does He Go...

photo from cnnsi.com

Obviously, one man does not make a team; however, A-Rod is carrying the Yankees on his back. Without him, they could easily have 5 wins, or maybe even fewer. With his offensive barrage last night with his two homers, he has hit 14 long balls in April, tying a record. Considering the drama he had gone through as a Yankee, plus with some of the media whipping he’s received over the past several seasons, it only makes it even more remarkable what he has been able to achieve this month.

All in all, he looks like a completely different player. A-Rod is now focused, has the killer instinct and not one who thinks too much on his feet as to what’s going on in the game, or even worse outside of it.

You have got to be in awe of what Alex Rodriguez is going right now. As an Orioles’ fan, I know the pain that he is now inflicting on other teams at the moment, as he hit a walk-off (grand-slam) home run off of us to win a game back in early April.

The big question on everyone’s mind is will he stay in New York City and remain and Yankee, or will he go?

If you asked me before the season, I would have said he stays in New York because he would not want to have been seen as a quitter.

Looking at things as they are now, I think he’s a goner from the Yankees after the season.

Right now, Alex Rodriguez is on pace to hit 100 plus home runs and 400 plus RBI’s.

Will that happen – probably not.

In my mind, he will arguably be one of the best, if not the best, all-around player in the history of the game.

However, if he can continue his success throughout the whole year, what will that mean?

From the outside looking in, nothing; however, that changes if the Yankees win the World Series. At the rate that the Yankee pitching is going, that might not happen, and all Alex’s success will be worthless.

In light of it all, if Alex slumps, he’ll be booed like he has in the past.

His April will be forgotten and will be a part of history.

In the end, does he stay after ’07?

No.

He’s got a huge payday waiting for him if he opts out, and the way he looks and the numbers that he could possibly project; he will not be Yankee after the season unless they renegotiate his deal.

If the Yankees don’t resign him, there are a litany of other teams waiting, like the Cubs (A-Rod has a great relationship with Sweet Lou), the Angels, and several others.

The money is too good, and since he is a client of Scott Boras, it’s only fathomable that he’ll get the best deal possible for Alex.

He may or may not leave the Yankees after the season, but he’ll have a new contract.