A-Rod's Renaissance

A-Rod may be old, but he's still hitting like the A-Rod of old (FNC Static)

Monday was Alex Rodriguez's 40th birthday, and of course he made the most of it.

Back in Texas, where he wowed Rangers fans with three of the best seasons a shortstop has ever had, Rodriguez added another feel-good chapter to his storybook comeback by slamming his 24th home run of the year and 678th of his career. The big fly was classic A-Rod--a heat-seeking missile launched the other way with the flick of his wrists. It's the kind of opposite field shot you see all the time when Rodriguez's swing is right, and it's become abundantly clear that his swing is in top form.

Rodriguez has had better numbers to be sure--take another look at those Texas years--but he's never enjoyed a campaign quite like this one. Nobody has, because nobody was ever suspended for an entire season and then returned to baseball on the cusp of 40.

As such, no one knew what to expect of Rodriguez this year, not even Rodriguez himself. It's safe to say nobody expected much. The odds were stacked against him, especially given that his last few years before the suspension were marked by injury woes and declining performance. Once one of the surest things in the game, A-Rod's future was overwhelmingly uncertain. How would his body hold up? Did he still have the reflexes and hand-eye co-ordination to hit major league pitching? Guys aren't supposed to miss a year in their late 30s and come back like nothing happened.

Except Rodriguez has. And while he hasn't been better than ever, he's almost as good as he used to be, something not even the most optimistic Yankee fans could have foreseen. Nobody in their wildest dreams would have believed that Rodriguez would return to being the middle of the order force he was during his prime, and yet that's exactly what he's done.

It would have been natural for A-Rod to start slow, given that he hadn't played major league baseball in more than a year, but he never displayed even a hint of rust. He reached base twice in his first game back, went yard in his third game, notched a pair of hits in his fourth game, and drove in four runs in game number six. Rodriguez hit the ground running, and he hasn't looked back.

And rather than wear down during the heat of the summer, as any slugger approaching 40 might, he's only gotten hotter with the weather. Rodriguez has nine home runs, 14 RBI, and a .726 slugging percentage since the Fourth of July. Three of those blasts came Saturday in Minnesota, when Rodriguez turned back the clock with his fifth career three-homer game (and first since 2010).

For an encore, Rodriguez smacked another home run on his birthday, making him just the fourth player ever to homer as a teenager and a 40 year-old (joining the unlikely trio of Ty Cobb, Rusty Staub, and former teammate Gary Sheffield). It was also his sixth birthday bomb--a new MLB record and a fitting milestone for his milestone birthday.

What may be even more surprising than A-Rod's resurgence on the field is the transformation of his perception off it.

Until a few months ago, Rodriguez was probably the most reviled athlete in sports. He was so hated that his own ballclub objected to his early spring training arrival. Yes, seriously. In ballparks across America, he was subjected to the worst booing since Barry Bonds made his run at Hank Aaron's home run record. You probably could have counted the number of Rodriguez supporters on one hand.

Now, well, there were legitimate objections to A-Rod being left off the All-Star Game roster. His teammates have welcomed him back with open arms, and Yankee fans have been quick to forgive. He still gets booed wherever he goes, but the jeers aren't fueled with the same level of vitrol. Fans appear to be booing him out of instinct more than anything else, because they always have and always will, and because they know that's what they're supposed to do (after all, the guy's a caught cheater! And a liar!).

After more than two decades in the big leagues, Rodriguez has finally discovered how to stay out of his own way, not to mention the tabloids (he did have 10 years to learn from the master--Derek Jeter). Thanks to wisdom, maturity, and an improved sense of self-awareness, his season has been shockingly devoid of controversy. He's handled everything with grace and poise; the transition to full-time DH (or: losing his starting job to Chase Headley), the incident involving his 3,000th hit, and the Yankees' refusal to honor his $6 million contract incentive for passing Willie Mays on the all-time home run list. Each time he bit his tongue, refusing to let himself become a distraction.

He's also been a genuinely good guy, giving his batting gloves to kids in Fenway Park, of all places, after homering twice there earlier this month. Smooth move, A-Rod.

Rodriguez should be a pro at this PR stuff by now. His career has been a constant uphill battle to win back fans and media ever since he signed that first fat contract with Texas. The last 15 years have felt like one long apology tour for his various transgressions, of which there are now too many to count. The few times A-Rod has been tolerable during that span have been whenever he's simply shut up and let his bat do the talking.

Right now, his bat is talking pretty loud. Entering play today he has 24 homers, 60 RBI, and a .279/.379/.545 batting line, good for his best league and park-adjusted OPS since his most recent MVP season in 2007. Rodriguez can't run (only one stolen base) or field (he's played just six games in the field) like he used to, but he can still mash.

That's the one thing Rodriguez has always been able to do, no matter how much of a self-created hurricane is howling around him. Through all the scandals, controversies, and cringe-worthy mistakes, Rodriguez has always raked. Even the last few years, with injuries severely cutting into his playing time and limiting his production, he was still an above average hitter.

This year he's been way, way above average, and that has come as a major surprise. It seemed much more likely that he'd be a broken down shell of his former self like Jeter was last year. Instead, he's been an MVP candidate and one of the main reasons why New York currently leads the AL East.

Redemption. Resurrection. Resurgence. Whatever alliteration you want to use to describe Rodriguez's comeback, it can't possibly do him justice. What he's doing is unprecedented, but he's been doing unprecedented things for 20 years now. Let's appreciate this one for a change.

Ortiz Over Slow Start

Ortiz, 39, was mired in a nasty slump for the better part of two months (4 KomMedia)

David Ortiz is no stranger to slow starts. In 2008, 2009, and again in 2010, Ortiz slumped badly at the beginning of the year. Every time fans and media questioned whether he was done, and each time Papi proved them wrong. Granted, those were the three worst seasons of his Boston career, but he still averaged 28 home runs, 97 RBI, and an .854 OPS, proving there was plenty of life left in his bat.

This year, however, it really looked like Ortiz was done for good. For more than two months he was helpless at the plate, scuffling through his worst slump in five years. Following play April 27th, he was hitting .200/.312/.415. One month later his line was even worse, at .216/.303/.377. A closer look revealed that he was not the victim of bad luck or small sample size, but rather was suffering from increased ground balls (which, in his case, means more outs into the shift) and weaker contact. Papi had become, at age 39, a demonstrably worse hitter.

John Farrell had seen enough, and gave his struggling DH a few days off to clear his head. The break seemed to pay off when Ortiz responded with six hits over his next four games, but the boost proved short-lived. On June 10th--more than a third of the way through the season--he checked in batting a lowly .219/.297/.372 with just six home runs and 21 RBI to his name.

More troubling than Ortiz's terrible average and on-base figures was the disappearance of his once-prodigious power. Just one year removed from his eighth 30-homer, 100 RBI season (and his second straight with a .255 ISO), Ortiz was on pace to finish with his worst power numbers since his forgettable Minnesota days. His signature power was absent for much of the spring: from April 25th through June 9th, he managed only two home runs and 13 RBI.

As his failures and frustrations mounted, it appeared increasingly obvious that Ortiz was near the end of the line. Boston's cleanup hitter was dragging down the lineup, with numbers that would make Mario Mendoza wince. Dan Shaughnessy compared Papi's pursuit of 500 home runs (he began the year with 466) to Tim Wakefield's interminable (and ultimately costly) quest to reach 200 career wins.  There were calls for him to be removed from the starting lineup against lefties--long his kryptonite--so that Hanley Ramirez could mercifully take a break from left field on occasion. Not wanting upset his team's elder (and notoriously cranky) statesman, Farrell refused, dutifully penciling in Ortiz's name every night in spite of his worsening skid.

With Ortiz's cold spell persisting into June, Boston faced a rather uncomfortable situation. Ortiz, who is due a pricey vesting option in 2016 (which, barring a season-ending injury, he will reach), swore he would block any trade, which he can do thanks to his 10-5 rights (10 years in the majors, five with one team). Boston and Ortiz were stuck together like Matt Damon and that guy who looks nothing like his supposed twin, only nobody was laughing.

Ortiz wouldn't budge, and Farrell wasn't about to bench his biggest star and a future Hall of Famer. All the while, Boston was stuck in the mud or, more accurately, the cellar. Even with the Sox stinking up the joint in the first half (and Ortiz was a big reason why), the team's longest tenured member preferred to go down with the ship rather than abandon them for a contender. Both sides refused, or perhaps were unable, to give up on each other.

Ortiz has turned his season around, but the Red Sox haven't (Fox Sports Radio)

Fast forward six weeks, and Farrell's patience (or was it just stubbornness?) has paid off.

Slump? What slump? All is fine with the three-time World Series champion's swing, thank you very much. The ball is jumping off his bat again and flying out of the ballpark. His OPS has climbed back over .800--a 133 point improvement since tumbling to .670 on June 10th. He's righted the ship, even if the team he plays for hasn't.

Slowly but surely, Papi's bat has come around. He rediscovered his power stroke as the weather warmed, slugging seven home runs and driving in 15 over the last three weeks of June. He still wasn't hitting for average, with just three multi-hit games and a .254 mark during that time, but at least he was back to clearing the fences with regularity.

In July he's been back to the Ortiz of old, tearing the cover off the ball and making pitchers pay for their mistakes. His hot streak culminated in one of the best games of his career Sunday night. Both the Red Sox and Ortiz were at their best, as Papi paced Boston's 11-1 romp over Detroit with two home runs and a career-high seven RBI as part of a four-hit day. He continued his torrid hitting last night as well, bashing his 20th* homer of the season off John Danks (a lefty!) in the bottom of the first.

*That makes 14 consecutive seasons with at least 20 round-trippers for Ortiz--the longest streak in the majors. Once in danger of missing that plateau, he now has his sights set on for another 30-homer season, which would be his third straight and ninth overall.

With 14 homers and a .616 slugging percentage over the past six weeks, Ortiz has followed up one of his deepest funks with one of his hottest tears. After the drought has come a deluge, washing away the misery of Ortiz's April and May. Someday he'll stop hitting, but that day doesn't appear to be coming soon. The lesson, as always, is never count David Ortiz out.

MLB Midseason Awards

The 2012 Rookies of the Year will likely both be named MVP this year (CBS Sports)

I'm a few weeks late with these, but I wanted to get them in before we get into the dog days of August. All stats through Saturday, July 25th except where otherwise noted.

AL MVP: Mike Trout
A few weeks ago I would have said Josh Donaldson, but Trout's recent hot streak After today's 4-for-4, two-home run performance, he's up to .315-31-64 on the season. The major league leader in home runs, runs, and total bases has fueled the Angels' recent rise to the top of the AL West, where they now reside after today's win and an Astros loss. Already the first player to ever win consecutive All-Star Game MVPs, he seems like a sure bet to win his second straight MVP award as well (which should be his fourth, but I digress).

NL MVP: Bryce Harper
Finally healthy after a pair of injury-plagued seasons delayed his inevitable rise to superstardom, Harper's been healthy and Ruthian in 2015. His .331/.462/.679 (212 OPS+!) looks like it came off Ted Williams's statsheet, and his 27 long balls lead the Senior Circuit. Even if Giancarlo Stanton were healthy and Andrew McCutchen had avoided his slow start, Harper would still be the runaway winner.

AL Cy Young: Chris Sale
The White Sox have been major disappointments this year, but Sale's been as dominant as ever. His 170 strikeouts, 2.31 FIP and 11.5 K/9 rate are all tops in the American League, and his 2.85 ERA and 1.00 WHIP aren't too shabby either. So long as Sale stays healthy, this award is his to lose.

NL Cy Young: Max Scherzer
Despite getting roughed up in his last start at Pittsburgh, Scherzer still holds a sparkling 2.33 ERA (almost a perfect match for his 2.34 FIP) to go along with a 0.83 WHIP and major league best 10.38 K/BB ratio. Read that again, remember that he's leading the National League in innings, and you don't have to think too hard about anyone else (apologies to Johnny Cueto).

AL Rookie of the Year: Carlos Correa
Correa didn't debut until the first week of June was already in the books, but his Yasiel Puig-esque first month in the Show has him on the fast track to win this award. There's been a dearth of power-hitting shortstops lately, but the 20 year-old Correa has already established himself as one of the best sluggers at the position.

NL Rookie of the Year: Joc Pederson
It's a virtual toss-up between Pederson and Kris Bryant, but for now the edge goes to Pederson due to his advantages in playing time, positional difficulty, and park-adjusted production. As impressive as Bryant's first year has been, Pederson's been even better, as evidenced by his 26 point edge in OPS and eight additional home runs. Pederson's also played every game, while Bryant has not (through no fault of his own, but that matters).

AL Comeback Player of the Year: Alex Rodriguez
With his three home-run outburst in Minnesota Saturday, A-Rod now has 23 big flies and 58 RBI to go with a .277/.375/.539 (152 OPS+) slash line. When Rodriguez returned to the field during spring training, most had those numbers on the optimistic end of his full-season projection. In other words, nobody expected him to have those numbers with 40 percent of the season yet to play. On track for his first 30-homer season in five years, he's been healthy and one of the best hitters in the American League--two things nobody thought he'd be in 2015.

NL Comeback Player of the Year: Joey Votto
The former NL MVP has returned to form after an uncharacteristically poor 2014, posting rate stats right in line with his career averages. His power's back after dipping last year, when he managed just six home runs and a .154 ISO (he has 18 bombs and a .218 ISO this year). The Reds are struggling again, but at least this time around Votto's not the reason why.

AL Team: Kansas City Royals
Kansas City has proved last year's magical run was no fluke, as they currently sport the best record in the American League and second-best in baseball with pretty much the same team and formula. All-Star (mainly Omar Infante) jokes aside, the reigning AL champs are a very well-rounded team, especially now that they have a true ace in Johnny Cueto. They could still use another starting pitcher, but with Detroit fading and Minnesota due for regression they're going to run away with their division regardless.

NL Team: St. Louis Cardinals
Despite losing Adam Wainwright for the season and enduring slow starts and/or injuries to numerous regulars, the Cardinals have been far and away the best team in baseball this year. Having won nearly two-thirds of their games thus far, they're in firm control of the NL Central and own the biggest divisional lead in baseball. With Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina and Jason Heyward finally rounding into form, look for St. Louis to make a run at 100 wins as long as its pitching holds.

Pitchers Wanted

The Red Sox could really use a pitcher of Martinez's ilk these days (Fox Sports)

It's a good thing that Pedro Martinez is going into the Hall of Fame today, because Red Sox Nation needs something to celebrate.

They're not going to find it at Fenway Park, the place that shook with excitement every time Martinez took the mound during his seven Red Sox seasons. The team that was a perennial contender during Pedro's eventful time there, finishing second in the AL East every year (to the Yankees, of course) and winning 90+ games five times, is now the doormat in the division it used to own. And they're not just bad: they're boring. There's nobody close to Martinez's caliber in terms of talent or watchability on the current roster, -which just sent Brock Holt and Holt alone to the All-Star Game in Cincinnati (but kudos to Brock for making the most of it).

You don't need to look at a map to know that Cooperstown is a long ways from Beantown. While several current Red Sox may one day join Martinez there, none of them are as captivating as Pedro was in his prime. Heck, I'm pretty sure Pedey could come out of retirement right now and earn a spot in Boston's dreadful rotation.

It's been more than a decade since Martinez last suited up for the Red Sox, and a lot has changed since then. David Ortiz is his only active former teammate. The club has won two additional World Series after not having won any in the 86 years prior to Pedro's last in Boston, but has also finished last two (soon to be three) times. The sellout streak that began during Pedro's penultimate Red Sox season has since ended, and the once-fierce rivalry between New York and Boston has fizzled.

The intervening time has also reminded Red Sox fans just how lucky they were to witness Martinez at his best. Pedro was, without a doubt, one of the best pitchers of all-time. During his peak in 1999 and 2000, he was probably the best there ever was. Boston has had several aces come through since then, be it Josh Beckett or Jon Lester or pre-injury Daisuke Matsuzaka, but there may never be another Pedro.

Red Sox fans were particularly spoiled in that they had just experienced 13 years of Roger Clemens before Martinez arrived on the scene. From 1984-2004, there was only one season--a bridge year in 1997--where the Red Sox did not have either the Rocket or Pedro to call their own. It's just too bad Dan Duquette didn't keep Clemens, because the Sox probably would have ended their championship drought a few years earlier with that dynamic duo at the top of their rotation.

Ben Cherington opted not to pursue such an ace this year, a misstep that's yielded disastrous results and may potentially cost him his job. Boston's pitching has been as bad as everyone feared, and for the second year in a row the team has scuffled at the plate. What was supposed to be one of the best offenses in the American League has been among the worst, failing to generate much run support for a rotation that needs all the help it can get. Throw in shaky defense around the diamond, inexperience behind the plate with Blake Swihart, and the inability of John Farrell to ignite his team, and it's been a real bummer of a summer for Sox fans.

And so Boston enters play today a season-worst 12 games below .500 and 12 out of first in the AL East--their largest deficit of the season. They just endured an eight-game losing streak that effectively ended their season, and their bats have gone back into hibernation mode (they've scored 16 runs in nine games since the All-Star Break). With Dustin Pedroia back on the DL, Clay Buchholz sidelined until September, and Joe Kelly rejoining the rotation, things are only getting worse.

At least with the trade deadline now only five days away, a shake-up appears imminent. Not the kind that will save Boston's season--it's too late for that--but the kind that may allow them to play respectable baseball again in 2016. Hopefully Cherington and co. will re-evaluate whatever idiotic reasoning led them to give Rick Porcello nearly $100 million before he ever threw a pitch for the Red Sox rather than re-sign Jon Lester at a similar cost last spring, or bring in James Shields for less over the winter. Hopefully they go out and acquire some real pitching talent for a change rather than try to make do with a rotation of Justin Mastersons and Wade Mileys.

Pedro Martinez won't be trying on a Red Sox jersey at a press conference next winter, but David Price or Johnny Cueto or Jeff Samardzija better be. Because if they aren't, then Boston hasn't learned a thing from this busted season.

RIP Red Sox

Image courtesy of CBS Boston

It's over. There's no coming back from this: last place, nine games out of first and nine below .500. Better luck next year.

Boston's ill-fated 2015 season died a horrible death yesterday in Anaheim, as the soaring Angels (first place, 11-3 in July) annihilated the Sox 11-1 and 7-3 in what was a decidedly lopsided doubleheader. Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and co. treated the twin-bill like batting practice, feasting on Boston's thin pitching staff while sending Sox starters Eduardo Rodriguez and Steven Wright (6.2 innings between them) to early exits. In the span of four days, but mostly within eight-hours yesterday, the Halos erased three weeks of strong play from the Bosox, who seemed to be turning things around after an ugly spring.

This weekend's bloodbath snuffed out any such illusions, all but eliminating the Sox from contention. Sure, they're technically still in it by virtue of seven American League teams (Boston included) being below .500 today (two more--Detroit and Toronto--are .500 exactly). But even if the Angels series didn't totally eradicate their chances (they're only five out of the second wild card), it was still a major setback, if not a fatal blow, for the stop-and-go Red Sox.

Just two weeks ago, you see, they were rolling, finally showing signs of life after a sluggish first half. Boston appeared to be gaining steam just before the All-Star Break, winning eight out of 10 at one point and cutting their AL East deficit from 10 games to five in three weeks' time.

Then, just when things were looking up, they fell flat on their faces. With the first-place Yankees in town and a chance to cut deeper into New York's lead, the Sox dropped two out of three to their former rivals. The 8-6 loss in the series finale was particularly painful, as Boston left baserunners all over the place (10 total) and lost with the tying run at the plate.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the mid-July reprieve seemed to sap all their momentum. They must've left their bats behind in Boston, because the Red Sox lineup sleepwalked through those four games in Anaheim. They managed one run--one measly run--in the first 32 innings of the series, largely because their incredibly frustrating woes with runners in scoring position persisted (Boston was 2-for-19 in such situations). By the time their hitters woke up in the finale, they were already down 6-0 in the top of the sixth. It was too little, too late.

And that's what any type of midseason upgrade is going to be for this team at this point. They've lost too many games, they've fallen too far behind. Talk of Boston possibly pursuing an ace (because Ben Cherington realized he needs one about six months too late) at the trade deadline now seems as unlikely as Dustin Pedroia enjoying a delayed growth spurt. The Sox are sellers again, only this time they don't have much to sell. When a 27 year-old utilityman, 40 year-old closer, and Alejandro De Aza are your best trade chips, you're in trouble.

The Red Sox find themselves in a similar situation to where they were in 2012 (minus, thank God, the Bobby Valentine shenanigans): a bad, expensive team drowning in bloated contracts. Only this time, the Dodgers aren't coming to the rescue. The Sox are kidding themselves if they think they're going to find someone dumb enough to bite on the likes of Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval, and Rick Porcello, whose contracts all smelled rotten before the ink had dried and reek even worse now. They're not going anywhere, and it's going to be tough to find any takers for the team's other overpriced, over-the-hill veterans (Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Allen Craig, et. al). Who would a) want those guys, and b) give up anything meaningful (beyond salary relief) in return?

Ten days. That's how long Ben Cherington has to answer those questions and purge his roster of as many bad contracts as he can. Ten days to strip this hunk of junk for parts and get whatever he can in return. He's been very active during his tumultuous tenure, so he'll probably do his share of wheeling and dealing before the dust settles on July 31st. It's just too bad he doesn't have anything good to sell.