Karma's A-Bitch

What goes around comes around. 

We've all heard that one before.  It's a simple lesson that's been drilled into most of our heads since our formative days on the playground.  If you're a bad person who does bad things, chances are bad things are going to happen to you.  Sooner or later, you're gonna have to pay the piper. 

Alex Rodriguez is learning that lesson the hard way.

For the longest time, A-Rod did whatever the hell he wanted off the field without regard for the consequences of his actions.  He lied.  He said one thing and did another.  He cheated on his wife with a bevy of strippers.  He played underground poker even though Major League Baseball repeatedly told him not to. He was loose and reckless.  He pretended to be the "clean" candidate that would one day make sure that we never had to say "Barry Bonds" and "career home run leader" in the same sentence ever again.  He was the baseball equivalent of Tiger Woods.  On the ballfield, his conduct has been called into question on numerous occasions.  Tipping pitches to opponents (allegedly).  Slapping the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's outstretched glove.  Shouting while passing a Blue Jays infielder on the basepaths, causing enough of a distraction to force an error on a routine pop-up.  Intruding upon the sacred dirt of Dallas Braden's mound.

No wonder everybody hates him.  And I haven't even mentioned his steroid use yet.

I'm not going to delve into the details, but the point is that he used performance enhancing drugs, and then lied about using them.  He could have stayed silent, kept his big mouth shut and declined the "60 Minutes" interview in December, 2007.  He didn't have to reinforce the facade that he was one of the good guys who kept his nose clean. But he probably thought he was in the clear since his name didn't show up in the recently-released Mitchell Report.  He thought he'd gotten away with it, that he'd beaten the system, so he lied. To you, me, Katie Couric, and millions of Americans. On national TV.

Oops.

That was the last straw.  Karma has reared its ugly head, and as his body continues to break down Rodriguez seems to be paying the price for years of debauchery, escapades, and cheating in various forms.  Since looking Couric in the eye and claiming, in no uncertain terms, that he had never used PEDS, the typically durable Rodriguez has become more injury prone than J.D. Drew.  It's hard getting used to his never-ending string of injuries because for a long time Rodriguez was one of the most rugged players in the game.  Nobody works harder to keep himself in shape during the offseason, and even as he enters his late thirties he's still as fit as ever.  You can criticize his makeup and ability to hit in the clutch all you want, but you can't question his work ethic and borderline OCD-commitment to conditioning.  In the past it made him indestructible.  We're talking about a guy who:

• Missed just one game in his three prolific years with the Texas Rangers
• Averaged 159 games played from 2001 through 2007
• Played in all 162 the year he turned 30

No, he wasn't the Iron Man that his idol Cal Ripken Jr. was, but he showed up for work everyday and played through an assortment of aches and pains that would have forced lesser men out of the lineup.  You practically had to staple him to the bench if you wanted him to sit one out.  Now he's a ticking time bomb counting down to a DL stint that we all know is lurking just around the corner.

Not even additional time at DH can keep him on the field.  Joe Girardi has tried to preserve his aging superstar by letting Eric Chavez give him the occasional breather at third base, but to no avail. Notice how Rodriguez's games played total decreases even as more of his games qualify as "half days."

2005--162 games played,  1 at DH,  0.6 percent

2006--154 games played,  3 at DH,  1.9 percent
2007--158 games played,  4 at DH,  2.5 percent
2008--138 games played,  7 at DH,  5.1 percent
2009--124 games played,  9 at DH,  7.3 percent
2010--137 games played, 12 at DH, 8.8 percent
2011--99 games played,  10 at DH, 10. 1 percent
2012--94 games played,  26 at DH,  27.7 percent

Interestingly enough Derek Jeter, a player whom Rodriguez is frequently compared to, has DH'ed 33 times since 2008, about half as often as A-Rod's 64 appearances there.  Yet from '08 through '11, DJ has remained a model of health, averaging 23 more games played than Rodriguez despite fighting the disadvantages of being one year older and playing the more demanding position.  But Jeter is a class act, so karma is on his side.

Rodriguez has spent a lot more time watching games from the dugout recently

I don't want to turn this into a comparison between A-Rod and the Yankees Captain.  Let's take a closer look and examine Rodriguez's recent injury-checkered past to see how he deteriorated from "Iron Man" to the Yankees' modern day Mickey Mantle. 

2008 (quad)

Following a rather slow four week stretch to open the season, Rodriguez lands on the DL at the end of April with a grade 2 quadriceps strain.  He is just one of many Yankees (Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, Chien-Ming Wang, and Carl Pavano, among others) to miss extensive time this year, the only season dating back to 1995 in which the Bronx Bombers failed to make the playoffs. He sits out 17 games and does not return to action until May 20th.  Fully healthy, he goes yard in his first game back and enjoys a typical A-Rod season from that point forward by batting .305/.402/.589 with 31 home runs over the season's final four months.  His 35 dingers were just two behind Miguel Cabrera's league leading 37, but one has to imagine Rodriguez would have taken his sixth career home run title had he not missed those three weeks in May.

2009 (hip)
Following a tumultuous winter in which Joe Torre calls him out in his book "The Yankee Years" and SI's Selena Roberts reveals A-Rod tested positive for steroids in 2003, Rodriguez misses Spring Training and sits out April rehabbing a torn labrum in his hip and misses the team's first 28 games.  He doesn't skip a beat, homering on the first pitch he sees.  Girardi, eager to slot his cleanup hitter behind a struggling Mark Teixeira, plays Rodriguez 38 straight games.  But after a June swoon it becomes clear that Alex is fatigued.  He sits out consecutive games (save for a pinch-hitting appearance) and proceeds to go on a three week tear.  From then on Rodriguez receives occasional breathers; two in July, two in August, and four in September/October.  The strategy works, as he seems to get stronger as the season wears on and carries the Yanks to their first World Series championship since 2000.  The 2009 postseason marks the last time A-Rod is a truly dominant hitter.

2010 (calf)
To his credit, Rodriguez stays healthy for the first three quarters of the season, missing just seven games through August 16th.  But two days after powering up for the fourth three home run performance of his career, he strains his calf and misses 17 games.  This absence ultimately costs him the major league RBI crown, as his 125 fell just one short of Miggy Cabrera for most in the bigs.

2011 (knee, thumb)
Alex claims he's poised for a monster year after a winter without rehabilitation and enjoys a hot start to the season. Misses just six games in the first half and bats close to .300, but nagging knee and shoulder injuries sap his power by preventing him from driving through the ball.  Heading into the All-Star break he'd failed to go yard in 85 at-bats, the longest drought of his career at the time.  The knee injury turns out to be a torn meniscus that required surgery.  Spends six weeks on the shelf and did not return until August 21st, but immediately jams  his thumb in his first game back.  Looks uncomfortable at the plate and batted just .191/.345/.353 the rest of the way before disappearing against the Tigers in the ALDS.

2012 (hand)
Undergoes experimental blood-platelet surgery (popularized by Kobe Bryant) before the season in an attempt to heal his knee.  Heading into the spring training, Girardi and Rodriguez both emphasize their goal for the season is to get A-Rod into 140-150 games.  By DH'ing his three-time MVP more than ever before, Girardi keeps him fresh enough to play in all but three of the team's first 97 games.  A misplaced 82 mile-per-hour Felix Hernandez changeup puts an abrupt stop to that, fracturing A-Rod's hand and sidelining him for the rest of the summer.  Tough luck, but that's what happens when you wear the number 13 on your back everyday.

The latest in a long line of injuries for Alex Rodriguez

There's not much you can do to avoid a fluky injury like that, but it still has to be incredibly frustrating for Rodriguez.  His bat was finally starting to come around and he looked like he'd found his rhythm at the plate.  Aside from last season, he tends to finish the season strong and will look forward to putting together some quality at-bats come September and October.

Enjoy your 37th birthday, A-Rod.  Try not to pull something when you blow out the candles on your cake.