What if A-Rod had gone to Boston?
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Apr 24, 2009 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
You know the story. The Red Sox nearly traded for Alex Rodriguez before the 2004 season, the MLBPA wouldn’t sign off on it and he went to the Yankees. The Red Sox have won two World Series since, the Yankees none.
Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports had some fun today, wondering what it would have been like had A-Rod ended up in Boston.
Gordon pictures a happy ending in Boston. Obviously he didn’t ask any Yankees fans how it really turns out.
Back later with the lineups.
Yankee fans would’ve made life miserable for Alex. Oh…wait…
The New York media on the other hand, would be tripping over themselves trying to elevate him to sainthood.
I don’t believe in playing the what-if game…….
Yup, it definitely would have been all sunshine for the Red Sox.
A-rod would have dreadlocks?
If A-Rod had gone to Boston he worried have been ridiculed by most fans and the NY media…. instead he…
never mind… it worked out the same.
my kingdom for an edit button. worried = would
“Obviously he didn’t ask any Yankees fans how it really turns out.”
this pete”s little comments about A-Rod is really annoynig!!
Yes, the yankees fans dont like A-Rod, WE ALL PREFFER RANSON AS OUR THIRD BASE
that means we have soriano in CF? I could go for that swap back
“Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, appalled that his team had missed out on both Schilling and A-Rod, fired GM Brian Cashman, who could have had Schilling but didn’t want to trade Nick Johnson.”
i kind of liked that story
Cheap shots at A-Rod will never stop.
Clearly Ransom > A-Rod.
That’s worked out so far.
Manny would be a Yankee and Yuri Sucar would be a clubbie for the Red Sox.
A-Rod would have 2 rings if he had gone to Boston.
Or atleast one.
The Sox would be an excellent team, with or without A-Rod. It’s the way Theo has supplemented the team is why they are the model franchise in baseball. Clutch pitchers (like Beckett and Schilling), homegrown stars, great defense, etc. A-Rod wouldn’t have changed their winning formula.
I wish that happened so we could hear how Peter Gammons spun that story. This morning when asked if there was an MLB draft and you had the first pick who would you take? I think he went with Pujols and then listed a bunch of others and of course Jon Lester was one of the first names he said.
His life would be completely different.
There would be none of these scandals that are a product of NYC (Spitzer’s madame, Madonna etc.) and there would be no Selena Roberts on a witch hunt against him.
Boston media protects the Red Sox, NY media destroys the Yankees. A-Rod would be the greatest thing ever if he played in Boston.
Pujols is now the face of baseball right? Well, we know that Jeter is, but in regards to being the best player the mantle has been passed onto Albert.
It’d be interesting to see how the steroid news affects the ASG voting for Alex. I have no doubts he’ll get in, but I wonder if you’ll see a significant dip his votes?
if that story’s accurate lesster and manny would have gone to texas, so don’t give arod his 2 would be boston rings too quick…
the A-ROD story is not over, he’ll get his ring, maybe 2…I do agree if he was on the Red Sox, I doubt the roid story would have ever broke
Oh, and the Red Sox wouldn’t be having the shortstop problems they’ve had since they gave Nomaah the boot.
A 3-4-5 of Arod-Manny-Ortiz? Hmmm.
They would still win. They have Theo Epstein who knows how to build an actual team and acquire pieces that help people teams win in October and for the long haul.
A-Rod may carry bad karma, but it is not strong enough to derail the machine that Theo has created. He also would not cause trouble in Boston. They could care less about his personal life, they just want him to hit. There is no Page 6 in Boston.
Boston would have more than 2 WS rings in the last 6 years.
The better question is how would Alex be perceived by NY fans if the Yanks had beat the Sox in 2004.
“Pujols is now the face of baseball right? Well, we know that Jeter is, but in regards to being the best player the mantle has been passed onto Albert.”
He’s been the best hitter in the game for the last half decade anyway. His defense has been underrated. He’s a pretty solid 1B.
Steroid story would have never broke….look and ortiz….Plus, Mitchelle is in the ownership of the sox. No Sox player was listed on the report. Odd huh?
“A 3-4-5 of Arod-Manny-Ortiz? Hmmm.”
Ramirez would have been a Ranger had Arod ended up in Boston.
ARod + Green Monster = 80 HR
Arod + New Yankee Stadium = 50 HR
so that WEEI blog has not been updated since 9:30 am (if I am not mistaken)
“Oh, and the Red Sox wouldn’t be having the shortstop problems they’ve had since they gave Nomaah the boot.”
Don’t know, Mel. They’ve won two titles with SS not named Nomar. As I remember it, they couldn’t get rid of him fast enough and a lot of it was traced to the night at the Stadium where he refused to even pinch hit in an extra innings game. This was juxtaposed against Jeter making that nice running catch after which he plunged face first into the seats along the 3rd base line.
Nomar was pretty much dead to Epstein from that night forward.
Pete = A-Rod Hater
FROM PREVIOUS THREAD
Does it really matter how tall/big they are behind the plate? Tony Pena threw from his knees and at times had one leg laying out there like he was on a couch. Who would have thought a few years ago that a guy Alex size could play short? As long as he keeps improving on defense. I dont see why he wouldnt stay back there. If he does than what do they do with the other catcher he keeps moving up with? Trade? Switch positions?
Things would’ve turned out better for Boston and worse for the Yankees. The reason the Red Sox have been more successful than the Yankees over the past half-decade is starting pitching. You give them the same starting pitching and replace Nomar Garciaparra, Orlando Cabrera, Alex Gonzalez, Edgar Renteria, Julio Lugo and Jed Lowrie with Alex Rodriguez then you have a much better Boston club.
A-Rod Hanley Ramirez David Ortiz. I’m Happy he didn’t lol
Actually Mel, I missed your point and just realized it. Arod would have been their SS.
Been so long with him a 3B, I almost forgot his original position.
Boston will sweep, Yankee fans will weep!
The suxs Varitek is huge and he was an okay catcher when he was in his prime, if Montero hits like the scouts are expecting him to hit he does not have to be a great defensive cather, and for people that say tall cathers don’t go with baseball…remember when shortstops were suppose to be short flexible players, baseball evolves and so do the positions on the field.
Steve B,
My comment wasn’t so much about Nomar, as it was about there shortstop problems.
They’ve gone through 5? 6 shortstops? I may be exagerrating, but the position has been in flux for years. A-rod would’ve anchored the position for years. At least until he got too big.
And the funny part is that Alex would probably have opted out and be a Yankee right now. And the steroids story still would have broke. And he’d still be in Tampa rehabbing from hip surgery.
“pat
April 24th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Boston would have more than 2 WS rings in the last 6 years.
The better question is how would Alex be perceived by NY fans if the Yanks had beat the Sox in 2004.
”
I’ve thought about that, “if Millar didn’t walk and Roberts didn’t steal?” but time to look forward
Steve B
April 24th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
“Oh, and the Red Sox wouldn’t be having the shortstop problems they’ve had since they gave Nomaah the boot.”
Don’t know, Mel. They’ve won two titles with SS not named Nomar.
=========================================
Those two titled short stops played with a cleanup hitter named Manny.
I was having such a good day Pete, It’s a nice day today, I’m heading up to Boston for tomorrows game, but you had to write that post and ruin my mood lol.
“If he played for Boston…. ESPN wouldn’t have it out for him”
- Agreed,
Also ESPN wont ever mention of the amount of times routine fly balls to LF by right handed d-bags named youkliss and pedroia turned into extra base hits, however all they can do is report day and night about the jet stream to right in Yankee stadium that is creating vortexes and ruining baseball as we know it.
Better question surrounding the 2003 offseason, is what would have happened had Vazquez ended up in Boston and Schilling in NYC?
anyone wanna talk about the babe ruth trade
Boston would have more than 2 WS rings in the last 6 years.
—————————–
Im not so sure. Would Alex have performed as high of a level in 04 as did Cabrera in the playoffs? Would they have picked up Mr.dl in right with Alex contract or Dice? Which both were big in helping them win in 07. Lets not forget that we wouldnt have just stayed with the team we had and had a Cairo type at third. Who knows what Cashman would have done. Pujols would be in New York by now.
Anyone want to talk about tonight’s game
?
Okay, that was a fun exercise, Pete. Please make more “what if” posts in the future.
I don’t want to talk about the Sox and their wonderful run anymore.
Go Yankees! Boo Red Sox!
Put me in the camp that the curse would still be alive if Arod went to Boston.
Arod would put up ridiculous numbers in Boston, but his acquisition would have changed the way Boston did business.
It would have negated trades for Orlando Cabrera and Minky who were big in helping Boston in 2004.
They may not have ended up with Beckett and thus no Lowell down the road for the next title.
But the thing it would have done is put the mantle on Boston’s head in 2004 before actually winning anything and it’s a lot tougher to win when you are expected to and have the “best player in the game” then when you are a scrappy team of dirtbags/idiots.
The biggest thing it would have done? No Manny Ramirez.
You can postulate that Arod would have equaled Manny’s stats, but Manny is a better hitter than Arod. He’s more clutch. He’s fearless in the late innings under pressure.
Arod gets him in every other facet of the game, but hitting? Manny’s better and I have no problem saying that.
That trade was a turning point. It didn’t necessarily turn the Yankees for the worse since I think Cashman and George’s delusions of what a starting pitcher was in those years and trying to bargain hunt the rotation with the likes of Wright, Igawa, Pavano, etc. had more to do with the Yankees lack of titles.
But if Boston had gotten Arod and lost Manny and Lester in the deal?
I don’t know. I’m not so sure they would have 2 WS championships.
I also think Arod would have opted out and Boston would be hating him just as much as they presently do if not more.
It wasn’t just Nick Johnson that Arizona wanted for Schilling. They wanted Soriano as well.
I guess fact checking isn’t important when writing fiction.
I would love to hear the story of why Pete hates Alex so much. Sleep with your sister? Kill your puppy? Rebuff your advances? It has to be a good story to cause the average two snarky comments about him a week.
What everyone is missing is what would have happened with Robinson Cano or Alfonso Soriano if A-Rod ended up in Boston.
Maybe Soriano ends up in the OF, still playing for the Yankees & Cano is at 2B? But the Yankees weren’t sure what they had in Cano, so if Soriano was playing 2B, perhaps they trade him to Arizona for RJ??
Maybe Mike Lowell comes to the Yankees?
Manny is absolutely a better hitter than anyone not named Pujols.
Manny is short to the ball, uses his core to generate power. When the guy’s at 0-2, you worry that he has the advantage (that isn’t true, of course, but the count won’t turn him into a defensive bat).
ARod is a brilliant player, but he gets out of whack mechanically.
Manny is a hitting genius. Imperturbable, too.
He has his favorites but he has that right, his blog, his opinion…..anti-AROD, anti-Melkey….I wouldn’t let it get to you jobalover..lol..I’ve gotten used to it but I’m sure if A-ROD comes back and hits 45 dingers, everyone will love them…he comes back and gets hurt again…then it continues forever
After the Wells incident, there was no way was Schilling coming to The Bronx…..Congangelo hated Steinbrenner after that….The 04 disaster came down to the loss of 3/5 of the Yankee rotation…..Yanks in first by April 30th….
This is a big series. I know it’s “only” April. But until they stop adding up the wins at the end of the season and instead give extra points for games won in September, it’s as big as any series. Winning the season series against a division rival is important. It can mean home field advantage in the playoffs. I love our rotation this weekend. It’s nice to go into Fenway and be able to matcg up with their best. Go Yanks!
FTR, I have zero regrets about getting ARod. The length of the current contract is silly, but the exchange with Sori is a no brainer.
Oh man, G. Love is absolutely right!
A-Rod would have opted out of Boston by now. Boras probably would have focused on the Yankees anyway after 2007! Do you think he would have announced it during the 2007 World Series if A-Rod was with Boston, seeing how Boston was playing in the WS that year?
You know, it may have turned out better had A-Rod gone to Boston!!
bodhisattva,
Well put. A Rod is the 3rd best right handed bat in the game, but that aint bad.
No Manny means no rings and Boston fans KNOW it.
I wish they traded Manny for Arod and we still had Soriano.
Not to mention we wouldn’t have a 34 year old with a bad hip locked up for nearly a decade, getting bonuses for accomplishments viewed largely as the result of cheating.
“After the Wells incident, there was no way was Schilling coming to The Bronx…..Congangelo hated Steinbrenner after that”
That did go a long way towards explaining why Schilling’s price for the Yankees was so much higher than Boston’s. Schilling was a salary dump, but I honestly believe he’d have gone ahead and suffered financially before dealing Schilling to the Yankees…..unless he could fleece them.
April 24th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
“I would love to hear the story of why Pete hates Alex so much. Sleep with your sister? Kill your puppy? Rebuff your advances? It has to be a good story to cause the average two snarky comments about him a week.”
JobaLover – Please…
PeteAbe does not hate Alex. He(AROD) is just such a clown who needs everyone’s undying love and attention all the time,and creates such a circus for everyone around him. He will never grow up, he will always be an insecure, immature, and weird guy.
Can’t wait for a new post your killing me Pete
Ah yes, but *what if* the Yanks had somehow acquired that top releiver Manny Delcarmen? Who would be laughing then??
Skimming some of the previous threads, I read with some bemusement the continuation of the “who really feels/gets the rivalry and does or does not feel stressed before these games” discussion.
The topic is interesting to me even though this particular discussion got a little silly at times. As a fan of track 4 of Elvis Costello’s “King of America”, I don’t want to be misunderstood, so just in case I wasn’t clear enough before, I’ll say it again: geography is obviously a factor in how one experiences being a Yankee fan, particularly for people in or close to the city or in the territory of the enemy. If the latter experience makes the Red Sox games more stressful for you, that’s totally understandable.
All I said when several people *in or close to NY* said these games stressed them out was, not me, I look forward to these games the most as they’re the most exciting for me. Now if someone wants to say, again, that I feel that way because I don’t live in the crucible, I will say, again, that that notion is incorrect as it applies to me. Your mileage may vary. Is anyone not ok with that?
The Red Sox have to prove they can win without Manny. They didnt do it last year. He was a huge part of that lineup. I’ll pitch to Jason Bay ( a god hitter) everytime rather than Manny ( a great hitter).
BTW. Nice to see Bobby Abreau doing so well. We dont miss his defense but we sure miss his bat.
Pujols and Manny are natural/pure hitters.
Alex has to always work at it.
I agree with the order as well.
Why does this matter it’s 2009 and A-rod is on the DL
Yeah, Pete. It would be nice if you weren’t so negative about Alex Rodriguez. I know you’re really, really stubborn and too prideful to listen to your posters, but it doesn’t reflect well when you do that.
Your blog, your prerogative.
But I think it’s time to treat him as a baseball player.
I meant Jason Bay is a “good” hitter, not god lol
What if pete asked less hypothetical questions?
“BTW. Nice to see Bobby Abreau doing so well. We dont miss his defense but we sure miss his bat.”
8 steals already. Halos are struggling some, but they are as agressive on the basepaths as ever. He was a good score for the Angels.
I don’t think Manny is a better hitter than A-Rod overall. Better in the clutch, yes, definitely, but not overall. Just compare their average “up” and “down” years. A-Rod’s got Manny beat in both. As far as ability, I think A-Rod’s definitely better, but Manny does do better in the clutch.
And yes, I think Pujols and Manny are both ‘natural’ hitters, with A-Rod it is much more about technique, mechanics, all that stuff. Pujols looks kind of like a dancer at the plate, A-Rod looks more like a machine.
I’m still shocked at Gammons’ references to Leigh Teixeira not liking the shopping in Boston.
What’s a baseball analyst doing making comments about a player’s wife?
Ah yes, but what if the Yanks had somehow acquired that top releiver Manny Delcarmen? Who would be laughing then??
————————–
I thought that was Craig Hansen. Man im confused. Is it 1a. and 1b.?
Catch up with you folks later.
Guess Pete’s last name gets your post eaten. Who knew?
If Alex had gone to Boston….Pete wouldn’t have the most popular Yankee blog because Soriano couldn’t possibly generate as many page views and comments. Pete needs to thank Alex next time he sees him.
Oh, boo hoo hoo. Give it a rest. I linked to an amusing story and all the fanboys starting moaning. Go read Details again.
The world is full of ” what ifs “.
What if Mariano struck out Gonzalez in the 2001 World Series ?
On and and on and on …………
How about a new thread: How many times has Gammons been flat-out wrong?
I’ll get it started:
1. Craig Hansen – NOT the next set-up man in the AL
Feel free to chip in before I complete the list…
I just don’t want to read about what ifs sorry if that makes me moaning fanboy
My comment was a joke. Too nice out to moan.
What if we had to go 86 years between world championships?
Even more fascinating is the question of what if Victor von Doom had been good and Reed Richards had been evil? Then what???
“I don’t think Manny is a better hitter than A-Rod overall. Better in the clutch, yes, definitely, but not overall. Just compare their average “up” and “down” years. A-Rod’s got Manny beat in both. As far as ability, I think A-Rod’s definitely better, but Manny does do better in the clutch.”
———
I think alex is a much better ballplayer overall, much more focused and a much better fielder at a tougher position. But, I think manny is the better hitter I just don’t think manny cares enough about baseball and that equates to his ups and downs. Then again it’s obviously pretty close, when Arod is truly in a groove he’s the best hitter in mlb period, that last MVP year he had a couple of the most insane months I can ever think of
so what are the lineups for tonight?
Man, I cant wait till crackerjack reporter/peephole peeper Selena Roberts’ book comes out on May 12. I’m going to shut my computer off for a month,but I’ll still bump into the Star magazine headlines in the supermarket.
man, Im so tired of Boston. They’re always congratulating themselves over getting screwed any number of deals. Fact is they got hosed and they’re trying to rationalize. Fact is, they would have had the best player in baseball on their team. And loving it, despite Arod’s character flaws.
The Yankees aren’t “cursed” because of Arod – there were many more problems with the team other than him over the past few years, e.g. pitching.
Now they are saying “thank god” we didn’t get Tex. Whatever. They are all a bunch of whiners in a secondary market.
What would happen if the media got off Alex’s back?
Does Boston even think they can compare their franchise to ours? I think the Reds won a few World Series in the 70′s – but where have they been since? Same deal with Boston.
26 vs. 2
James,
Fair enough. I guess the thing about Manny and A-Rod is that it’s difficult to separate their abilities and their talent from what goes on in their heads, so it’s tougher to tell. With the two of them, I think their mental state has a really big influence in how good they are on the field. But I still think A-Rod has a little more natural ability to hit than Manny.
Mark: That would be sweet. Unfortunately, the press doesn’t report news anymore, especially in NY and Bristol, they’re always looking to dig something up to get readers/viewers.
Nick in SF..I cannot say that you speak for all the NY Yankee fans that have relocated from NY, or the Tri-State area, or those who have become Yankee fans without ever stepping foot in The Bronx….However for me, I could not have explained it any better….There’s a little piece in the current issue of ESPN magazine regarding A-Rod and his clubhouse effect and that of Reggie’s days in NY….A-Rod was a choir boy in comparison….Yanks in first place by April 30th….
haha Pat I was going to say the same thing!
So basically the article is saying that Boston is a better team, club and town to play for than NY and that Yankees fans are all a bunch of jackasses….nothing about that article was interesting, relevant or even close to what the situation would have been like, but it was at least offensive to Yankee fans. Anyone who goes to Yahoo looking for anything more than a crappy search engine or links to articles not writtin by Yahoo writers gets what they deserve…nothing.
Anyone saying that it would have been nice has to be kidding themselves…how many of you, like me, are dying for A-Rod to get back into the lineup seriously? And don’t think if we had passed on him we’d somehow have David Wright or some other all-star 3rd baseman in the lineup.
Holly $hit people. Calm the heck down. Pete does not hate A-rod. Pete has a sense of humor. Do you even know what that is? He pokes fun at A-rod a lot, who cares? The guy is begging to be poked fun at. I root for A-Rod as much as the next Yankee fan, but give me a break. If you don’t want to read his A-rod posts skip them and stop posting whinny comments in them. My favorite is the poster who says he completely ignores all A-rod stories because it bothers him so much but then comments at least 10 times in the A-Rod threads about how much it bothers him. Give me a break and get yourself a sense of humor. Life is too short to get pi$$y over nothing!
I blame the soccer moms for the over sensitization of America.
Pete does not hate A-rod.
That is not a true statement…….I don’t know if I would say Pete hates A-rod but he clearly doesn’t like him for some reason or another. His overly done ‘poking at him’ is Pete’s very own way of getting attention and hits on his precious blog.
To everyone talking about how much Cody Ransom sucks as an argument for A-Rod: we won 4 titles with the following starting third basemen: Wade Boggs, Charlie Hayes, Scott Brosius.
Obviously, Ransom is a piece of crap. And no one is pretending that he isn’t. But just saying — the Yanks clearly weren’t missing a third base superstar all those years.
I’m not hating on A-Rod. I’m just telling it like it is. So all you over-sensitive soccer mom types: chill out. And let’s enjoy this series at fenway. Because next time around, it’s gonna be brutal for the Yanks because of A-Rod.
i’m usually the mild mannered, middle of the road type reader/poster here and I stand up for Pete when he writes crap about A-Rod, but that “article” was just a waste of time. it’s his blog and he does a great job, but I still would just assume not have read that.
Jason, I get your point, but you could probably find a scrub playing at every position looking at the WS titles the Yankees have won…just because we’ve won titles with middle of the road players at certain positions does not mean we should not try to get better players in each spot.
If A-Rod was on Boston then Boston would of never won.
Just catching up and agreeing with Betsy (too many posts to read from too many threads when you have to leave for a bit!)
I also refuse to play the “what if” game.
And since I didn’t read much more than one or two posts on this thread, you all know that my next statement cannot be taken personally:
The “what if” game is for morons. In my humble opinion, of course.
I saw that film. it’s called “What if A-Rod had Ended up in Boston.” It’s the sequel to the film “What if the South Had won the Civil War.”
Speaking as a Sox fan I just want to thank God for keeping A-Roid off of our team. Thank you, God ! You are most awesome.
Hey, Jennifer L…your team isn’t clean either, especially the 2004 squad.
Have you heard the story where Kevin Kennedy said he saw one of the 2004 Red Sox showing the others how to shoot steroids in his rear end? You may not have because Red Sox Director George Mitchell didn’t pursue that, or any other Red Sox-related lead for that matter, in his joke of a report.
PEDitte, Giambi, Sheffield, Clemens, AROID, Knoblauch, Justice, etc. The list goes on and on.
Jennifer:
– Manny Alexander
– Dante Bichette
– Wil Cordero
– Jose Canseco
– Roger Clemens
– Paxton Crawford
– Carl Everett
– Rich Garces
– Eric Gagne
– Nomar Garciaparra
– Jeremy Giambi
– Trot Nixon
– Jose Offerman
– Julian Tavarez
– Mo Vaughn
– Jason Varitek
– David Ortiz.
There you have it.
Except unfortunately for us none of those pass the sniff test. Where is the proof ?