• Alex Rodriguez may or may not have surgery on his hip

While it was first reported that A-Rod was going to have surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip, the Yankees are now going to try rest and rehab in an effort to save his season.  The media and fans are now in a frenzy over the news, and have been hyperventilating over the moves the organization needs to make to ensure the team doesn’t fall out of playoff contention by the end of May (seriously, ESPN must’ve spent at least 20 minutes this morning analyzing every potential trade Brian Cashman could make).  I am not here to mock these people for overreacting a bit, though.  Not after I nearly had a heart attack when I read that Joe Mauer suffered a “slight setback” during his rehab (what do you mean ‘slight setback‘?!  He IS going to be ready by Opening Day, RIGHT?!?!?!)  No, I am here to provide an objective analysis of the situation and whether it is in the best interests of the organization to make any drastic moves at this point.

First of all, there is the issue as to whether or not the Yankees are doing the right thing by delaying the surgery.  There seems to be little debate that he’s going to need surgery on his hip eventually, but it is possible that he might be able to put it off until the offseason.  If A-Rod had the surgery now, he would probably need at least four months to recover.  Which means he probably wouldn’t be back until at least the end of May, and would more likely be out until early June.  It’s also very likely that A-Rod would need at least a few weeks to get his swing back, so he probably wouldn’t be back to 100% until the end of June, possibly early July.   It’s not likely that the Yankees would be out of contention at this point (I mean, look at that starting rotation.  And they do have Tex, though he does tend to be a bit of a slow starter), but this is the AL East and it’s not wise to allow the competition to gain any sort of ground if you intend to make the playoffs.

So, that means the Yankees and Rodriguez are doing the right thing by putting off the surgery, right?  Well, not necessarily.  This is a similar injury to what Mike Lowell and Chase Utley suffered through last season.  While it didn’t slow Utley down much, it did affect Lowell.  He was limited to 113 games last season, and hit a miserable .225/.286/.357 during the second half when his hip started really bothering him.   Since A-Rod is much closer in age to Lowell than Utley, it is likely that he will have the same results: a sharp decline in his hitting as the injury starts to bother him.  So this is what A-Rod and the Yankees need to ask themselves:  is it better to have the surgery now and hope he recovers in time to help the team make the playoffs? Or should they wait for the offseason and hope his hip doesn’t bother him enough to affect his hitting?

Either way, the Yankees aren’t exactly sunk even if they do end up with a less productive A-Rod.  They do have that nasty starting rotation, after all.  It’s going to be very difficult for opposing teams to score more than a run or two against Sabathia, Burnett, and Chamberlain (I know he’s had some struggles recently, but it’s just spring training.  He’s going to be his filthy self once the season starts).  And there is the big offseason acquisition of Mark Teixeira, who did provide a necessary boost to the Angels’ offense last season (this is why they’re projected to only win 79 games this year).  There are also, of course, some options available via trade should the Yankees find themselves slipping near the deadline.  Garrett Atkins and Kevin Kouzmanoff would be good additions, though neither one is even close to being the great all-around player A-Rod is.  Atkins would likely be the most costly, as I imagine Colorado would probably want Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes, plus another prospect or two.  Kouzmanoff might come more cheaply, but he has some serious issues when it comes to defense.  To his credit, he knows he needs to improve and has been working hard on it, but that’s not the kind of thing impatient Yankee fans want to hear.  Otherwise, Mark Grudzielanek is still on the market, but he’s hardly the offensive threat the lineup is going to need should A-Rod end up missing part of the season (they might as well stick with Angel Berroa and Cody Ransom).    

And of course, Corey Koskie might be available.

• Twins defeat Netherlanzzzzzz…..

This game was a snoozefest.  It’s really only worth mentioning because Kevin Slowey was once again perfect in his three innings of work.  Actually, no Twins pitcher allowed a single hit until the eighth inning. Apparently the Dutch aren’t exactly known for their offensive prowess. Still, Slowey is my favorite pitcher on the staff and I like to see him baffle hitters with his 45 90-mph fastball right on the outside corner.

• The Wild ignore my advice and do nothing at the trade deadline

Well, they did do one thing.  They worked out a contract extension for their All-Star goaltender (and my favorite player).  At four years and $24 million, Niklas Backstrom is hardly a bargain (I believe he is now the fourth highest-paid goalie in the league), and the Wild could probably have gotten him cheaper if they worked out a deal last summer instead of waiting
until he got so close to free agency.   But who cares (well I care, there’s now significantly less space under the cap.  And what good is it to have a great goaltender if your offense and defense can’t back him up)?!  Backs is here to stay, and nobody could be happier about it than me.  Unless, of course, he ends up being another Manny Fernandez.

Unfortunately this is probably spells the end of Josh Harding’s tenure in Minnesota.  He’s going to be a valuable trade piece (though probably not as valuable this summer as if they had moved him at the deadline) and he really deserves a chance to start somewhere.  At least he, and I, will always have our memories: