Baseball Betting: Yankees need A-Rod to bring his A-game this season

MLB / Nick Shiambouros / 18 August 2010 / Leave a Comment

Cool as you like it but A-Rod has been accused of being arrogant and not being himself amongst his team-mates

"Despite delivering on the field, the man they call A-Rod has never been truly accepted as a true “Yankee” by the fans due to his perceived arrogance and demanding nature. "

Nick Shiambouros looks at the career highs and lows of the great Alex Rodriguez and wonders whether a new role within the team will help the side achieve further success in a particularly competitive league this season.

　
Alex Rodriguez is one of the world's greatest baseball players. He plays third base for the New York Yankees, who have won the World Series a record 27 times in their history.

He has been under the microscope since he entered the majors in in the summer of 1994 with Seattle. Rodriguez quickly developed into one of the most feared sluggers in baseball and in his final year in Seattle in 2000 he hit 41 homers and averaged .316.

With six years of record breaking baseball to his name he became a free agent in 2000 and signed with the Texas Rangers, a record $252m contract over a ten year period, in the process making him the highest paid player in the sport.

After three glorious years in Texas he was traded to the New York Yankees who bought out the remainder of his contract.

In February 2009 Sports Illustrated reported that Rodriguez had tested positive for anabolic steroids during the 2003 season. In an extraordinarily candid interview with ESPN he admitted using banned substance, blaming the enormous pressure to perform as a major factor for this transgression, though he took full responsibility for his actions.

Despite being married, over the years Rodriguez has been linked to a string of high profile celebrities including Madonna, Kate Hudson and Cameron Diaz. In 2008 his wife Cynthia filed for divorce.
　
Over the past few seasons Rodriguez has been plagued with a hip injury which has affected his swing, though the injury did not stop him hitting his 600th career home run earlier this month. He is averaging .265 this season which is just eighth best on the roster.

Despite delivering on the field, the man they call A-Rod has never been truly accepted as a true "Yankee" by the fans due to his perceived arrogance and demanding nature. Earlier this year I read a book by ex -Yankee manager Joe Torre called "The Yankee Years" which made fascinating reading. In the book Torre refers to Rodriguez as "A-Fraud" because of his reluctance to be himself among fellow teammates. Torre also claims in the book that he was unhealthily obsessed with shortstop Derek Jeter, who is idolised in New York. It is rumoured that Rodriguez could not understand why he was so popular as he believed he was a far superior player than Jeter.
　
Rodriguez is still a big part of the Yankee organisation. It has been suggested he may play the role of designated hitter in the near future to extend his career and I think he still has plenty to offer this franchise as they fight for the AL East. New York is tied with Tampa Bay at the top of this tough division though the Betfair market makes NY clear favourites over Tampa.

The Yankees wage bill is over $200m per year and is brimming with talent; second baseman Robinson Cano is on fire this year averaging .322 and has 21 home runs. Outfielder Nick Swisher is not far behind averaging .292.
　
In the pitching rotation CC Sabathia and veteran Andy Pettite are both in line for a Cy Young award; Pettite has only lost two games all year and has an ERA of just 2.88.

New York are currently priced at [2.34] to win the American League and [4.2] to win the World Series. I think both these prices a far too short for a couple of reasons. Firstly the Tampa Bay Rays are playing as well I have seen all year and are focused on the job in hand and not even a little intimidated by New York's threat.

Secondly the Boston Red Sox are only 5.5 games behind both these teams in the division. They are a big team that has been plagued with injury all year and if they get healthy they could upset both Tampa and New York in the AL East.
　
I am inclined to lay New York at odds of up to [2.5] in the American League market. Winning the American League pennant is not easy at the best of times and this year the competition looks particularly strong. New York really do have their work cut out, even with Alex Rodriguez in the team.

Recommended wagers

Lay New York at odds of up to [2.5] in the American League Winner market