WasWatching.com

Those WSP numbers are interesting. So, I take it that an average player would be at .500. What surprises me is that Sheffield and Matsui were both below .500 this year. So, I guess their injuries cannot be the reason for the Yankees recent swoon.

The tenor of the debate over ARod being booed by Yankees fans is getting hysterical on both sides. Those who boo and despise him are, to say the least, over-reacting to a slump that every player has once or twice a season. Those who vehemently defend him act as if the '90s never ended and we're living in the kinder, gentler epoch of baseball, calling for Jeter to make a public statement of support for ARod. The only person who can make this stop is ARod. Not Jeter, not Torre, not the Pope. He simply has to (and I think he will)go on a sustained tear for a good month or so. All (well, mostly all) will be forgiven. The fans will cheer. Even Mike Lupica will turn the other cheek. Remember Mike Schmidt. He was booed by Phillies fans for many of the same reasons (frustrations, real or imagined)ARod's being booed: huge salary, perceived lack of clutch hits, and not winning it all (until 1980)despite having one of the 3 or 4 most talented teams in the sport for 5-6 seasons. Now, I'd rather be a Yankees fan than a Phillies fan, but I don't have any reason to believe that we're that much smarter or more objective than they were (are). Mike Schmidt. Best third baseman in the history of the game. Booed like an opposing player in his own park. This too shall pass. ARod will get himself together. Hopefully soon.

That Mike Schmidt was booed in Philadelphia is no surprise. They are the worst sports fans in America.

Better Jeter shut-up than make some dumb-ass remark, as he did make. Jeter has rarely, if ever, been booed at Yankee Stadium. To claim so was dumb. Even if there were a smattering of boos on occasion for Jeter it is nothing like what Alex Rodriguez is getting.

Have you seen Alex's stats at home in 2006? Dreadful.

I seem to recall Derek Jeter being booed in April/May of 2004 (or 2005) when he started the season hitting under .200. While I agree that he's generally enjoyed more support than any other Yankee player of recent vintage (certainly since Donnie Baseball), lets not kid ourselves here. Yankee fans have booed Jeter and Rivera quite recently...

I just hope A-Rod goes on a tear and ends this discussion--until the next slump. I'm not happy with his numbers, at all, and I think the guy's a little bit of a headcase, but I don't think he should be booed to this extreme. He gets booed after every out. Pretty soon he'll be booed for only hitting a single or a double. I'm exagerrating of course-I think.

It's terrible for me to think this but I wish he'd be sidelined for a while (not a day or so) just so the Yankee fans can enjoy gritting it out with Miguel Cairo and Nick Green. Isn't Cairo thought of as a "true" Yankee?

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

I seem to remember Arod having a very good week just before he got ill, helping the team get to 1st place.

I guess that doesn't count.

I seem to remember Arod being named player of the month, helping the Yanks keep their heads above the water as they were getting used to no Matsui and Sheffield.

I guess that doesn't count either.

It reminds me of what I've read about Maris/Mantle when Maris was thought to be worse than Kruschev.

That Mike Schmidt was booed in Philadelphia is no surprise. They are the worst sports fans in America.
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Off topic, but as someone who lives 10 minutes from Philly and goes to a lot of Phillies games, they're not really that bad. They're pretty endearing once you get to know them.

And have you sat in the bleachers at Yankee Stadium? The "ultra hooligans" in New York are the same breed as the hooligans in Philly.

Local pride and honor restored. Carry on