Jack Curry has a piece about how Kevin Long is trying to help Alex Rodriguez:
Long determined the cause of Rodriguez’s struggles, detecting that the third baseman hadn’t been using the lower half of his body to ignite his swing. Rodriguez called it a “disconnect” between his lower and upper body. But what has been especially vexing for Rodriguez, who normally makes rapid adjustments, is that he has labored to make these changes. He knew what to do, but he didn’t do it.
“We’ve diagnosed the problem,” Long said. “It’s vivid. We know what it is. But Alex said there’s been some hesitation. He knows he has to use his legs and he’s telling himself to use his legs. But when it comes time to do it, he hesitates. It’s all about fixing mechanics.”
Rodriguez was so locked-in at the start of the season I have to assume he’s not been entirely healthy since his oblique injury. Man, it’s a beautiful, elegant swing. Just shows how hard baseball is even for the greats. He’s just that much off, and that much is the difference between great and average.
Rodriguez has six years left on his contract after this year. I just don’t see his body holding up that long, do you? And if he can’t swing like he’s accustomed to is he the sort of player who can change his game and still find some success?
6 years? hell, i'm just hoping my body holds up for 6 weeks, on my upcoming tour!
[1]
tour????? coming to NYC? :-)
[2] hi dianagram! i think jersey and long island, but not nyc. i'm not sure of all the dates yet. sooo much to do! and now i'm off to work. gotta go teach...
for a coupla months now, i've been meaning to get in touch w/ you about an early Rush bootleg a student's dad burned for me. old old old, w/ john rutsey on drums and a coupla unreleased tunes! you might know of it, apparently it was widespread. i'm not much of a live bootleg guy, so i wasn't familiar...
must run.
GO YANKS!!!
ps - my CD is out! : )
Hey thelarmis... Do you ever get up to NH... or anywhere North of Boston?
I think ARod NEEDS his power game. He is NOT a great hitter. He has holes in his swing and he still has issues laying off bad breaking balls. His talent is, when he hits the ball, he hits it SO HARD, that HRs and screaming LDs and GBs result.
Yeah, his upper body is pretty strong, and maybe he can be an .750-.800 OPS guy without his 'Good Swing'. But as he ages, those numbers will go down, and he may not even be an 'average' 3Bman is his latter years.
There are a decent number of guys who were very effective through there 30's. Aaron of course, and even Mr. Thome. We may not be able to expect .900 OPS routinely, but if he stays healthy, a .825-.850 OPS is not out of reach.
[3] You must let me know where on Long Island you'll be playing. Is your stuff available on iTunes? I think the bootleg you speak of is from an early Ontario show from like, 71 or 72 when they were getting rare air play in Cleveland, etc. Check out the Behind the Lighted Stage documentary and see if any of it is familiar. [2], Diane, you know what I'm talking about, right?