An albatross for Republicans_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

An albatross for Republicans

All this does is strengthen the case to convert A-Rod to a full-time DH in 2017, as the Yankees anticipated they someday would have to. But the price of brittle bones and creaking joints is steep, as the Bombers are playing $32 million for a singles hitter.

Rodriguez ended the first half with a streak of 85 at-bats without a home run, the longest of his career. It’s worth noting A-Rod is still a threat with a .295 average, but his new profile is almost unrecognizable: Rodriguez was only fourth among the Yankees in home runs and OPS at the time of his disablement, but he was leading the team in singles.

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The Yankees certainly expect more from A-Rod than a .485 slugging percentage — at least for what they’re paying. The best-case scenario is that Rodriguez experiences a burst of energy and power down the stretch, and the homer-less drought becomes nothing more than a blip.

But there’s a flip side, too — a steady procession of minor, nagging injuries that strip A-Rod of his elite status once and for all. As Joel Sherman of the New York Post aptly put it, the danger the Yankees face is that Rodriguez ends up becoming a financial albatross.

- Numbers don't point to A-Rod resurgence, FoxSports.com, July 18, 2011.

3. At the finish, Pat Riley reflected back on the start.

That smoke-machine, spotlight, hydraulic-lift welcome party for LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh last July at AmericanAirlines Arena? Perhaps, Riley said Tuesday, not the best way to go.