As we said before, the 2012 postseason is probably the toughest portion of Alex Rodriguez’s career to date. Once considered to be the best baseball player on the planet, A-Rod has been reduced to merely a bat off the bench in certain situations. As someone who knows something about being an aging superstar, Kobe Bryant says he decided to give the Yankees third baseman a pep talk earlier this week.
“We spoke a couple of days ago,” Bryant said according to ESPNLosAngeles.com. “You can only control what you can control. You go out there and do the best job you can. If they take you out of the lineup, it’s really on you to be a good teammate and support the other guys, which he’s good about doing.
“I just say to him, ‘You’re Alex Rodriguez. You’re A-Rod. You’re one of the best to ever do it. I think sometimes he kind of forgets that and wants to try to do the right thing all the time. Which is the right team attitude to have. But other times you really have to put your head down and say, ‘Hell with it’ and just do your thing.
Bryant added that he hopes Joe Girardi puts Rodriguez back at third base for Game 4 to give him a chance to “respond to the pressure” that fans and the media have placed on him. Some would argue that A-Rod was saying “hell with it” during Game 1 of the ALCS when he reportedly spent time flirting with fans and collecting phone numbers.
With the Yankees facing an 0-3 hole, A-Rod may not have many more opportunities to silence the critics and prove he can provide the Bronx Bombers with a much-needed playoff spark. And at age 37, that’s something he may never have the chance to prove again.
