A-Rod and chemistry?

pink - explain to me how 54 home runs and 156 RBI wouldn't help a team. Just because you don't like him, doesn't mean he wouldn't help ANY team.

If you NEED to be convince, then you don't know as much about baseball as you think you do.

Craig - I agree with you on this - chemistry is overrated in baseball. It is VERY important in other games - in games where you need to play as a unit. Say basketball - where fast passes and knowing where your teammates are going to be greatly improves your chances of winning.

Baseball is a different animal.

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Chenistry is over-rated. I think that too many people are sure that Varitek will have a problem with him because they fought three years ago. The slapping of the glove four years ago...those are all things in the past, when a player comes to a team now they all look at what he can do for them not what he did do for someone else. I do not see Chemistry as a problem; when the A's in the early 90's were winning they hated each other, they all hated LaRussa until they won the Championship and yet they were highly successful. This year the RedSoc brought in Gagne, to build fires I think, but were still able to keep the team together enough to win a Championship, Drew has been labeled a franchise chemistry killer but they still won with him. I think signing A-Rod would give the Sox possibly the toughest line-up to pitch against in the past 40 years. They only have to get along for a few hours a day. The example of the Mariners is different, when those three left they also signed Ichiro who changed the dynamic of that team, they refocused on signing solid relief guys and changed the team altogether. Chemistry can be good for underacheiving teams that do not know any better but with a team like that they do not need chemistry, they just need a little pitching to keep the other team under 10! A-Rod to that line-up= best run support ever for a pitcher.

I'm not so sure "chemistry" would be the problem. You're right, many teams have won with lots of in-fighting.

What I'm thinking is... giving him all that money would be the problem. The talent the Sox have at their current salaries are getting the job done. Some players might get the idea that since they've done it without A-Rod... they would be entitled to some hefty raises... and I agree.

What would that do to the payroll? And then... what are the fans gonna think and say if they don't win?

Kind of a Catch-22 situation.

Remember, they can re-sign Mike Lowell a lot cheaper.

The only fact I can give you is the fact that A-Rod has never been to a World Series and I know that fact isn't much...he seems to be the perfect regular season player where he puts up great numbers for himself but in the post-season he just doesn't have that next gear...as for chemistry I just don't think he has the same mind-set and attitude as most of the guys that are currently part of the Red Sox...he is arguably the best player ever but I just don't see him fitting in with the current Red Sox team...as a Red Sox fan I would rather see Lowell at third (who may not be A-Rod with the bat but he is a much better feilding third baseman and he isn't that shabby at the plate either) and I would honestly give Lugo another shot at short...if A-Rod was willing to sign for like 18-20 mil a year to play short I might re-adjust my thinking because that would show an attitude adjustment but right now he seems (to me anyway) to be all about Alex and not really "lets win a World Series" which I see as bad for the current team chemistry.

Chemistry is not so much just about playing well together. Chemistry on the field makes baseball not just a game but an experience. Personally, I think Arod is very misunderstood. While, I am the first to admit that he has a bad attitude. you never see in the newspapers, about wanting to give money back, and the offer not being accepted. I would be happy to have Alex Rodriguez on my team but I would be very sad to see the chemistry my team has go down the drain because of him. I would not want Arod on my team, I would want Alex Rodriguez. They are two different people. And if he was able to conform to the stardom of everyone on the team equally, I would gladly take him on my team. But his superstar attitude, may intefere with those plans.

I put very little credence in "chemistry" having anything at all to do with winning. At the MLB level we are talking about the elite-of-the-elite and the cream-of-the-crop in athletic ability. These are professional athletes who are compensated very well to come out and give it their all every game. Rickey Henderson never had any problems with "chemistry" since he never even knew the names of his teammates. The best teams are made up of the best players and those teams are going to win no matter what happens in the clubhouse. It is the fans that like to bring up the "chemistry" word when they don't like a player, for whatever reason, and try to make something of it. You picked the right guy with your A-Rod reference because you will get a lot of "chemistry" responses from this crowd. For anyone to suggest that teams don't play well when A-Rod is on the team is nonsense, A-Rod can only make a team better, chemistry or no chemistry.

People think I am crazy but the real chemistry killer for the Yankees is the almighty Derek Jeter.

As a Red Sox fan I would love to have AROD. The players in the Red Sox clubhouse are very friendly and loose and would welcome him with open arms unlike the stiff Yankee clubhouse.

You are right -- super duper right. The whole Alex Rodriguez sucks bandwagon thing is WAY out of control anyway.

Good chemistry comes with winning. It IS elusive, but it's remarkable how good a team's chemistry is when they are 10 games over .500. The big green monster, Manny and Big Papi in the lineup, and A-Rod's hitting at Fenway in general would mean that Boston would be the team to beat for years.

Whatever the man is paid, he's the best in the game. On the best team in the game the chemistry -- good or bad -- would be a winning one.

Going to Boston would be just what A-Rod would need. Some honest-to-goodness protection in the lineup so he wouldn't be pitched around. I think it's short-sightedness on the part of fans. Keep Lowell at 3b, put A-Rod at SS, where he belongs. Those fans would see playoffs and a STRING of world championships. With Manny, Papi and Lowell hitting behind him. A-Rod will produce in the post-season, and all that money will prove to be a good investment. I think it's a mistake comparing Lowell to him. Compare Lugo instead, then you'll see why it would be a mistake not to sign him.

Well, first of all, conjecture is all you have when you are talking about a what if futuristic situation. However, chemistry is important - in successive years Seattle lost Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey, JR, and A-Rod and what did they do the next year? Set a league record for wins in a season. A-Rod went to Texas where the team finsihed last each year he was there -the first year he left they came in second. The Yankees won four world series in five years before A-rod got there. In his time there, they won none. There is something about this man that makes a team worse - hard to explain but each team he goes to gets worse and each team he leaves gets better. As Casey Stengel said, you can look it up.

Michael B, I think next year part of the curse will be broken... no A-Rod will not make it to a WS but I don't think the Yankees will even make it to the playoffs next year.... meaning the team he leaves will not get better the next year for the first time...

I hope he ends up in KC or Tampa or Washington or Pittsburgh... but I believe he will end up with the Angels and they don't have much chemistry there to mess with to begin with...

Selfish players ruin a lot of things but at least with Kobe, you know he wants to win championships...