Third Base

Starter- In 5-8 weeks, Alex Rodriguez will be the starting 3rd baseman for the New York Yankees. As you all know, he just had surgery on his hip and will be out until mid May. A-Rod has been the Yankee 3rd baseman for 5 years.  He came over in a deal that sent Alfonso Soriano to Texas and shifted A-Rod to 3rd. Last offseason he was inked to a 10 year, 275 Million Dollar deal, breaking his own record for the richest player in baseball history. Despite his tendency to create controversy (Steriods, Madonna), he has been a fantastic player for the Yankees, winning 2 MVP awards. In his 5 years as a Yankee, A-Rod has hit .303/.400/.573 with an OPS+ of 153, which is absolutely stellar. He is most often chastised for is his lack of "clutch" play. In his last 3 playoff series, A-Rod has had a .157 batting average. He has not performed in the playoffs, but let's be honest, we would not have gotten to the playoffs (especially in 2007) without A-Rod. Do I want him to step it up in the late innings and in the playoffs? Absolutely, but booing the guy isn't helping the situation. He has done fantastic things for the Yankees, and let's just hope his great play will continue when he comes back from his injury. 

Backups- Cody Ransom is the back up 3B for the Yankees. He will be the teams starter for the next couple of weeks with the absence of A-Rod. The guy is a minor league journey man, playing 11 years in the minors. His minor league numbers aren't great, hitting .242/.322/.426. Last year with the big club, Ransom hit .302/.400/.651 with 4 HR in only 43 AB. Sure, he isn't likely to live up to these stats, but I can see him hitting better than his minor league stats show. And hey, the guy can jump really really high. I can see him being a perfectly fine fill in for the next 5 weeks. 

Prospect- Eric Duncan was really rushed throughout his minor league career. His minor league stats are .247/.329/.416. I think that the organization could have taken more time with Duncan, but, they didn't and it might have hurt them in the long run. Duncan will be playing AAA this year.