Alex Rodriguez. (AP)
Joe Girardi had almost no choice but to pinch-hit for Alex Rodriguez during the postseason because of the third baseman’s awful performance, but the Yankees manager tried to soften the blow on at least one occasion by calling up to the press box to not have Rodriguez’s name announced when the move was made.
A source confirmed yesterday the manager did place the call himself, initially acknowledged by general manager Brian Cashman in a CBSSports.com report.
The Post learned the incident occurred when Raul Ibanez pinch-hit for Rodriguez in Game 3 of the ALDS, the first time Rodriguez was pinch-hit for in the playoffs. Ibanez delivered a game-tying solo home run before homering again in the 12th to give the Yankees a 3-2 win.
Typically, when a player is replaced by a pinch-hitter, Yankees public address announcer Paul Olden names both players involved — a practice always followed at Yankee Stadium.
But with Rodriguez’s reputation in tatters because of his declining production and enormous contract, Girardi clearly thought the beleaguered third baseman needed a break.
Later in the postseason, things turned from bad to worse for Rodriguez, who was the subject of a Post story that he was flirting with women in the stands after he was removed from Game 1 of the ALCS against the Tigers. The third baseman said the story was “laughable,” but wondered if it had anything to do with his benching later in the series.
If the attempt to shield Rodriguez from abuse was to help him get back to being a productive player in the postseason, it didn’t work. Rodriguez was pinch-hit for two other times and didn’t start three games because it became apparent he couldn’t hit right-handed pitching.
Rodriguez went 0-for-18 with a dozen strikeouts against righties in the playoffs — a continuation of a problem that haunted him for much of the regular season.
Rodriguez was pinch-hit for by Eric Chavez twice in the postseason: the first time in the 13th inning of a 2-1 loss in Game 4 of the ALDS and again in the Yankees’ 6-4 loss in Game 1 of the ALCS against the Tigers, both times at the Stadium.
After the Yankees were eliminated by Detroit, Cashman said he would listen to trade offers for Rodriguez, but with five years and $114 million remaining on the third baseman’s contract, it is unlikely Rodriguez is going anywhere.
“I expect Alex to be here. I am not looking to trade Alex,’’ Cashman said after the season ended. “If someone called, of course I would take the call, but I am not trading Alex.”
During a press conference Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, Girardi said he expected Rodriguez to be the team’s “everyday” third baseman in 2013.
“What’s he going to have to show me?” Girardi said Wednesday. “That he’s healthy and ready to go and that we have no concerns if we put him out there every day.”
Rodriguez had never been pinch-hit for in a postseason game before this season, but even he couldn’t argue with having his spot taken by Ibanez, who came up with some of the few key hits the Yankees had in their playoff run. Chavez, though, went 0-for-16 in the playoffs, which may have been more difficult to stomach.
Now that Rodriguez is 37 and his health increasingly suspect, Girardi’s dealings with the fading star could prove to be more delicate. Perhaps the phone call was a sign of things to come.
“I will give Joe a lot of credit,” Rodriguez said after he was left out of the starting lineup before Game 4 of the ALCS was rained out in Detroit. “He’s been very good to me over the years, so he has a lot of equity with me.”
But if Rodriguez is unable to find his swing and power again, no amount of phone calls will be able to protect him.
— Additional reporting
by George A. King III