[vincesanity82]

It's no secret that Alex Rodriguez hasn't enjoyed much playoff success with the Yankees ... but if you listen to Scott Boras, maybe it's not all his fault. Whose fault is it? Why, Mariano Rivera's, of course! He explained his (ridiculous) stance during a taping of ESPN's First Take yesterday, as transcribed by the New York Daily News:

The question posed to Boras was why Rodriguez's regular-season numbers haven't translated to postseason success.

"That's a characterization that, when you look at the data, is frankly inaccurate," Boras said. "If you look at Alex's first season in New York, I believe he was 7-for-16 with two home runs and five RBIs going into Game 4 in Boston.

"The brilliant Mariano Rivera, probably the only flaw he's made in a historic career over the postseason, if he got those three outs (in the ninth inning of Game 4), Alex would have been in the World Series and he would have been held to have a great postseason.

I'm confused ... did Rivera actually do something to mess with A-Rod's swing?

Boras: Blame Mariano for A-Rod's Struggles! - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

[Lefty Noob]

It's a bit of a leap, but Boras' logic follows as such - A-Rod hit well in that Series, and if they wind up winning (i.e. Rivera doesn't blow the save), then maybe the pressure doesn't build up so much throughout the years. He might already have a ring under his belt and no one talks year after year about how he's a choke artist, thus putting him under more and more scrutiny and making it harder and harder for him to perform in the postseason. Now, whether you buy into it or not is your call (I personally think it's hooey), but that seems to be what Boras is conveying.

[legend]

Boras put his foot in his mouth here and burned all bridges with the Yankees and their fans after that remark. A-Rod and Sheffield both went into the tank for those last three games, and A-Rod never came out of it. To go after Rivera is ridiculous, and if he knew anything about Rivera's career, he would know that that game was far from his biggest "flaw". Rivera gave up a homer to Sandy Alomar, Jr in 1997 against Cleveland in a big spot and blew the 2001 WS against the DBacks in the bottom of the ninth. Yankee fans forgive him those transgressions becasue of all the other things he has done to win titles. As for A-Rod, Mike Lowell has 20 RBI in 97 postseason at bats, AFraud has 17 in 147. With NY he had exactly 9 in 24 playoff games. He can sell A-Rod as a great regular season guy, but don't try to pass him off as anything but a choker when all the cards are on the table.

[ThePundit]

Originally Posted by legend

Boras put his foot in his mouth here and burned all bridges with the Yankees and their fans after that remark. A-Rod and Sheffield both went into the tank for those last three games, and A-Rod never came out of it. To go after Rivera is ridiculous, and if he knew anything about Rivera's career, he would know that that game was far from his biggest "flaw". Rivera gave up a homer to Sandy Alomar, Jr in 1997 against Cleveland in a big spot and blew the 2001 WS against the DBacks in the bottom of the ninth. Yankee fans forgive him those transgressions becasue of all the other things he has done to win titles. As for A-Rod, Mike Lowell has 20 RBI in 97 postseason at bats, AFraud has 17 in 147. With NY he had exactly 9 in 24 playoff games. He can sell A-Rod as a great regular season guy, but don't try to pass him off as anything but a choker when all the cards are on the table.

Boras knows nothing about baseball. He's just trying to increase A-Rod's value.