It appears that Alex Rodriguez is not too popular in the New York Yankees clubhouse. Fans and teammates alike agree that he can not get a big hit in a clutch situation.  Jason Giambi had this exchange with A-Rod after the Yankees last series with the Red Sox

“We’re all rooting for you and we’re behind you 100 percent, but you’ve got to get the big hit,” was his message to A-Rod, Giambi told SI.

“What do you mean?” was Rodriguez’s response, Giambi told SI. “I’ve had five hits in Boston.”

“You [expletive] call those hits?” Giambi said, according to SI. “You had two [expletive] dinkers to right field and a ball that bounced over the third baseman! Look at how many pitches you missed!

“When you hit three, four or five [in the order], you have to get the big hits, especially if they’re going to walk Bobby [Abreu] and me. I’ll help you out until you get going. I’ll look to drive in runs when they pitch around me, go after that 3-and-1 pitch that might be a ball. But if they’re going to walk Bobby and me, you’re going to have to be the guy.”

Take a look, without laughing, at what Alex said to Sports Illustrated. 

“[Mike] Mussina doesn’t get hammered at all,” he told SI. “He’s making a boatload of money. Giambi’s making [$20.4 million], which is fine and dandy, but it seems those guys get a pass. When people write [bad things] about me, I don’t know if it’s [because] I’m good-looking, I’m biracial, I make the most money, I play on the most popular team …”

Alex you make $25 million dollars and have never led a team to a championship. You also strike out 150 times a year and hit under .285 with no clutch hits or homers.

It is easy to see why New York fans and teammates might be a bit upset with A-Rod. Granted comparing him to baseball god Albert Pujols might not be fair, but Pujols didn’t sell his soul for the almighty dollar and greed either.

Pujols is a freak to have more home runs than he does strike outs.  Albert has also played in almost 20 fewer games this year.  Compare the averages of A-Rod and A-Bert with runners on base (ROB) and with runners in scoring position (RISP).  If you were to base Albert’s salary on A-Rod’s and his production then you would have to pay Albert around $40 million a year.

AB is at bats, AVG is batting average, HR is Home Runs, RBI is Runs Batted In, SO is Strikeouts, W is Walks, SLG is Slugging Percentage, ROB is Average with Runners on Base, RISP is Average with Runners in Scoring Position, Salary is that player’s salary for the 2006 season