Donald Trump demands that Alex Rodriguez be dropped in Yankees batting order

Of course he does. Donald Trump sent this communique on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon. It's not known whether he already had seen Joe Girardi's lineup for Game 3 of the ALDS, in which Alex Rodriguez stayed firmly in the No. 3 spot. Regardless, The Donald let his opinion be known:

A-Rod must be dropped in the Yankees line-up tonight if they want to win. He simply can't perform without drugs.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2012

It would be kind of a funny tweet if anybody said it, much less Trump, but I don't think he was joking. He has attacked Rodriguez before in a similar way. Presumably, A-Rod has been passing his drug tests (otherwise he would have been popped by MLB — right?) But A-Rod's lower production in 2012 — .272/.354/.430 with 18 homers in 463 at-bats — isn't really ideal for the No. 3 spot in the order, either. And his numbers dipped in September, too. Further, so far against the Orioles in two games, Rodriguez is 1 for 9 (a single) with a walk, run scored and five strikeouts. So he's had two uneventful games.

So, scurrilous accusations aside, maybe Trump has a point. Except, he's not the only Yankees player off to a slow start against the O's.

Several Yankees have gotten off to similar starts. Curtis Granderson is 1 for 7. Nick Swisher is 1 for 6 (though he also has two walks and an RBI). Russell Martin has a home run, but it's his only hit. This isn't just A-Rod. Needless to say, Girardi isn't going to wilt from the pressure to "DO SOMETHING!":

"I think that we're going to do whatever it takes to win this three-game series," Girardi said Tuesday when asked specifically about moving A-Rod. "Nothing that we do will be something that is just a knee-jerk reaction. You know, we talk about different things, and whether it's a pitching change or pitching situations. We know, the great thing about this is I have a great group of guys that's very unselfish, and they really want to win. And that's what we're going to do, what we think is best to win."

Girardi can't drop everyone in the order, nor should be. That's the problem with a best-of-five series. By the time you get around to making desperate moves, it's usually too late for them to have the desired effect.

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