Mark Zinno: Why A-Rod Should Not Be Suspended
So Buck Showalter, who has never been shy or short on words, told USA today that if Alex Rodriguez gets a lifetime ban, that the Yankees will benefit and current Orioles catcher Matt Wieters would be in pinstripes in two years when he becomes a free agent. Simply put, Buck Showalter is right. For Oriole fans who continue to undervalue Wieters and what he brings to this team, there is no team that would appropriately value, if not overvalue Wieters, better than the Yankees.
For a team that has been lost behind the plate since Jorge Posada retired after 2010, New York would open their wallets for a catcher the caliber of Wieters. They have used Russel Martin for the previous two seasons and a combination of Chris Stewart and Austin Romine this year. If you're wondering who the last two players are, so are the fans in New York!
I have been telling Orioles fans all year long that Wieters is so critical to this organization. If I had to keep one player for the next five years, it would be him or Machado. And that's a total coin flip. Fans scoff at the notion that Wieters could be worth between $12-15 million dollars a season. Those fans don't understand exactly how hard it is to replace a guy like him.
In short, Oriole fans and Yankee-haters everywhere should be hoping that A-Rod's impending suspension is shorter than anyone wants. Hoping the worst for A-Rod is easy, but what's best for baseball - and worst for the Yankees - is for him to play sooner rather than later.
