A-Rod's Legs Starting To Jeter Out On Him

For the second time in less than a week, Alex Rodriguez was removed from a game due to injuries to his legs.  Early last week it was the left hamstring that started to nag, forcing Joe to limit Alex to just a DH role for the rest of the week.  Last night it was his right calf that reportedly felt sore and caused him pain running the bases.  He was pinch hit for and removed from the game in the top of the 5th inning.

If this story sounds familiar, it's because it's almost exactly the same as what went down with Derek Jeter this season.  He came back from leg injuries without the proper amount of time to build up his leg strength and it led to further complications and the eventual end of his season.  Alex seems to be falling victim to the same fate after returning from his offseason hip surgery.  Like Jeter, A-Rod didn't have a lot of time to work his legs back into game shape.  Like Jeter, that lack of leg conditioning limited his ability to play the field and play every day.  And like Jeter, the compounding issues with his legs as a result of having to play through those ailments seems to be adding up to force A-Rod off the field.

He's been a tremendous and somewhat surprising boost to the lineup since coming off the DL, off-the-field circus aside.  Now A-Rod might finish the season and head into his offseason appeal battle on the sidelines instead of playing out what could be the final 12 games of his career.