The more and more you watch this version of the Yankees, the more and more you see elements of the San Antonio Spurs.
Think of Robinson Cano as the Yanks' Tony Parker, a prime-aged star who stands apart in current skill from his mates. Then the rest of the roster is filled with role players and the Tim Duncan/Manu Ginobili-esque aging stars.
Remember how Ginobili, at age 35, reached into his past to offer the type of clutch all-around brilliance of his prime in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, pushing San Antonio to the brink of a championship. That sapped him and he played poorly as the Spurs lost Games 6, 7 and the title to Miami.
Don't we now kind of see similar stuff in, for example, Alex Rodriguez?
He can have a time-machine game like he did two Sundays ago at Fenway Park, but then look old and clunky in subsequent games. The consistency of genius is gone.
You witness flashes of virtuosity from an A-Rod or an Ichiro Suzuki or an Andy Pettitte. But what made them stand out — unwavering brilliance — has been lost to wear and tear and time. Enough muscle memory, will and lingering talent remain to produce throwback performances. But not enough to evoke day after day of sustained excellence.
And like Gregg Popovich with his graying Spurs roster, Joe Girardi constantly is trying to rest and nurse his players through the long season, working to navigate decline and injury and just plain exhaustion. Even in a phase when there is desperation to win daily, Girardi has backed away from the oldest player in the majors, 43-year-old Mariano Rivera, in a few save situations.
On Sunday, with A-Rod in a 1-for-15 slow-motion slide and having played two straight games at third on turf at Tampa Bay, Girardi sat him. The reward came with A-Rod homering on Monday and Tuesday.
The same night Derek Jeter returned. Sure, it was good to have Jeter back. But for Girardi it meant integrating yet another veteran whose best games and physical condition already have come and gone. Jeter has had four major leg/foot issues in less than a calendar year.
Girardi is going to have to continue to be crafty in how he uses off days, rest days and the DH slot.
As opposed to Girardi, Popovich knew he had the playoffs made in preseason, what with eight teams in each conference qualifying. Thus, he could be judicious with court time the whole regular season. It was not until the postseason, particularly The Finals, that he pushed his aging squad to its point of collapse and simply hoped the season was finished before his players were.
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