Hasn't proven himself a star yet? He has very impressive numbers in Japan.. I've watched him play when I was over there. I actually went to see Hideo Nomo pitch against the Nagoya Dragons when he was with the Kintetsu Buffaloes. I remember thinking "man... this guy is like Luis Tiant!"

Anyway... I'm not saying A-Rod has failed... what I am saying is that Texas was highly mistaken if they thought that a single batter (even of A-Rod's calibre) can win a championship. I still believe that had Texas spent the money on a couple of ace starters that they'd have a significantly better record right now. 1 ace batter cannot compensate for 1 ace pitcher. And I would make that trade. I would trade A-Rod for Martinez, maybe not for Johnson because of the age thing... but definitely for a young ace.

Power hitters are a dime a dozen these days... ace starters aren't. If only I'd stayed in baseball... I think I could have carried a 6.00 era and earned a nice salary :)

Rob G
W9 - Port Huron