It's easy to be skeptical about A-Rod

TAMPA, Fla.

Once a five-tool player, Alex Rodriguez deserves props for exhibiting a sixth tool: the ability to sell himself.

Presentation? The Yankees third baseman exhibited his typical "spring training sleek" look Saturday at Steinbrenner Field as the club held its first full-squad workout. For all of the rips on him over the years, no one ever accused A-Rod of being out of shape.

The expert endorsement? A-Rod happily touted the work of Peter Wehling, whom A-Rod visited in Germany during the offseason to receive an experimental therapy called Orthokine on his right knee and left shoulder.

A slogan? "Less is more," a promise that the 36-year-old has cut back on his workouts in an effort to preserve his body.

Who wants to buy low on A-Rod?

To those looking for Yankees happiness and/or fantasy success, proceed with caution. When it comes to Rodriguez, you should embrace this more reasonable notion:

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More is more.

The more A-Rod can stay in the lineup, the more we'll believe he still can be an elite player. But for now, we're skeptics.

"It's hard to sit here in February, March, and talk a big game, or talk about how many games you're going to play," Rodriguez said. "It really doesn't matter. The key is you have to stay focused and avoid the injury bug, stay out there and play. Hopefully, that's a lot of games."

Injuries to his right knee, left thumb and left shoulder limited A-Rod to 99 regular-season games in 2011, a career low since he became a full-time major-leaguer in 1996, and rendered him virtually useless as the season came to an end. Rodriguez had only two hits, both singles, in 18 at-bats during the Yankees' American League Division Series loss to Detroit.

In all, A-Rod declined for the fourth straight season, and it's a tribute to him that this diminished, disabled version of Rodriguez still registered as one of the best third basemen in baseball. His 4.2 wins above replacement, as calculated by FanGraphs.com, placed him behind only Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria (6.1), Texas' Adrian Beltre (5.7) and San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval (5.5).

We're far from the point where we discuss ideas like benching or releasing A-Rod; with six years to go on his contract, we may very well get there. This conversation is more about recognizing who he is now -- a former superstar, still making superstar money, who appears in full decline phase -- and the stability of his defensive position and cleanup spot in the Yankees' lineup.

"In my eyes, I envision him as a cleanup hitter," manager Joe Girardi said. "I think he did a pretty good job for us before he got hurt. I envision he'll be the guy before he got hurt."

A-Rod stressed his love of both playing third base and hitting cleanup, and he cited old friend and mentor Cal Ripken Jr., who played third base until he retired at age 41 in 2001. Eh. Ripken's last really good year was 1996, the season he turned 36.

Girardi said A-Rod's injuries last year resulted from "freaky" occurrences rather than wear and tear, and Rodriguez said he is emphasizing "corrective exercises" as a way to improve his range of motion and flexibility. Furthermore, we should remember we're talking about one of the game's smarter players.

New Yankee Raul Ibañez, recalling when he played alongside A-Rod on the 1996-2000 Mariners, said, "Alex was very cerebral, studious. He was very meticulous with his preparation.''

He could defy the odds. A significant bounce-back for A-Rod would be much less shocking than, say, Bartolo Colon's resurgence with the 2011 Yankees.

Yet common sense and Mother Nature win many more of these matchups than they lose. "Less is more" is being put to a severe test.