Joe Posnanski on Alex Rodriguez's hip injury and what's next:

Lots of people are speculating about what this will mean for A-Rod's career. I have to say: I have absolutely no idea. The doctors quoted seem to think he will be able to come back after this first arthroscopic surgery and play for the rest of the season, and those same doctors seem to think that he should have a full recovery after more intensive hip surgery in the offseason. That's certainly possible. They are doctors, they should know. Then again, a soon-to-be-34-year-old infielder facing two hip surgeries doesn't exactly seem like the world's best bet. I would make a couple of points. One, there are not many third baseman who have had great years into their late 30s. --snip-- The second point: Some third baseman do age well after they move to first base -- George Brett won a batting title at 37 as a first basemen, Pete Rose had a couple of good years as a first baseman and so on. It would not surprise me if there was a position change for A-Rod in the future. Of course, I have heard that the Yankees have paid some pretty good money for a first baseman, Mark something-or-other, and so that might not be an easy move. --snip-- I think of the beautiful line in Richard Ben Cramer's epic Esquire story about Ted Williams: "He wanted fame, and wanted it with a pure, hot eagerness that would have been embarrassing in a smaller man. But he could not stand celebrity. This is a bitch of a line to draw in America's dust." Richard has been working on a book about Alex Rodriguez, and I think I know why. Because A-Rod, like Williams, craved something desperately. I think A-Rod's case, it was more than fame, though he wanted that. It was more than money, though he wanted that too. It's corny and amateur psychology, but I do believe he's just wanted to be loved. And here is Alex Rodriguez. He has hit 553 home runs, and he has won three MVP awards, and he has made every All-Star Game for more than a decade, and he is rich, and he is famous, and he is a star. And, also, he's facing two hip surgeries and an uncertain future except for the certain boos that will surround him in every ballpark he will visit. It's a hell of a thing about life. You never know the ending until you get there.

Alex Rodriguez's contract pays him $20 million in 2017. That July, he'll turn 42. I think it's safe to say that if Alex is still playing baseball when he's 42, he'll have made the switch to first base or DH a few years earlier. In the game's grand history, only three third basemen 40 or older have managed to play in 100 games and post an OPS+ better than league average: Lave Cross in 1906, Luke Appling in 1948 and Graig Nettles in 1985. Actually, that's a fine percentage, because only six third basemen 40 or older have managed to play in 100 games at all! Nettles did it twice; the others not already mentioned are Gary Gaetti and Hall of Famers Cal Ripken and Wade Boggs. So, yeah: There are likely to be more twists and turns in the Alex Rodriguez story, even assuming he's able to come back from this hip injury with little permanent damage. Speaking of the Alex Rodriguez story, I try to be optimistic about Richard Ben Cramer's book. I wonder, though … Maybe this is merely hindsight, but Ted Williams seems to have been dripping with personality, while Alex Rodriguez seems to have had most of his personality -- assuming he had some -- drained out of him before he turned 30. Which might be an interesting story in itself. I'm just not sure it's a book.