Well, 14 of them, to be exact. It's almost becoming laughable, isn't it? 14 homeruns in his team's first 18 games. That's a record, he became the fastest to 13 in the second inning and the fastest to 14 in the ninth. But, still, it's not enough for Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees, they're 8-10 and have lost 4 straight. It begs the question, how bad would this team be without Mr. Rodriguez.
A little context, first of all. This is the same man who, just a season ago, endured boo's not seen anywhere in baseball this side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Couldn't hit in the clutch, couldn't against the Red Sox, couldn't hit against the Mets. Now, he hits against everyone, at every time.
Quite simply, A Rod is shitting on Major League Baseball, night in and night out. Or, as John Kruk put it more elegantly, he's "making a mockery of the game". And, to be fair, there really isn't much arguing with that point. Regardless of wins or losses for the Yankees, this guy is swinging like's got a fungo bat in his hand.
The ball hit in the 9th inning of Al Reyes earlier tonight was not a matter of if, but rather how far. As soon as it came out of Reyes hand, everyone in Tampa knew Rodriguez would've had to really messed up to not hit a homer. And, sure enough, he crushed it, effortlessly, took a look, flipped his bat, and began to trot. Such is life for Alex Rodriguez.
He's on pace for what, 100 plus homers, and over 165 RBI's. Seems doable, at the very least. It's gotten to the point that I'm actually rooting for him to get up in big spots. What a difference a year makes (or, in this instance, a great 3 weeks).
So, you ask, what is the solution? Give him the Barry treatment, just walk him. Well, you can't do that because, unlike the Giants, the Yankees don't run out a Ken Griffey baseball game lineup. Why don't they pitch inside more? That hasn't worked either, because he's hit the ball over the plate, inside, and outside. Face it, the guy is just this good. Well, not this good, but really, really close.
Maybe his all-world play will taper off, but he's almost a lock (barring injury) for 50 homeruns. And it's still April. Who knows, maybe by that time, the Yankee's will have reached that same plateau in wins.
