Alex Rodriguez’s love-hate relationship with the fickle fans of the New York Yankees is definitely in the love stage these days – and the American League team can only exclaim ‘Thank Goodness.’
The Yankees, who begin a two-game set tonight in New York against the suddenly surging (two wins in a row!) Toronto Blue Jays, have lost five in a row and currently reside in last place in the AL East.
The team’s pitching staff, from the starters on down to the bullpen, is a shambles.
The starting rotation is averaging fewer than five innings per start, the worst in the majors.[amp]nbsp; Even Mariano Rivera, the normally air-tight closer, has sprung a leak having already blown two saves this year while allowing seven hits in 6 1/3-innings of relief work.
So you can imagine the heat the organization is facing in media mad New York is pretty intense. And were it not for A-Rod, and his heroics with the bat so far this season, it would be much worse.
Going into tonight’s game against the Jays, Rodriguez has tied Albert Pujols’s major-league record of 14 home runs in April - and the Yankees still had five games left this month.
He is batting .385 with a league-leading 34 RBIs. He had at least one hit in each of the Yankees’ first 18 games, and 21 of them were for extra bases.
Barry Bonds holds the single season home run record with 73 and that mark appears to be vulnerable just one month into schedule.
And while his team is struggling, Rodriguez – who can opt out of his contract after this season and become a free agent - has come out and said that he wants to remain in Yankee pinstripes.
George Steinbrenner, the Yankees owner, better get it in writing. Rodriguez has plenty of time to change his mind.
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