A-Rod's Amazing April

They used to call him A-FRAUD. Now it’s more like A-GOD.

Last year he was ridiculed. Now his revival is all the rage.

His stats read like Joaquim Villagomez. Never heard of him? That’s because he’s a created player on your XBOX 360 hard drive.

Now that we’re officially out of April (and can put the Yankees’ miserable 9-14 start behind us), let's look back and appreciate Alex Rodriguez’s stunning transformation from “Most Likely to Hit into a Double Play” to “Most Likely to Live Up to Lofty Expectations”.

His line after 24 games and 97 at-bats (figures include NYY versus TEX on 5/1/07):

Average .371
Home Runs 14
RBI 34
Runs Scored 28
On Base Percentage .432
Slugging .887
Hits 36
Doubles 8
Total Bases 86
BB 10
Strikeouts 23

He wound up tying the MLB record for most HR in April (Phat Albert) and in second place for most RBI in a month (Juan Gone). And the impact he’s made is not just in the record books. Two of his homeruns were earth-shattering walk-offs the Yankees desperately needed, considering their sluggish start and pitching woes.

What could have triggered A-Rod’s assault on the opposition? Was he simply tired of the constant nagging and decided to take his frustrations out on the hardball? Has A-Rod finally stopped thinking at the plate? Did he listen to Gary Sheffield's pre-season prediction that he would once again put up MVP-like numbers and see it as a challenge? Is it the shortenend swing?

Whatever it is (if you have any ideas of your own, please share), there's one thing Yankee fans will agree on: It's about time. It's about time A-Rod lived up to the hype. Stepped to the plate focused and confident. played with the devil may care attitude of a 16 year old who's practiced so much, there's nothing left to think about. Just look, swing, run and appreciate the fact you do it way better than a lot of other folks. All doing it while it counts...

well, until the postseason. We'll see if this new A-Rod sticks around that long.

{c}