A-Rod Hits His Second Home Run of Spring Training

     As I said previously, this isn't like me. I don't normally root that much for players-I'm all about the uniform. Sure. I love great players that help the team. Ok, the one player I have always loved is Eli Manning-I just love his attitude. With all the knocks he's taken over the years-the most silly was when Tiki Barber slammed him in that book after he retired just before Eli took his team to their first Super Bowl win in 2007-

    http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-tiki-barber-went-from-hero-to-zero-with-giants-fans

    it's always particularly sweet when Eli does well--the good news is that both he and Tim Mara want him to retire to a Giant. 

    UPDATE: If I love Eli, Tiki is one former Giant that I've had mixed feelings about. Still, he gives a pretty good intreview here and endears himself to me a little by saying he'd take Eli over Peyton. 

     http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/27/russell-wilson_n_6056136.html

     Certainly I hope as I always do that the New York Yankees will be good this year-they haven't had a losing season since 1991, though they haven't won a world series since 2009, which for them is a long time, and have been kind of a middling team the last few years-but I really hope that A-Rod can be a part of it-to shut up all the A-Rod haters out there that keep wanting to rehash the steroids thing and whether or not he lied. 

     http://diaryofarepublicanhater.blogspot.com/2015/03/how-mike-lupica-sports-media-made-me-a.html

     It seems that everyone has had enough R-Rod bashing now.  

     "The initial hoopla surrounding Alex Rodriguez's return to the Yankees has mercifully passed, and now the embattled slugger is just going through the motions in spring training. In fact, he came into Friday's spring training game in a 1-for-12 slump and there was hardly any mention of it by the media."

     "The slump extended to 1-for-14 on Friday afternoon before A-Rod took Tigers righty Bruce Rondon deep for his second home run of the spring. This was an opposite field job off a 98 mph fastball, according to George King of the New York Post."

     "Rodriguez is hitting .269/.367/.538 with one double, two homers, three runs driven in, four walks and five strikeouts so far this spring. He's played a handful of games at third base -- his range has been limited but his hands and arm are fine -- but has mostly served as the DH."

     "Having watched most of A-Rod's at-bats this spring, it's clear he hasn't forgotten the strike zone. He swings at strikes and lays off pitches out of the zone, and doesn't appear to be guessing. He's had some fastballs blown by him like everyone else, but overall he hasn't looked overmatched. At least not yet."

     "The Yankees are planning on A-Rod being their regular DH and part-time third baseman this season. Regardless of what he does in spring training, there's really no way to know how Rodriguez will fare in the regular season once he starts playing every day and sees higher quality pitching."

    http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/25116281/watch-alex-rodriguez-hit-another-home-run-on-friday

    At least it's about baseball now and not dredging up the past. The Yanks scored a very un Yankee like 634 runs last year so they can use any power they can get. If he can hit 20 home runs it'd help the team and be mud in the A-Rod haters eyes. 

   At least he's looked decent in spring training though as he and everyone else admits, spring training doesn't tell you much. Hopefully he stays he healthy and hits the 20 homers and helps the team and shuts up the phony moralists. Its strange, rooting for one guy when he comes up at bat but I really hope he does well. 

   P.S.    I can't help notice the writer wrote 'not yet'-as if he's hoping that he eventually will look overmatched. I can't stand that attitude. Again, it's what made me an A-Rod fan in the first place.