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Alex Rodriguez

With Yankee showdown looming, Alex Rodriguez lingers in his 'good place'

Bob Nightengale
USA TODAY Sports
It's been an eventful weekend at Fenway Park for Alex Rodriguez, who hit his 660th home run Friday.

BOSTON - It was perfectly set up for a dramatic return of the Bronx Zoo.

Alex Rodriguez ties Willie Mays' home-run record one day, the Yankees publicly announce their refusal to pay his $6 million milestone bonus the next, and all that's left is waiting for Rodriguez to come unglued.

Rodriguez, with reporters surrounding his locker Sunday night, a national TV audience in the offing hours later, was given the forum to lash out and steal the New York tabloid back-page headlines.

"Family business,'' Rodriguez quietly said, repeating himself over and over. "I'm just happy to be playing baseball.''

Not good enough. The questions persisted. Come on, it's $6 million, he was reminded.

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It's certainly enough money to cover all of those legal fees from a year ago when he sued everyone from Major League Baseball to the Yankees doctors to the Major League Players Association, only to later drop the suits.

Can you believe the Yankees won't pay you the bonus?

"That's nowhere near where my energy is,'' Rodriguez said. "My energy from spring training is all about playing baseball.

"I've been in a good place for awhile now. I've learned my lesson.''

Yes, welcome to the new-look Yankees, the drama-free Yankees, the businesslike and, well, bewildering Yankees.

The Boston Red Sox, and their rabid fan base, rubbed their eyes all weekend, unable to recognize what was taking place at Fenway Park.

This is the year the Red Sox, after their free-agent spending spree, are supposed to win the American League East, and spend the summer almost feeling sorry for the downtrodden New York Yankees, mocking Rodriguez.

They were convinced the Yankees would be no more than a traveling circus act, with A-Rod as the ringmaster, taking the spotlight off all of their blemishes and warts.

Why, with Derek Jeter now retired, this was going to be like watching a cover band replace the Beatles.

Certainly, the expectations for the Yankees have never been lower during his 18-year tenure, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman conceded Sunday.

Well, look who's sitting in first place in the AL East, winning 12 of their last 15 games entering Sunday, and featuring the game's greatest 1-2 bullpen power punch?

Yep, the Yankees (16-9), swept the Red Sox at Fenway Park for the first time since 2006 after an 8-5 win Sunday night.

"We don't get any trophies in April,'' Cashman told USA TODAY Sports, "but if we can avoid major injuries, we should be able to stay relevant.

"I will say I'm sleeping a whole lot better now. I'm catching up on my sleep after those first three series. Those were pretty rough.''

The Yankees opened losing six of their first nine games, looking worse than their record, but all of a sudden, a hero came to jump-start their season.

Would you believe A-Rod?

Rodriguez hit two homers and drove in four runs in the Yankees' 5-4 victory on April 17 over the Tampa Bay Rays, and they've been a different team ever since that night. The only team topping the Yankees' 12-3 mark since has been the Houston Astros.

"It's hard to say if one thing jump-started us,'' third baseman Chase Headley said, "but I feel like that series is when we really started to play well. And he had a pretty big series.''

Cashman says A-Rod has been perhaps their biggest surprise, but sorry, the Yankees still have no intention on paying him his $6 million marketing bonus.

"I didn't know what to expect from Alex,'' Cashman said. "He was coming from so many unknowns. Besides the layoff and everything else, he was adjusting to a new role (DH) that a lot of guys don't adjust well to.

"He's been a big surprise, a pleasant surprise, on just how productive he's been and adjusted to the role.''

This is a different A-Rod that we're used to seeing. Oh, sure, the days of 50 homers and 140 RBI will never be seen again, but Rodriguez not only is productive, but has become a model citizen in and outside the Yankee clubhouse.

"Obviously some new guys in the room, (ones) coming into spring training,'' Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner said, "weren't exactly sure what to expect. But I've had a lot of guys come up to me and tell me he's way different than they expected him to be.

"Last year was very, very tough for him and a lot of people. But ever since he came back, he's been all about working hard and trying to help the team win. He loves playing the game, and that seems to be all he really cares about.

"The way that he's been able to help everybody around him, and rally the team around him, has been pretty special.''

Sure, why not give Rodriguez the accolades for the Yankees' success, since little else makes sense.

Their highest-paid pitcher, CC Sabathia, is 0-4 with a 5.40 ERA. Outfielder Carlos Beltran, is hitting .181 without a homer. Their ace, Masahiro Tanaka, is on the DL for at least a month, with an elbow ligament that could blow at any time. The starting infield is hitting .207, and shortstop Didi Gregorius, the man replacing Jeter, has twice as many errors as extra-base hits.

"It's hard to get guys firing on all cylinders,'' Cashman says. "But we've got a lot of good chemistry, guys that really care about winning, guys really care about each other.

"We're seeing really, really positive signs.''

The Yankees didn't bother to enter into negotiations this winter for marquee free-agent starters Max Scherzer, Jon Lester or James Shields. Yet, they have one of the finest pitching staffs in the league - ranked third in the league in ERA and first in strikeouts - featuring perhaps the most dynamic bullpen.

The Yankees' Twin Towers of Dellin Betances, 6-foot-8, and Andrew Miller, 6-foot-7, are the most lethal 1-2 punch in baseball. They have yet to give up an earned run this year in 27 innings, yielding a .100 batting average.

Betances, with his vicious curveball and 98-mph fastball, has struck out 17 of the last 25 batters he's faced. Miller, the first pitcher in Yankee history to save 10 of the Yankees' first 25 games, hasn't given up a hit off his slider since Aug. 22, 2014. And the Yankees, with six relievers throwing at least 94 mph, are 11-0 when leading after seven innings.

OK, so maybe the Yankees aren't following the script, and perhaps it's impossible to keep winning in this style, but for now, the Yankees will embrace this rare peace and tranquility.

"Honest, a year ago,'' Rodriguez said, "I wouldn't be dreaming that I'd talking to you about playing baseball, and enjoying the game so much.''

It's a sentiment, $6 million bonus or not, that even the Yankee management can share.

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