Mr. April

Earlier in the offseason, Alex Rodriguez made very clear that it was going to be up to the ever supportive Yankee fans as to whether he chooses to opt out of his current contract and become a free agent or stay with the Yankees.  Alex Rodriguez has certainly made the case this April that he plans on staying in the warmest place in the world; Yankee Stadium.

After popping out with the bases loaded against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in a big spot, Alex Rodriguez more than redeemed himself hitting a Walk-off Grand Slam of Oriole’s closer Chris Ray while the Yankees were down 7-6 on a 1-2 pitch with two outs.  Ray left a fastball up over the middle of the plate and Rodriguez connected smacking the ball all the way to the famous “black” in right-center field of Yankee stadium.

As a Yankee fan, having seen Rodriguez and his wacky antics over the past three seasons, to say that this moment was long overdue is an understatement.  Despite the fact that it is still extremely early in the season, the Yankees desperately needed the win before the first week of the season snowballed into a complete disaster.

Arod is having a spectacular April so far, similar to the one he had in 2005, a season in which he received the AL MVP award.  As of 4/8/07, Rodriguez’s numbers are:

.381 AVG     4 HR    11 RBI     .458 OBP     1.095 SLG

That is really impressive, and the types of numbers that are expected from the lenient, easy-going Yankee fanbase.  Obviously Arod wont keep this pace for the entire season since it would mean he finish with over 120 Home Runs for the year, but the fact that he is trying to carry the team when the starting pitching has been so incredibly awful shows that perhaps he’s finally been through enough to build the character and will to succeed that is demanded in NY. 

Here’s to a great season for Arod, and hopefully the rest of the team as well.