Alex Rodriguez is at baseball peace, with himself and his teammates, the kind of peace he said he hasn’t felt in his baseball world the last 13 years; during his days in Texas and the last decade with the Yankees.
“I really think there is no pressure on me, less than ever before,’’ A-Rod told The Post last night before the Yankees won their fourth straight, crushing the Angels, 11-3 at Yankee Stadium, behind the second straight monster slugging night from Alfonso Soriano. “This is the calmest I’ve felt going all the way back to my days in Seattle.’’
That is some statement, even by Rodriguez’s standards.
“I just think it’s a combination of everything,’’ said Rodriguez, who played his eighth game and is hitting .258. “I really feel good. I’m not trying to do too much.’’
He knows adding right-handed bats is what it’s all about as Soriano showed for the second straight night with a grand slam, a solo home run, a two-run double and a career high seven RBIs against Jered Weaver.
“Right-handed power is a commodity,’’ A-Rod said. “It’s like left-handed pitching, you can’t find it.
“Right now we have a lot of confidence working, and the lineup is deeper. Sori is swinging the bat really good. I think we have the opportunity to ride some momentum right now.’’
Rodriguez doubled his first time up and then turned over the heavy lifting to Soriano, who ripped his grand slam to center. The Yankees’ three through six hitters reached base 13 times in 18 plate appearances.
Being A-Rod, means always being in the spotlight and loving every moment. That is the life he chose. It’s a much different spotlight he is in now following his 211-game suspension by MLB and his subsequent appeal, which has allowed him to get back on the field, following his second hip surgery.
His lawyers are doing their thing and A-Rod is looking relaxed, but all that could change when the Yankees head to Boston tomorrow for a three-game series against the first-place Red Sox.
There is still so much to play out in this saga, but for now Rodriguez is much more comfortable in his own skin than he has been in quite some time. He is in the eye of Hurricane A-Rod.
“The support I’ve gotten in this clubhouse, the support I’ve gotten from my manager and from the coaches, has just been overwhelming,’’ Rodriguez said.
The 62-57 Yankees need all the momentum they can get to get back into the watered-down wild-card race.
“Like [Tuesday] night, 1-for-5, that was great, I felt great about that. We extended an inning. We put the game a little bit out of hand,’’ he said proudly.
In many ways, Rodriguez is the straw that stirs the drink for the Yankees. They have been a different team since he returned. Robinson Cano, batting in front of Rodriguez, had four hits last night and is hitting .419 with a .581 slugging percentage since A-Rod returned.
The previous 12 games before A-Rod’s arrival, Cano was in a terrible funk. He was batting .136 over that span with a .159 slugging percentage. The weight of the season and the Yankees’ losing was beginning to get to Cano.
“Not only is it good for me, it’s good for the whole team to have Alex back,’’ Cano said. “You could see there were situations [before A-Rod returned] where they did not want to pitch to me. I’m getting more pitches to hit now.’’
More pitches to hit, more success. Baseball can be that simple.
Rodriguez is so important to this team, which is ironic considering how fed-up management is with him. With the lack of power throughout baseball, whatever power he brings is a huge plus and the fact it is from the right side helps even more.
In his own bizarre way Rodriguez has brought the locker room together as well. He has helped energize these Yankees.
Can peace and success continue in such a turbulent A-Rod World?