A-Rod Off to Nice Start

Yankees Third Baseman Alex Rodriguez got off to a nice start during spring training of 2009, after hearing boos from over half the fans, one guy wearing an "A-Fraud" shirt, and having one fan yell out "that was a steroid induced foul ball" after he fouled off a 2-1 pitch to foul territory, belting a home run in his first official at bat of the season (walked his first time) on the next pitch after the fans comment. This is a really good sign. He showed, on the first day, that he is capable of blocking fans out. Now, I know that there will be a lot more fans when the regular season starts, but it's a good start.

The Yankees need A-Rod to win. That is a simple fact. They have a lot of money invested in him, and he is one of the most important players on this team. I know that because of his steroid allegations he is going to be treated horribly at most every park except Yankee Stadium, especially Fenway and probably Citi Field. He has to meet with MLB Investigators, so this clearly isn't over. However, for me, I won't pay attention to steroids anymore. A-Rods taken enough heat right now, he's had enough shots taken at him. However, he came out and admitted that he did it, and he wants to move on. I think that for baseball to move on from this issue, we need to move on instead of continuing to look back, because if MLB continues to look back, we are never getting passed this problems (one of the reasons I think Bud Selig is one of the worst commissioners we've ever had). 

Alex came out today and knocked a two run homer in the first game of spring training, to tack on to Brett Gardner's lead off homer (I'm actually surprised he could hit it out). The Yankees went on to beat the Blue Jays 6-1, for a nice start for A-Rod, and the Yankees to the '09 Spring Training season. For pitching, they started a Brett Tomko, who pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit. Only Jose Veras had trouble, giving up the only run the Jays got. The rest of the relievers (even Igawa) managed to pitch shutout innings. 

Well this was a good first day. The Yankees managed to win the first spring training game, A-Rod shut those fans up, and we got pretty good pitching from guys who might make an impact in a few years (there weren't many pitchers who pitched today who will be on the opening day roster). Austin Jackson got a hit, Brett Gardner hit a homer, and it seemed that things just went right for the Yanks today. With this new team, thats what I expect for the whole season!