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Well it looks like everyone's friend A-Rod will be returning to the Bronx. Overall I guess I'm happy about it even though I was fully prepared for him not to be on the roster next year. While I've admired his production, I've always felt that his ego and demeanor were off putting.

Then of course there are the clutch and post-season hitting issues. This past season A-Rod definitely came up big in games in crucial moments. His average was great with RISP and he carried the Yanks through their early season doldrums. I can admit that without A-Rod this year the Bronx Bombers probably don't make the playoffs. He also seemed much more relaxed and comfortable this season then his previous three.

You could tell by all the joking around in the dugout he took part in. My favorite time was when he hit two home runs in a game after complaining about his shoulder being sore. The ball from his second shot landed in the Yankee bullpen and you saw everyone standing pretending to be stretching their shoulders. A-Rod got a kick out of that. That stuff never happened leading up to this past season. This all led to him having one of the best seasons a Yankee ever had and it was appreciated by the fans. Anyone who disagrees with that and says the fans were all over him this year is just a hater and didn't watch any games.

After a magnificent second half rally to even get in the postseason (including making plenty of Boston fans sweat the division) everyone felt that this was going to be the time where A-Rod would break out and write his own chapter in Yankee postseason lore. Well it didn't quite work out that way. Coupled with ineffective starting pitching (Thanks Wang!) and a general hitting malaise everyone participated in, the Yanks lost to Cleveland in the ALDS. This surprising loss brought up all the old questions again.

A-Rod did indeed falter in that series. He popped out on the first pitch often and struck out in several big moments. This just opened the door for more scrutiny. This made many people again question his mental toughness when the calendar turns to October. Plenty of people point out that he has had success in the postseason with the Mariners. My answer is: How long ago was that again? Also it is mentioned how he played well in the '04 playoffs up until he and the rest of the team stopped hitting. My answer is: So there should be no higher an expectation placed on A-Rod than any of his teammates? That just doesn't make sense. He is the highest paid player in the game and with that comes the expectation that he will perform better than the rest when all is said and done.

So he didn't do that and the doubters had their field day. Then the Torre fiasco went down and the attention was pulled away from A-Rod and his failure. All the while the opt-out clause in his contract was discussed every day by the media and Scott Boras played it to the hilt. The Yankees were always clear that if Alex opted out of his contract they were not going to be players in the free agent market for him. By opting out he was declaring that he did not want to be a Yankee any longer. The Steinbrenners (particularly Hank) made it abundantly clear that the Yankees did not want anyone on the team who did not want to be a Yankee. To all the Yankee haters out there, the whole  "being a Yankee" theory drives you nuts. I understand, now get over it because it's true. There is no other uniform that a baseball player can put on that carries as much history and recognition as the Yankee pinstripes.

Since CBS sold the team to George Steinbrenner he has always made it known that the players on the team are to represent themselves in a professional demeanor, play hard, and above all else wear the uniform with pride. If you do not want to do that, you do not want to "be a Yankee". That's part of the deal. Take it or leave it. A-Rod, or more specifically Boras, felt those rules did not apply to him and his client. He has always put the almighty dollar ahead of any type of loyalty. So he did what he did, he convinced his client to walk away and made the now infamous World Series announcement. And that's when everything went into the toilet for the both of them.

After a few weeks it became obvious that there was no 10 yr., $350 mil-$400 mil offer out there to be had. It also became apparent that A-Rod was not happy with this predicament. The ever sensitive Alex got tired of all the negative press. Also, his phone wasn't exactly ringing off the hook with offers from other teams. Without the Yankees in the mix, A-Rod realized that things were not going to go the way he was told by his joke of an agent. To be honest, Boras was trying to call the Yanks bluff. He felt there was no way the Yanks were really walking away. He thought it was all a ruse. Oh how wrong he was. When that reality finally sunk in with A-Rod, who reportedly wanted to stay a Yankee all along, he decided that fences needed to be mended.

So it all started with a phone call to the Yank's brass through a third party. It sounds like it took a little convincing to make Hank Steinbrenner reconnect with A-Rod. When it did happen A-Rod came back hat in hand and admitted he had made a mistake and he wanted to "be a Yankee". That is all Hank needed to hear. Any Yankee hater that feels this was all a game within a game played by Boras/A-Rod are giving them faaaaaar to much credit. This was a complete and utter failure on the part of Boras to get his client a mega deal from some other club. It was a complete and utter failure on the part of Boras to think that the Yankees would come to HIM and do whatever was needed to bring A-Rod back. That was never going to happen on the Yankees part.

Now all the naysayers will say that this reported 10 yr., $275 mil contract is still outrageously high and more than any other team was going to offer anyways. My answer is: How do you know? They will say the Yanks bid against themselves. Again, how do you know that? You don't. It's just that deep down in your heart you were holding out hope that A-Rod was going to land in your team's lap. Go ahead and admit it, it'll make you feel better. Acceptance is one of the first steps to recovery. Accept that you are envious of Alex's abilities and that you wanted his bat in your lineup. Also, while you're at it, accept the fact that you are a Yankee hater and this kills you inside.

The fact is that A-Rod learned quite the lesson in humility and Boras took a serious hit to his uber-agent image. They caved in to the Yankees and they are going to take the $21 mil hit for the first three years of the deal to show that. Expect a public apology by A-Rod to the fans as well. There was no grand design to have this happen by A-Rod and Boras. Anyone who feels that way is just blinded by their Yankee hatred. Keep spinning all you want but anyone who knows anything knows you are full of it.

Welcome back A-Rod. I'll be the first to admit that I am shocked you have returned but your act of contrition is recognized and accepted by this Yankee fan. I look forward to some productive bezball on your part and your eventual breakthrough in the postseason. When that day comes all this drama will have been worth it.