Can A-Rod, Yankees put past behind them?

BY ANTHONY RIEBER | anthony.rieber@newsday.com

March 28, 2008

TAMPA, Fla. - Like many couples, the Yankees and Alex Rodriguez have had their share of rocky moments since both sides said "I do" when A-Rod agreed to be traded to the Bronx in 2004. The honeymoon period extended into that season -- until A-Rod's blemishes started showing in the team's epic ALCS meltdown against the Red Sox.

The marriage even included a trial separation this past offseason, when Rod riguez opted out of his massive contract in a huge public relations blunder during Game 4 of the World Series. Divorce seemed certain, especially after Hank Steinbrenner said, "We're not going to back down. It's goodbye."

Ah, but Hank still had a soft spot for A-Rod and the Yankees had a gaping hole at third base. Flowers and candy weren't even needed.

All Rodriguez had to do was make a few phone calls, offer a few "I'm sorries," and the Yankees were willing to take him back for a guaranteed $275 million -- with another $30 million in bonuses if he breaks the all-time home run record.

Now the parties have returned to the honeymoon stage, canoodling and cooing their way through a (mostly) calm and (exceptionally) productive spring training. Rodriguez loves New York and the Yankees, the Yankees love having the three-time MVP in the middle of their lineup and on the YES Network, and Yankees fans -- well, we'll see how they feel about all this when the season starts Monday.

But the fans should remember one thing: This is a long-term relationship. The vows have been exchanged, the toasts have been made, the cake has been cut. A-Rod is going to be here for 10 more years, until he's 42 years old, which could be the end of the most prolific career in baseball history.

For better or worse, Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees are 2-together 4-ever. The only thing that's certain is it won't be dull. And not everyone is convinced the sides were ever really that close to a permanent breakup.

"I think it was more dramatized," Jason Giambi said. "From the time I talked to Alex, I don't know if it ever got that bad. The organization, the player, just talking about their situation. I knew the Yankees, you can't really lose the best player in the game. Mr. Steinbrenner's always committed to winning. I knew things were going to work out."

Was it all just negotiating? A brilliant ploy on A-Rod's part to get the most out of the Yankees and just so much huffing and puffing from Hank Steinbrenner to keep Rodriguez from batting his eyes at other suitors? Giambi suspects as much. These two need each other.

"He knew what his game plan was," Giambi said of A-Rod. "And everything worked out great for him."

If by great he means batting cleanup for the next 10 years for a team with seemingly unlimited resources in the country's No. 1 media market and moving into a state-of-the-art stadium one year into the contract, then yes, things worked out great. And the average salary of $27.5 million doesn't hurt. And the bonuses for approaching and then breaking Barry Bonds' home run record, if Rodriguez can do it, aren't too bad.

Rodriguez enters the season with 518 home runs. The unemployed Bonds has 762. That's 244 to tie, 245 to move ahead, assuming Bonds doesn't resurface in the majors. Rodriguez has averaged 44 home runs per 162 games, so a continuation of that pace would have him staring down Bonds' mark in the summer of 2013, in the fifth year of new Yankee Stadium, in the sixth year of the contract.

Who knows what the state of the marriage will be by then? All we know is everything is rosy now.

"When you stack up this team in history with great ownership, it's just the greatest place to be able to play," Rodriguez said. "It makes me feel comfortable as far as where I'm going to be for the next 10 years."