BOSTON — Here is a curious image, presented by Yankees Manager Joe Girardi: a tainted 39-year-old veteran, who had hit 654 career home runs entering this year, treated as a first-year player before the season began.
“It was almost like being a rookie again, where you have to earn your spot,” Girardi said Sunday before the Yankees’ series finale against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. “And that’s exactly what he’s done.”
Girardi, of course, was referring to Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees’ image-conscious and apologetic slugger, whose production during the first half of the season has been both surprising and one of the reasons the Yankees entered the All-Star break in first place in the American League East for the first time since 2012.