ARod has spent the better part of the last two or three months getting ready for his 2015 come back. After serving a season long suspension, he reached out to Brian Cashman in September to see if he could start reaching out to personnel to map out his winter routine (HERE). Since then he has been seen on several occasions putting in the work needed to get back in playing form. He seems to be dedicated to coming back strong. He's even gone as far as enlisting the help of baseball's all time home run king, Barry Bonds.
According to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, Bonds has been training A-Rod at San Rafael's Future Prospects facility. Shea writes:
"It can't hurt to be a Bonds client. For A-Rod, it's obviously about the present and getting the best tutoring available, his and Bonds' association with the steroid era notwithstanding, and about acing a comeback, which could include an assist from the home run king."
ARod is signed on with the Yankees through 2017. He's still owed $64 million, and has some marketing bonuses for career home run benchmarks. Though likely he will play more DH than he does as starting third baseman, the ultimate goal seems to be to have a productive bat for the Yankees line-up. I can respect that.
I know some people will be up in arms over this. Ready to prosecute A-Rod for his choice in mentor. Obviously birds of a feather, right? Look, Bonds' record definitely has a asterisk next to it, and he will probably be barred from entering the Hall of Fame because of his connection with PEDs. But, you know the Giants? World Series Winning San Francisco Giants? Yea, he worked with them last Spring. And a number of other players that never get criticized for being mentored by Bonds. So just be cool, okay? ARod has a plan. He's taking the steps to be ready to play. You don't have to like ARod. That's fine. But so long as he wears the uniform, I sure as hell want him to produce some runs, and you should too.
Finally, let me say this; this is my opinion. I don't speak for Bleeding Yankee Blue. I made sure to give you this news item with some of my commentary. Plus I'm sure Casey will have something to say about real soon. But here's the thing to remember; as long as ARod is in pinstripes, everyone has something to say about it. That's why we're here to bring you all sides of Alex Rodriguez.
--Erica Morales BYB Senior Writer
Twitter: @e_morales1804
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