It's been 10 games (not including Tuesday's) since ARod returned to the Yankees. In that span, they're 8-2, and though heading into Tuesday's game he was hitting just .188, his OPS was .958. After Tuesday's homer in the first inning, it's likely over 1.000.

Of course, it's not all ARod as Mark Teixeira has finally heated up over that span, too. But I just wanted to mention this because you know if Derek Jeter were out for a month and suddenly the team turned it around when he came back, you'd have baseball writers slobbering over themselves to talk about Jeter's leadership and what he means to the team.

The narrative that ARod's a cheat and a choker is pretty well established, and whether or not he puts up good numbers won't change that. But his early return from hip surgery due in part to his diligent rehab has helped turn around the team's slow start.