Here we are, in early Septmeber, and all seems right in the baseball world, what with the Yankees tops in the league and the Mets an afterthought. The Yanks have 85 wins this season before anyone else has even won 80. Derek Jeter is poised to pass Lou Gehrig as the all-time NY Yankees leader in career hits (think about that for a second... he's already passed Ruth, Dimaggio, Mantle, Berra, & Mattingly), Mark Texeira and Jeter are both likely contenders for MVP, CC Sabathia is probably the front-runner for the Cy Young Award, and the Yanks are looking more and more likely to lock up home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Lots of reasons for a Yankee fan to smile, right?

Well, I can't. I am suffering from some sort of NY Yankees malaise, and the source of my problem can be summed up in 4 letters: AROD. Why is this guy still a Yankee? He was warned prior to last off-season that if he chose to exercise his opt-0ut clause and void his contract, he would not be re-signed. So, when he opted out, imagine my surprise when Cashman and the Steinbrenners not only re-sign him, they do so for more money and for 10 years! We were finally free of this selfish, me-first spectacle of a player, but we willingly brought him back, and with the team holding all of the leverage, they bid against themselves to bring him back for even more than he had been already scheduled to make!

When A-Rod opted out, I had a brief moment of elation as I imagined finally being able to come back to my team. They had jettisoned so many high priced, self-centered, under-performing "stars" in recent years in favor of the kind of signings that built their championship teams of the nineties. We were done with the A-Rods, Gary Sheffields, Jason Giambis, Kevin Browns, Randy Johnsons, and Carl Pavanos. They brought in Mark Texeira... a man with the professionalism and attitude (not to mention skills) of the classy Yankees who manned first base most of my life- Don Mattingly and Tino Martinez. With A-Rod choosing to walk away, and Texeira joining the team, this was starting to feel like my team again.

A-Rod, like Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Rafael Palmierro, Andy Pettite, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, and Roger Clemens is now a confirmed steroid-using cheater. And we have the privilege of watching him pursue his now meaningless home-run record, which he will almost certainly capture from fellow cheat, Mr. Bonds. So when he breaks that record thanks to the chemicals he's been injecting or ingesting, are we to stand up and cheer... only if it's a Bronx cheer, if you ask me.

A-Rod ruined everything by coming back. Sure, the team is playing great, and are looking like a shoo-in to get back to the Series. Sure A-Rod has played a large role in the team's success. But anyone who's been following the team since A-Rod's arrival knows that it is only a matter of time before the real A-Rod resurfaces. Only a matter of time where the Yankees big man comes up small yet again in some critical moment. That is why, no matter how gaudy his numbers, A-Rod will never be Derek Jeter, who is a winner through and through. That is why, if I had to build a team to compete for a championship, I would choose Jeter as my shortstop over A-Rod without a second thought. One need only think about the signature plays in both men's playoff repertoire to spot the immense difference in their value. Jeter is probably most remembered for that spectacular flip to home in that Oakland game that nailed Jeremy Giambi at the plate. You know the one I'm talking about... the one where Jeter came out of nowhere to make an impossible play on what should have been a sure Oakland run scored. Contrast that with A-Rod's signature play as a Yankee- trying to swat the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove against Boston. The guy is a joke, a cheater, and the reason that I cannot enjoy the Yankees current success.