"In 2009, with his hip and reputation damaged, Alex Rodriguez nevertheless delivered a few clarion calls that he was up to something special.

He homered on the very first pitch he saw after coming back from hip surgery in early May and -- needing two homers and seven RBIs on the final day of the regular season to again reach 30 homers and 100 RBIs -- Rodriguez jammed all of that into the sixth inning against the Rays; a three-run homer and a grand slam.

It spoke to a certain soundness not just of body, but mind that Rodriguez carried into that October; lifted him to the postseason of his life and pretty much the best of anyone's life -- ever. There was a calm around A-Rod, a grace under pressure that had escaped him in his previous Yankees days, even when he was winning MVP awards.

He emerged from a steroid admission and a career-threatening operation smiling through the champagne.

And that is the muscle memory he counts upon now in another season when his body and reputation have taken blows. He has played just four games since July 7. First his right knee needed surgery and now a sprained left thumb keeps him sidelined until at least tomorrow, but probably more likely Friday. These days he has to talk about his involvement in bygone poker games as much as his baseball games."