With the humiliation of Joe Torre's "let's all mock A-Rod" book, the steroid scandal, a divorce, getting ditched by Madonna for a teenage model, a hip cyst, and surgery that put him out of commission for a couple of months, A-Rod had a one hell of an off-season. Such turmoil could easily send even the most balanced person into a tailspin, but for a sensitive (fragile) dude like A-Rod, I must confess I would not have been surprised if all the trauma induced an emotion-fueled baseball breakdown. To be honest, I was steeling myself for an unproductive year from him.

Well, he's been back from his injury for a couple months now, and I am thrilled to have been totally wrong about his mental state and productivity! He's happy. He's smiling. High-fives with teammates abound. He looks calm, collected, relaxed. Best of all? He's doing exactly what the Yanks need him to do: hitting for power and getting on base. His average may be on the low side (.255 as of today), but that one little number is very misleading this case. Take a look at the rest of his line:

OBP: .402
SLG: .557
HR: 19 (and remember, he missed the first month of the season)
RBI: 52

So what gives? How is a man known for falling apart in the face of 3 booing fans doing so well this year when by all accounts there is far MORE stress and pressure on him now than ever (one would think that the steroids scandal in particular would be weighing heavily on his mind as he tries to prove that his success isn't solely juice-based)?

My money is on his new lady friend, Kate Hudson. Crappy chick-flicks aside, she seems like a lovely gal, and best of all has a reputation for being laid back and fun-loving, precisely the influence A-Rod so desperately needs. Let's all join together in thanking her for calming our man down - don't fuck this relationship up, A-Rod!