Maybe it’s a case of crawling before walking before running, but Yankees manager Joe Girardi and hitting coach Jeff Pentland believe Alex Rodriguez is emerging from a deep funk, even if his recent mini-surge has been built on singles.
“I think he looks better, I think his swings are better,’’ Girardi said of his designated hitter, who is 4-for-14 (.286) with four RBIs in his past four games. “He has hit some balls really hard, just missed a few. To me he is really close again.’’
It’s a good time for Rodriguez to get hot because Mark Teixeira’s absence will be felt now that the Yankees are done feasting on the inferior pitching staffs of the Braves and Red Sox.