A new hitting coach and newfound aggressiveness are two of the keys to a record-tying-hot start for Alex Rodriguez this season. That start, in turn, has helped ease the pain of a horrifically embarrassing 1-for-14 in the playoffs last season, during which the $252-million third baseman was dropped to eighth in the Yankees' batting order.
Kevin Long, New York's new hitting coach, has preached a tighter, later swing, along with the more frequent employment of it. The results have been 12 homers in 16 games. A-Rod is currently "...a hall-of-fame-hot hitter,” blogs pitcher Curt Schilling. “Hot hitters still have holes, the latter don’t.” (More Kevin Long stories.)