Joel Sherman breaks ranks.

Mike Lupica, George King, and Buster Olney are going to avoid eye contact with Joel Sherman from now on:

"You are possibly watching the greatest player you will ever see. If Barry Bonds plays long enough to break Hank Aaron's homer record, he is likely just borrowing it. A-Rod has the most homers ever through his age-29 season at 429 - 87 more than Aaron had and 170 more than Bonds. He has 1,901 hits, fourth most for his age. A-Rod has a decent chance of being the first 800-homer, 4,000-hit man, in part because of his durability."

Well, I don't know about 800 hrs and 4,000 hits, but keep going ...

"A-Rod actually has gained a reputation as the hardest working Yankee. He is not the bad free-throw shooter, who nevertheless keeps working on his dunks. Rodriguez thought he was having trouble grasping the nuances of the slow roller at third base, so he contacted Robin Ventura to dissect the play because he thought Ventura made it best. He recognizes his difficulties on pop ups and has spent hours before the regular spring training workouts the past two years having balls shot in the air so he can practice.

Rodriguez is a baseball gym rat. He arrives early, stays late. He is relentless in trying new theories, workouts and psychological insights to improve. As his friend, bullpen catcher Mike Borzello, said, 'if he thinks you are working out five hours, he will work out six. He wants to see all the new equipment. He takes pride in every element of the game. He wants to be the best baserunner. He wants to be the best baseball player. He is not just competing with Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols. He is competing against Babe Ruth.'

And A-Rod actually knows who Babe Ruth is. His passion for baseball is undeniable. Most players would have difficulty naming all their teammates. Rodriguez can break down the strengths and weaknesses of the Padres' roster. He can analyze strategy as if channeling Don Zimmer. His baseball IQ is even more impressive than his slugging percentage.

'After a game you will be talking to him and he will be telling you about the pitch sequence to (Hideki) Matsui in the second inning,' Al Leiter said. 'That is impressive. I am 40 and have been in the game for 22 years, and I don't know if I have ever seen anyone with his enthusiasm for the game.' "

It's kind of amazing that the NY press is so into its own shtick that it usually refuses to state the obvious:

"On the day of A-Rod's first Yankee workout of spring 2006, however, it felt like the right time to remember that there is a heck of a lot more to praise about Alex Rodriguez than criticize."