A-Rod 'Almost Certain' to Be Back Friday

The Yankees are about to get a much-needed boost to their lineup. The team with the payroll exceeding the GDP of many countries in the world is sitting at a modest 13-14 heading into Thursday's date with the Tampa Bay Rays. They've lost four straight games. The offense is fifth in the AL in runs scored and fourth in OPS, and they just lost Jorge Posada to the disabled list.

Friday, though, Posada's offense is about to be replaced by arguably the best hitter in baseball. That's right, folks, we barely had time to miss him. Alex Rodriguez is "almost certain" to be in the Yankees lineup Friday in Baltimore.

A conference call was scheduled between Rodriguez and members of the Yankee front office for this afternoon, and A-Rod was going to tell the organization how he felt and what his preference was for when to return from hip surgery. But the understanding going into the game, according to two sources, was that if there were no problems in today's intra-squad game, then he would rejoin the Yanks tomorrow and play.

Love him or hate him, you must admit Rodriguez is a stud on the field and the Yankees will benefit from his presence in the lineup. As I said, they'll miss Posada's production -- plus, Mark Teixeira is off to his usual slow start and will get the added bonus of having A-Rod next to him in the lineup.

Great news in the Bronx, and it couldn't have come too soon. They've fallen 5 1/2 games back of the surprising Blue Jays in the very strong AL East.