A-bomb, but is he still a bum?

I'm sure that's what NY sports talk radio will be saying today (if there weren't a bloody Mets day game being played instead) in response to Alex Rodriguez's performance last night when what I'm now calling The New York Yankees of The Bronx played The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. A performance that had me repeatedly murmuring "Oh my $#@*ing God," while watching one prodigious blast after another scream over the center field fence, as A-Rod racked up nine RBIs by the end of the fourth inning (he added a tenth following a run-scoring single later in the game).

The best part was, the buzz all afternoon in the world of New York sports was that the Metropolitans had all the sizzle at Shea last night, what with Pedro Martinez locked into what was sure to be a dazzling pitchers duel with Atlanta's John Smoltz.

Sure.

Rodriguez had homered in his first three at-bats to create the sort of buzz that usually accompanies a bid for a no-hitter. With a three-run home run in the first, a two-run homer in the third and a grand slam in the fourth - all off Angels starter Bartolo Colón - Rodriguez had nine runs batted in.

A few reporters bolted Shea Stadium, and the matchup between Pedro Martínez and John Smoltz, and drove the 11 miles to witness the Rodriguez show. With three swings, Rodriguez had pushed the Mets and the Braves aside.

But never fear, although all three home runs came with two outs, the brilliant minds calling ("long time listener, first time caller") from their car phones as they drive up and down the L.I.E. will still proclaim "he's not a real Yankee" and "he can't hit in the clutch."