Alex

Rodriguez

It took him a while, but A-Rod is back to his usual trick of finishing a baseball season strongly.

This is rather strange for A-Rod, as in the past, August has been his most productive month of the season (he has a career .328 batting average and has averaged nine homers and 23 RBI). That said, we wouldn’t bet against the Yankee third baseman belting six homers and knocking in 10-15 runs over New York’s next eight games.

The Rangers aren’t going to have to trade any of their players, but the budget won’t allow much in the way of pickups. Although they could re-sign both Rafael Palmeiro and John Thomson, there’s not going to be any way to add Mike Cameron or a top starter unless Hicks changes his mind.

No matter how much evidence there is that Derek Jeter is one of baseball’s worst defensive shortstops, there’s no way the Yankees are going to ask him to move to third base or center field. As a result, A-Rod is one superstar the team won’t pursue.

The Yankees don’t appear to have any interest in a deal, and the Red Sox will only do something if Manny Ramirez is involved. Because the Rangers have no interest in taking Ramirez for A-Rod and saving about $80 million, a trade appears very unlikely unless Rodriguez expands the number of teams he’s willing to be dealt to.

Rodriguez was unhappy even before Bolin was fired. Rangers sources told the Star-Telegram that Rodriguez’s issues may have stemmed from Showalter’s relentless attempts to mold his superstar into more of a team leader. Since Rodriguez has also been ignoring GM John Hart’s phone calls lately, the chances of him being traded seem to be increasing. The Red Sox still appear to be the only team with serious interest.

All indications have been that he’s willing to go to the Red Sox, so they’re probably one of the two teams. The other may or may not be the Mets. Even though the Rangers know they’re not going to get an offer they like, the chances of A-Rod being traded seem to be increasing each day. If it happens, a Manny Ramirez deal with Boston still looks like the best bet.

''I’m very optimistic,’' Rodriguez said yesterdat. ''My strength has improved. The sensation is normal. I slept better last night than I have in a week.’' A-Rod is likely to resume playing early this week.

Since the Rangers have reduced their cash requirement for the trade (reportedly from $25 million to $15 million), it remains quite possible that this deal is going to get done. Still, talks can only drag on so much longer. If the Red Sox lose their chance to acquire Magglio Ordonez and if some of the free agents the Rangers want begin to sign elsewhere, then neither team will be so eager to complete the trade.

We’ve heard this one before. “This potential trade is very complicated and involves multiple parties,” Hicks wrote in an e-mail to the AP on Sunday night. “From the Texas Rangers’ perspective, we need finality so we can proceed with our offseason plans.” Although there’s no reason to believe that this deadline is the final one, tomorrow is going to be a very big day for the talks.