Rodriguez feels at home with Yankees Superstar glad to be back where he believes he belongs MIAMI -- Alex Rodriguez discovered happiness with the Yankees this season, and all along had a desire to stay, despite the specter of free agency. As the power-hitting third baseman said Saturday at a youth clinic he conducted: "My wife and I finally feel like we're New Yorkers." Declaring free agency was a business decision that appeared at one time to have the potential to go awry for Rodriguez. The Yankees seemed prepared to move on -- until Rodriguez contacted them recently about a new deal that turned out to be worth about $275 million over 10 years. The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that legendary investor Warren Buffet recommended that Rodriguez bypass his agent, Scott Boras, in renewing interest with the Yankees. He did, and now all signs point to a deal that figures to be finalized soon. It is presumably the last contract of his career. "At least in baseball," he said Saturday with a smile. Rodriguez still must take a physical, and Boras is expected to be brought in to scrutinize the final contract draft. It all came together for Rodriguez this season. On the field he had the type of season that most power hitters can only dream about -- 54 home runs, 156 runs batted in, 143 runs scored, a .422 on-base percentage and a .645 slugging percentage. In the clubhouse and particularly in the stands, where he has had trouble finding acceptance, things were much better, too. Jose (Pepe) Gomez, one of Rodriguez's closest friends, said he felt the warmth among Yankees players, coaches and other employees toward his friend during a huge Labor Day bash the third baseman hosted at his home. "It really seemed like it brought the team together," Gomez said. "They took off after that. And I've never seen Alex so happy, after going through so much together, to be part of a team and be part of a city." Rodriguez said the Yankees had "great chemistry" and bonded well during the season. "Oh yeah, this year was a magical season," he said. "The way things went, we came up a little short at the end. But other than that, I'm happy with the way the year went. My wife and I finally feel like we're New Yorkers." Kevin Long, the Yankees' hitting coach who flew in from Arizona for Rodriguez's clinic Saturday, said when Rodriguez initially declared free agency, he wondered if the third baseman's days as a Yankee were over. "It's exciting to see the turnaround if that's the case, which it certainly sounds like," Long said of Rodriguez's pending deal. "It's good for everybody. What a change of events. It was two parties that really pursued each other and really wanted to come together and be together for a long time." Long, standing Saturday next to Rodriguez's high school coach, Rich Hofman, said the type of season Rodriguez had was particularly spectacular considering how opposing pitchers treat him differently than they do most hitters. "We'll do a scouting report and they may say a guy throws 92," Long said. "I'll go over to Alex and say, 'You better add 3 or 4 mph to that for you.' Pitchers get up for him. The adrenaline is flowing." Hofman, listening, piped in that when Rodriguez was in high school, the radar gun told them that opposing pitchers were throwing about 5 mph faster against Rodriguez than for Westminster's other hitters. Said Long, "The kind of year he was able to put together this season was special. The consistency, month after month, at-bat after at-bat, it's hard to even fathom. It just all came together." Long grew silent for a moment, then offered, "Can he duplicate it? The funny thing is, I think he can do even better. A lot better? Well, when you get up as high as he is, that may be pretty hard." Long said Rodriguez readily acknowledges that it would be extremely difficult to post such gaudy numbers without the hitting support he has around him -- guys like Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu, Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui come to mind. Two other close friends of Rodriguez, Gui Socarras and Tony Meilan, told stories Saturday of just how driven the 32-year-old is. Socarras said a group of the close friends had barely commenced a five-day trip and were heading out to dinner when Rodriguez found the Texas Rangers had approved his $252 million contract. "I thought, 'Wow, we're going out and celebrate,'" Socarras said. "Alex said, 'Call Lisa [Gilson, who handles Rodriguez's travel scheduling], we're out of here.' We were on a plane home that same day. I said to him, 'What are you doing? You've made it. Relax, you don't have to work so hard.' He said, 'Now I have to work extra hard to prove I'm worth the money.' That's Alex. He definitely believes in work." Chimed in Meilan, standing nearby: "Yeah, he's always working. He's got a boat that he can't enjoy because he's working. I think he knows what has gotten him this far and he thrives on work now." http://tinyurl.com/32ch5u http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/news/hot_stove/y2007/free_agent_tracker.jsp -- 永保赤子之心! SO. LET US BE OURSELVES! --

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