Alex Rodriguez: A shockingly productive sideshow

Alex Rodriguez's return to the Yankees in 2015 was supposed to create a bizarro spectacle the likes of which even the Bronx Zoo has never witnessed. A-Rod -- nearing 40, with surgically repaired hips, and having racked up more lawsuits filed than homers hit in recent years -- emerging from his year-long PED suspension to resume his climb on the all-time home run list. A one-time inner-circle Hall of Famer, now an arch-villain. A franchise player, reduced to a gimpy, $25 million part-time DH. 

A strange thing happened on A-Rod's descent into the inferno, though -- the dude is raking. Bad hips, chorus of boos and all, Rodriguez has already surpassed Willie Mays on the all-time homer list and anchors an AARP-approved Yankees lineup that's scoring the ninth-most runs per game despite featuring just one regular who's under 30. And he's doing it by displaying bat speed typically reserved for sluggers fresh off the cover of Baseball America -- you know, like A-Rod was back in the early '90s. It's still a sideshow, with Rodriguez and the Bombers' front office quarreling over multimillion-dollar marketing bonuses tied to career milestones, but it's turning into an shockingly productive sideshow.