ARod won't need to request future rest

Yanks are 20-8 since Alex's return to lineup

By Anthony DiComo / MLB.com

MIAMI -- The second of two afternoons without Alex Rodriguez transpired much like the first, with Yankees manager Joe Girardi facing a barrage of questions regarding Rodriguez's availability, the decision to rest him and the source of that decision.

It's been a commotion-filled two days for Girardi, thanks to what he thought was a minor issue. Had the Yankees simply followed doctor's orders, Rodriguez would have rested seven or eight times by now.

They did not, so ARod is making up for lost time. And all of the public interest is catching Girardi by surprise.

"I think the big deal is probably a lot of people aren't familiar with what he went through -- how serious of a surgery he had, and the fatigue that he went through," Girardi said.

After a consultation with general manager Brian Cashman -- but in a decision he swears he made without any influence from the front office -- Girardi opted to rest Rodriguez on Friday and Saturday at Land Shark Stadium, though ARod did draw a pinch-hit walk in the eighth inning of Saturday's 2-1 loss. Four months of rehabbing and playing almost every day had apparently caught up to ARod, who reluctantly approached Girardi and asked him for the breather.

Going forward, the Yankees won't let Rodriguez's health descend to that level. Girardi has since realized how careful he must be with a player just 3 1/2 months removed from arthroscopic surgery on his right hip.

"I'm hoping he'll tell us which day he needs when he needs it," Girardi said. "If not, I'll just have to make him take a day."

What the Yankees do know is that Rodriguez will be back in the lineup on Sunday for the last of three games against the Marlins. They could use his bat. As well as Angel Berroa has performed at third base in ARod's absence -- and he has performed admirably, despite making an error Saturday -- Berroa can't approach the type of production that a healthy Rodriguez can provide.

And so the Yankees will welcome ARod back for a game against Chris Volstad, a young ace in the making who has struggled mightily in recent games. After compiling a 2-0 record and 2.67 ERA during April, Volstad has gone 2-7 with a 5.94 ERA since, allowing 14 earned runs over his past two starts alone.

The Yankees will counter with a pitcher boasting a slightly more consistent track record of success. CC Sabathia has not lost since May 2, a span of eight starts, having allowed no more than four earned runs in any game over that stretch.