That’ll do, A-Rod. That’ll do.

For the better part of three seasons, right-thinking Yankee fans felt they had to defend him. Stick up for him. Protect him.

“It takes everyone a while to get comfortable.”
“He does get big hits, they’re just early is all.”
“All the boos get into his head, but he’s still a great player.”

I think those days might be behind us.

For the second time in 12 days, Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez hit a two-out, bottom of the ninth walk-off bomb to centerfield.

So far in ‘07, the one-time most hated man in pinstripes is hitting .351/.418/.965 with 10 (TEN!) home runs and 26 RBIs.

Paces are retarded at this point in the season, but in case you were curious, A-Rod’s on pace to hit 116 home runs and drive in 301 runs.

It’s unbelievable. He’s so locked in right now, I think he could (but he won’t) go 0-fer-Boston this weekend and still feel a little soft glow from the Yankee faithful. He’s gotten a hit in all 14 games this year, and an extra-base hit in 13 of those. To co-opt Vince Carter’s description - “he’s half man, half amazing!”

Hell, just read around the blogosphere about A-Rod.

Steve @ WasWatching.com: I said it four days ago, and, I’ll say it again. Alex Rodriguez has turned into Roy Hobbs. It’s incredible. What a story this has become...it’s hard for me to even type this, as my hands are shaking. Really, they’re shaking.

Pete Abe: So here we go...What do you figure, Abreu walks and Alex goes yard? Nah. Wait for it … wait for it …Kaboom? Heck, he can win it with a single now. Baseball is great. On second thought, 162 seems possible Just hilarious. All with two outs too. 10 homers and 26 RBI in 14 games for A-Rod. Guess he just needed Fausto Carmona out of there.

SG @ replacementlevel.com: Wow.  Just Wow.

That’s just the immediate reaction - I’m sure there will be more to come.

Not to say everything is coming up wine and roses in Yankee-land. They head into Boston to face the Sox best three pitchers with Andy Pettitte and two rooks, but those are concerns for tomorrow. For today, let’s appreciate what we have, and what that is the best player on the planet.

We’re going to miss him if he goes.