The Big 4-0

Alex Rodriguez turns 40 today -- and remains one of the most talked about and controversial figures in all of baseball. Saturday night, he delivered his most impressive game of the season with three home runs that erased a 5 - 0 Yankees deficit in Minnesota, before teammate John Ryan Murphy's blast provided the winning margin. A-Rod finished the game with 23 home runs in not much more than half a season.
Let's be honest, did you expect this kind of performance after he sat out a year-long suspension for PED use? And just two years after his second major hip surgery.
One of the most naturally gifted athletes to play baseball in the last 50 years, we'll always wonder what might have been: what would his numbers have been had he not dabbled in performance enhancers. How would his career have progressed had he remained in Seattle -- or Texas -- or if the proposed 2004 trade to Boston had gone through?
There's a lot we can praise -- or question. But one thing is clear, Alex can't be overlooked. And as he turns 40 today, you wonder if he's finally found that place of comfort in his life and career enabling him to excel without the tension.