A-Rod's Steroid Admission The Best Performance-Enhancer He Ever Used?

Alex Rodriguez's playoff failures have been well documented. In 24 postseason games with the Yankees from 2004 to 2007, Rodriguez hit four home runs and nine RBIs. You think New York fans wanted to put the Gambino Family away? They were practically calling for A-Rod to be arrested, indicted and thrown in prison for the rest of his life.

Rodriguez was alienated from the fans, sportsbook bettors and, more importantly, his teammates. He was a freakish outcast good for 40 or 50 regular season bombs before quietly whimpering out in the playoffs. When October rolled around, Yankee knew World Series odds weren't in their future.

Now? Now the story is a little different. Joe Girardi's charges have rallied around the slugger and if you're not betting ring measurements are in the Yankees' near future, you better not be betting on sports. So what changed? The steroid revelation.

Yes, admitting he took steroids might have been the best performance enhancer Alex Rodriguez could ever have taken. Any Joe Blow Fafone can see the slugger looks like a changed man. Exhibit A: Rodriguez has already topped his all-time Yankee playoff stats this year. That's right, he's already smashed five homers and 11 RBIs while hitting over .400 along the way.

Exhibit B: these guys kind of like each other. The Yanks look like they're having fun and they actually, well, like Rodriguez. It's enough to make you cringe—like watching a group of organized crime bosses yuck it up with each other while they grind through the rest of us—but you must admit there's something there.

And, of course, there's the clutch hitting. Previously, when A-Rod came up to bat with the game on the wire room cleared out—everyone knew what was coming so there was no point in hanging around. This year, you'd be crazy to leave or risk missing on baseball history.

Even the most degenerate gambling man at BetOnline.com wouldn't have bet on such an impressive turnaround, yet here it is. So what do you think? Was admitting he took steroids, and lifting a huge weight off his shoulders, the best performance-enhancing tactic Alex Rodriguez ever partook in?