A-Rod back in Yankees' lineup after surgery

Alex Rodriguez, here watching batting practice after rejoing the New York Yankees on Thursday, was back in the lineup on Sunday, ending his rehab from right knee surgery. (Jim Mone/Associated Press) Alex Rodriguez finally returned to the New York Yankees lineup on Sunday, more than a month and a half after he <a href="http://www.guccibags-discount.com/prada-handbags-leather-black-p-6030.html"><strong>prada handbags authentic</strong></a> hit the disabled list with a knee injury that sapped the power from his swing. Rodriguez was put in the cleanup spot for the series finale against the Minnesota Twins. He went 0 for 5 in the 3-0 victory, but said his knee felt great. "I felt good," Rodriguez said. "Definitely a positive day moving forward. I'm relieved to get the first one behind me and I'm looking forward to Tuesday." Yankees manager Joe Girardi put him back at third base rather than ease him in at designated hitter because the team has an off day on Monday. "His timing looked a little off," Girardi said. "But I asked him in the eighth inning how he was feeling and he said he feels great. To me that's the important thing. His timing is <a href="http://www.northfacejackets-outlets.com/north-face-jackets-women-c-719.html"><strong>North Face womens</strong></a> going to come with playing." It was Rodriguez's first major league game since July 7. He had surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee, an injury that limited him to 13 homers in his first 80 games this season. He has not hit a home run since June 11. The Yankees went 25-13 without Rodriguez, surging back to the top of the AL East. But getting a healthy, and rested, A-Rod back in the lineup makes the Yankees even more formidable as they battle with the Boston Red Sox for the division title and pursue a 28th World Series championship. "This is the middle-of-the-order hitter," Girardi said before the game. "This guy's been a run-producer for years and years and years. Before he hurt his knee, his home runs were good and his RBIs were good. Once he hurt his knee, his power kind of went away a little bit, but he has been productive." Rodriguez was not available for comment before the game. He rejoined the team on Thursday after a rehab assignment with AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre <a href="http://www.guccibags-discount.com/lv-damier-ebene-canvas-trevi-pm-p-6610.html"><strong>louis vuitton discounts</strong></a> and said the only thing holding him back was getting his conditioning up to speed. He spent three days going through extensive workouts to try to get himself back into game shape. He focused on baserunning, particularly going first to third, and deemed himself ready to play after the final workout on Saturday. Girardi is expected to shuffle Rodriguez between third base and DH as he works his way back into the everyday grind, but the manager said Sunday it was too early to tell how that will play out over the next week or two. "I think you just kind of have to watch how long the games are, how he's moving and how he's recovering day-to-day," Girardi said. "I'm curious [about] tomorrow. I'll talk to him tomorrow to see how he feels. So you get kind of a temperature of how he's recovering."