Rodriguez certainly doesn't need help. You watch him hit home runs in consecutive days that total more than 900 feet and start thinking the Yankees should expand left field, immediately.

The homer he hit in Sunday's sixth inning — after the first of two rain delays — was nothing compared to the Herculean blast he launched a day earlier. This one merely landed deep in the visiting bullpen. It didn't reach the loading area and send the Yankees' public relations' staff scurrying for another measurement. But it was impressive enough.

"You go through energy cycles," Rodriguez said after the Yankees completed a four-game sweep of Texas with a 10-3 victory. "In a long season you feel like your body (sometimes) responds a little bit better."

He leads the AL with 35 home runs and has 95 RBIs after driving in three on Sunday. When the Yankees acquired him before last season, he was trumpeted as the game's best all-around player. Although he didn't look that way in 2004, it's safe to slap that tag on Rodriguez again.

Alfonso Soriano just left town with the Rangers, having a big season of his own, but you won't find a sane Yankees' fan who rues the Soriano-Rodriguez trade. Maybe last year, not now.

More than the monster numbers, Rodriguez is producing — he ranked among the AL's top 10 in no fewer than 10 different offensive categories — he's responsible for a buzz around Yankee Stadium, whether it's making another highlight reel defensive play, as he did in Sunday's third inning against Kevin Mench, or finding unexplored places to deposit home runs.

And the notion that he doesn't deliver big hits has been dispelled, maybe starting with that rocket he hit in the ninth inning at Fenway Park last month to beat Curt Schilling.

"All year, once we got through the spring with all the stuff that was going on, I noticed a difference right away, just his overall demeanor," Joe Torre said.

The manager was referring to the War of the Words saga between Rodriguez and the Red Sox.

"But as far as ability wise, it's tough to beat what he's done here (lately)," Torre said. "He's giving us the home run, he got us ahead today with a base hit down the right-field line. He's been very special. We've needed every inch of it because we play a lot of close games."

The days of juggling Rodriguez in the lineup to find a spot where he's comfortable are done. He's a cleanup hitter, the place he belongs. Something just didn't seem right when he was hitting second or even fifth in the order.

Now it's let Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano and Gary Sheffield do the setting up and watch Rodriguez do the cleaning. He's also having a Gold Glove season at third base, less than two years after making the switch from shortstop.

"I certainly feel like a third baseman and I don't miss shortstop," Rodriguez said. "I gave myself two full years to make a judgement on what kind of third baseman I could be, and we're almost there."

As he prepared to board the team bus for a flight to Tampa, Rodriguez wore his normal GQ apparel. He stopped at Mariano Rivera's locker, sat for a few minutes and chatted in Spanish with the reliever. Then A-Rod was out the door, looking like a million bucks, but playing like $25 million.

Mike Puma can be reached by e-mail at ctpostpuma@aol.com