From our Late to the Party desk:

Allen Barra in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal:

Is A-Rod a Yankee Yet?

Despite his 600 home runs, some New Yorkers remain skeptical of the baseball star.

The reasons Barra cites: Rodriguez’s use of steroids, his long stretch as Mr. September, his status as an import from Texas, his arrogance (which most non-New Yorkers would say is a quintessential Yankee characteristic).

But Barra dismisses all that and comes to this conclusion:

If he plays without injury, it’s a good bet that in a few seasons Mr. Rodriguez will surpass the current home run leader, Barry Bonds, at 762. Simply put, Mr. Rodriguez will be bringing the all-time home run title back to New York, where it rested so many years until Henry Aaron passed Babe Ruth’s mark of 714 in 1974. Will that be enough to make him a real Yankee?

If all of the above doesn’t matter, let’s bring it down to this: Alex Rodriguez is booed in every major league ballpark because he is a symbol of the biggest bullies in baseball. So if everyone else around the country regards him as a New York Yankee, maybe it’s time we should, too.

We’re checking with the fine folks at Made Yankee Fan in Boston.