People Let Me Tell You 'Bout My Best Friend

In today's Post, Kevin Kernan delivers a heart-warming tale of two long lost friends, reunited after years of a chilly stalemate between them. An excerpt from what will inevitably become an Academy Award-nominated screenplay:

"The bond of winning a championship together has created a tighter bond between Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter.

They drove here together yesterday from Tampa for the Yankees' split-squad 6-0 win over the Pirates. And they left together. Before the game they played catch and long toss together, ran together in the outfield and even walked into the clubhouse together along the right-field line at 12:01 after they were done with their early work while a group of Yankees were still taking batting practice.

"They've definitely grown closer," one Yankee official told me.

They are laughing and joking together more, and during Sunday's workout in Tampa they spent a lot of time talking in short leftfield on a back field. They are enjoying being teammates." (courtesy of the NY Post)

Kernan thankfully left out the part where Jeter and A-Rod trade Lunchables lunches in the locker room after games, stay up late and watch scary movies together in a pillow fort they made together, and put Carl Pavano cards in their bike spokes to make them sound cooler when they ride around the Spring Training complex.

In all seriousness, this is good news for the Yankees and their fans. The Jeter-A-Rod rift was always news from the time A-Rod arrived in New York all the way through last year. It was a constant running subplot that everybody in the media knew about and everybody in the locker room had to be prepared to be asked about if anything regarding their relationship came up, like a lingering black rain cloud always hanging over the team and threatening to downpour on any good clubhouse vibes.

Jeter and The Horse are both professionals and their situation obviously didn't affect the way they performed on the field, but off the field one would imagine it still wasn't something they wanted to talk about. The fact that they seem to be back on good terms is good news for them and the team. It lifts that ominous cloud and allows for that little extra bit of comfort and calmness in the locker room now that everybody knows they don't have to worry about being asked "What's the deal with Jeet and A-Rod?" Jeter and A-Rod both can now focus even more on playing well and winning games and not have to listen to discussions about who is better, who is the leader, whose feelings are hurt, etc.

While it is a little hokey that something like this warrants major coverage in The Post, the fact is it's still good news for the team as they move into 2010. Having 2 of your best players and clubhouse leaders on the same page and getting along sets the tone for the relaxed, fun clubhouse vibe that was so important to last year's success and ensures that those vibes continue this season.