1. In today’s Post I wrote this column wondering if Alex Rodriguez’s shortcomings this year provide a glimpse of what the Yanks’ life with their star might look like over the next seven years.

Here is another question I wonder about: With everything the Yanks know now would they still have given Rodriguez that 10-year, $275 million contract after the 2007 season?

Since then Rodriguez has needed hip surgery and been revealed as a steroid cheat, both of which should negatively impact successful longevity for a player who is signed through 2017 when he will be 42.

However, the Yankees won a World Series last year in their first season in their new stadium, which has incredible value. It helps them keep prices high and it also further enhances the Yankee brand. And it is hard to imagine the Yanks winning the World Series last year without Rodriguez. Is that worth $275 million spread over 10 years?

Of course, Rodriguez brings value beyond that one season. And it is also possible to imagine the Yankees having used his money in a different fashion and winning. What also is unknowable to the public is if the Yankees could have signed Rodriguez for fewer years and dollars than they did. The Rodriguez camp has said that there would have been bidders in that price range or more. The industry was not as sure.

So I just would narrow it to this question: If the only way the Yanks could have A-Rod since 2008 is on that $275 million deal or not at all, would they still take him? I think the Yankees – as concerned as they may be about paying Rodriguez top-market dollars for a decaying future – would because the championship last season has so much value to the organization.

2. Nothing fell that should have been caught, but on Wednesday, Curtis Granderson was still breaking back or freezing initially on balls in front of him. That was a problem late last season when Detroit collapsed down the stretch and failed to win the AL Central. And it has cropped up this season on occasion.

It is almost as if Granderson has a tendency to slump on defense, losing his confidence and not trusting his initial read.

3. There is a lot of evidence not to believe the recent work of Boone Logan. When he was sent down at the end of June, he had appeared in 181 major league games for three organizations and had a 5.55 ERA and a .300 batting average against.

So you don’t want to over-inflate the last seven appearances since Logan was promoted again when Damaso Marte went down. But it really has been an impressive seven outings, with Logan throwing his fastball pretty consistently in the 93-94 mph range and with much better precision then he showed earlier in the year. In those seven games, he has a 1.35 ERA, a .130 batting average against and in 6 2-3 innings he has walked just one and struck out seven.

Again, 6 2-3 innings is way too small a sample size to make decisions, especially when you have those previous 181 games and 146 innings weighing against optimism. But those 6 2-3 innings have done something: Intrigued the Yankees, pushed Logan – for now anyway – into more regular and important work.

He is going to be asked this weekend to go after David Ortiz and J.D. Drew in some big spots. Let’s check back at the conclusion of this four-game series and see if midnight struck on Logan’s run or if that positive small sample size has grown a little larger.