A-Rod benched Saturday but 'overwhelmed' by fans' reception Friday

It gets harder and harder every passing day to figure out if Alex Rodriguez actually gets it.

One night after blowing off the media and a less-than-triumphant return to the Bronx, A-Rod addressed  the same reporters who waited patiently at his locker to get a response to the Yankee Stadium reception he received Friday night.

"It was awesome, just an amazing experience," Rodriguez said of his return to the Bronx. "The fans are incredible, such great energy and such a great response. It was pretty overwhelming. I was having a hard time keeping my emotions in check… So much better than I even dreamed of. I just felt the love walking around the city. What people are screaming (is) pretty incredible. This city is the greatest city in the world."

The Yankees' pariah, who faces a 211-game ban from Major League Baseball, went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in his first game back in New York since last season's postseason. He was not in the Yankees lineup on Saturday.

"Just a day, it's a quick turnaround and he's coming off an injury," Joe Girardi said before Saturday's game against Detroit. "(I'm) just trying to manage it and keep him on the field the rest of the year."

Rodriguez received a mixture of applause and boos in his first game back but it was all Bronx cheers by the end of the game.

"For the last 14 years there's always been a mix. Do you ever get 100% of anything?" he asked. "Even Chicago was a mix. Boston's going to be a mix – well, maybe not Boston. But I was overwhelmed. Yesterday was a day I'll never forget."

Detroit starter Rick Porcello was probably A-Rod's biggest supporter at the end of the night.

"Yesterday (starter Rick) Porcello had some nasty sinkers and I obviously helped him out a little bit," he said. "I think after 10 or 12 games I'll have a better idea of where I'm at. The big thing for me is getting my legs under me."

The third baseman also dismissed reports the he'd been disciplined by the Yankees for seeking a second opinion for his quad injury a month ago.

"Maybe they sent it to my lawyers, but I'm not really going to talk about that," he said.

Rodriguez was pulled from Friday night's game for defensive purposes in the ninth inning and was not at home plate to celebrate with the Yankees after Brett Gardner's walk off single in the tenth inning. Still, Rodriguez says he was not upset by his manager's decision.

"He has a plan, I trust Joe," A-Rod said. "He's going to do the best for me and for the team…Joe and I have great communication. I have great trust and respect for him and he's going to manage it properly."

"If I didn't think he could play defense, I'd DH him," said Girardi.

Despite not being in the lineup, Rodriguez says he's been proud of the team's recent determination.

"(Last night) I had a tough night at the plate, but the good news is we came back and won," he said.

"The last few days I've thought the team has shown a lot of fight and the past two nights we could have easily scored seven, eight, or night runs. We keep putting ourselves in a position to get the big hit. I think we will. I think the other day we drew something like seven or eight walks, got eight or nine hits. That's usually a form of eight or nine runs. So hopefully that follows starting today."

Girardi miffed at fans cheering A-Rod getting hit by pitch (VIDEO)

Alex Rodriguez's return to the New York Yankees lineup has been met with about as much warmth as one would expect the scandalized third baseman's comeback could muster — especially in front of the Chicago home crowd.

After Monday night's barrage of boos in his 2013 major league debut, A-Rod finally got a little love from Chi-town — even if it came attached to a 93-mph fastball to the elbow from White Sox hurler Chris Sale.

Rodriguez was grazed by a Sale pitch in the third inning. And the fans who had booed Rodriguez for two nights, finally got to sarcastically cheer the Yankees' pariah. 

Afterwards, a miffed Yankees manager Joe Girardi scolded the mean fans.

"There is something wrong with that," he said after his team's 3-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox. "I often think it starts from the adults. If it were their child would they want him to be hit? Because the kids are only going to repeat what the adults do." 

Said Rodriguez of the cheers: "I didn't hear that. It was the weirdest thing. I forgot to put my elbow pad on — probably the first time in 2,000 at-bats. Walking up to the plate, I said, 'Whatever you do, don't get hit in the elbow.' On the second pitch, I got hit on the elbow. I couldn't believe it. I love the fans in Chicago." 

Rodriguez claimed the ball barely hit him.

Wait until Girardi hears the home town fans at a packed Yankee Stadium Friday night. Time to bring out the ear muffs.

A-Rod's comeback stalled; Headed back to Tampa because of Grade 1 quad strain

It seemed like it was all coming back together for Alex Rodriguez and he was only a weekend away from rejoining the Yankees in Texas Monday night.  On Sunday, things fell apart once more for the rehabbing A-Rod and now it's not whether the troubled Yankee third baseman will play for the Bombers this season, but if he’ll ever suit up for the club again.

In an ominous sign for the Yankees’ $275 million superstar, Rodriguez traveled from his final scheduled rehab game in Scranton to New York, where an MRI taken on his left quadriceps revealed a Grade 1 strain, according to a team press release. 

Instead of making his highly publicized return to the Yankees in Texas Monday — something Yankee GM Brian Cashman said Friday was the team’s "expectation ... as long as we get through the weekend OK" — Rodriguez remained on the disabled list and will head to Tampa. 

"I am extremely disappointed with the results of the MRI and am hoping to be back as soon as possible and continue with my goal of coming back and helping the Yankees win a championship," Rodriguez said in a statement.

Rodriguez sustained the injury while sliding into second base on Friday night. He played as the designated hitter the next night. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Yet he sounded positive on Sunday morning. He said he expected to "strap it on Tuesday."

The Yankees weren't so optimistic later that afternoon.

"He’s going to be out for a while," said manager Joe Girardi after an 8-7 loss to Boston in 11 innings. 

"So we’ll just deal with it, and continue to play."

Rodriguez’s 20-day rehabilitation assignment expired on Sunday. He cannot play in minor-league games. The Yankees could petition Major League Baseball to allow Rodriguez to begin another 20-day assignment, because of the new injury.

But for now, he’ll be relegated to simulated games at best. For the Yankees, Rodriguez remains a $100 million problem. What, exactly, does he have left? Girardi admitted to pondering the question.

"I think we’re all a little anxious to see how he looks physically, and how he’s moving," Girardi said. "Was this surgery as successful as the other one [before the 2009 season]? From the other one he came back great, and moved fine."

"I am anxious to see him," added Girardi. "He hasn’t played in a while, and he’s almost 38. You kind of want to see what you’ve got."

The injury is the same kind that sent Derek Jeter back to the DL after a one-game comeback. The Yankees captain is still nursing a Grade-1 quadriceps strain experienced in his first game back on July 11 and the team doesn't want to see a repeat scenario with A-Rod.

"You hope for the best,” Jeter said. “I don’t have enough information on that. I hope he doesn’t have what I have."

You can't blame Girardi for suddenly developing a case of quadrophobia.

"We’ve had to deal with it all year," Girardi said. "So it’s not like it’s not par for the course."

A-Rod on why he won't quit baseball: 'This is my first love'

Alex Rodriguez opened up and explained why the New York Yankees third baseman won't give up on rejoining the team this season knowing he'll be facing angry fans, declining skills, the over-zealous media, an MLB steroid investigation and possible suspension.

In a revealing interview with New York Post reporter Joel Sherman, the soon-to-be 38-year-old A-Rod explains the simple truth why he just doesn't bail out of the game thus protecting his remaining salary, health and avoid an embarrassing drug-cheat suspension.

“I just know I love the game,” Rodriguez told The Post. “This is my first love. Like any first love, it doesn’t have to be rational, so it is not rational.”

Sherman says he believes A-Rod's passion for the game still burns even though he is well enough off to just sit back and catch rays by the pool for the rest of his life. The entrepreneurial Rodriguez already has a life outside baseball which includes a burgeoning art collection, business and real estate investments and work with the Boys & Girls Club in Miami.

Why not fill his life with things other than boos and allegations?

“Then there wouldn’t be baseball," said Rodriguez.

“I know not everyone might understand this, people might think I am crazy,” continued Rodriguez. “But I really love this. I love all of it, the practice, the games. And I feel if I can help my team a little, then I owe it to the team and the fans to try.”

But even after two hip surgeries and a series of minor league rehab games this summer, A-Rod is ready to make his return in the unfriendly confines of The Ballpark in Arlington against the Texas Rangers Monday night.

"It's a process, but a process I think is on the right track,” Rodriguez said.

Sherman asked the Yankee pariah one last time why he doesn't chuck it all — escape all this, get away from the accusations, insinuations, jeers.

“I want to keep getting up and paying the price to play,” Rodriguez told him. “Do you understand?”

A-Rod could still face MLB roadblock on way back to Yankees warns player's union exec

On Wednesday, Alex Rodriguez said he was "excited like a ten-year-old boy" about the possibility of rejoining the New York Yankees in Texas by Monday.

Today, that same "boy" might be holding his breath after the executive director of the Player's Association laid out a not so sunny scenario for A-Rod and the other major leaguers linked to the Biogenesis scandal.

Speaking to The New York Daily News at a union golf fund-raiser for Hurricane Sandy charities at Bethpage Black, Michael Weiner said that if Major League Baseball has overwhelming evidence linking the players to the defunct anti-aging clinic and its founder, Anthony Bosch, the powerful Players Association may be in the position of putting the kibosh on Rodriguez's long-awaited return.

“I can tell you, if we have a case where there really is overwhelming evidence, that a player committed a violation of the program, our fight is going to be that they make a deal,” Weiner said without referring to specific players. “We’re not interested in having players with overwhelming evidence that they violated the (drug) program out there. Most of the players aren’t interested in that. We’d like to have a clean program.”

The News wrote:

Weiner did not specifically mention Rodriguez by name, sources have told The News that MLB investigators have gathered an overwhelming amount of evidence that shows the Yankee star received performance-enhancing drugs from Biogenesis. Players connected to Biogenesis will soon begin meeting with union officials and MLB executives to discuss pending penalties.

Players who don’t grieve suspensions are expected to begin serving them immediately; those who opt for arbitration could see their cases drag into next year.

“We will surely meet with the commissioner’s office and try to resolve all the pending cases. If we can’t, we’ll have arbitration cases. At this point, that’s all we can say. It will happen soon,” Weiner said. Speaking to baseball writers on Tuesday, Weiner said that the union will try to find common ground with MLB officials on the length of suspensions and how they will be publicized. He reiterated that on Wednesday, adding that in many instances grievances, including some involving banned substances, are settled before a suspension is imposed and publicly announced.

“This is a somewhat new situation, but some of those grievances have been disciplinary grievances as well,” Weiner said. “They just don’t get the play that the Biogenesis case did.”

A source said in the past Weiner has quietly convinced MLB to drop 10 to 15 drug cases by pointing out flaws in those cases. Weiner also raised questions about the highly contentious Ryan Braun arbitration of 2012. In that case, the Brewers star was supported by the Players Association and successfully challenged a 50-game doping suspension by raising questions about the chain of custody of his urine sample.

“The Braun case was one of many where there were problems with the case,” the source said. “The others just didn’t become public.”

Sources said Rodriguez should expect no better than a 150-game ban if a deal is reached. Other sources said no meeting between Rodriguez, the union and MLB has been set up, but the source added: “It will be soon.”

Wednesday, Rodriguez denied that any deal is being negotiated on his behalf. “No deals. At this moment that is all we can discuss on the matter. There’s no deal that I instructed anyone to do at this point,” Rodriguez said on WFAN.

There is also the possibility that Rodriguez, after evaluation and consultation with physicians, would be declared physically unable to perform once he returns to the Yankees — almost eight months after his second hip surgery in four years — and retire, although he would still be able to collect the more than $100 million owed to him by the Bombers.

Rodriguez is expected to finish his rehab games this weekend with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankee affiliate starting Thursday.

Don't book that ticket to Texas just yet A-Rod.

A-Rod shooting for Monday return to Yankees, claims he made no deal with MLB

Alex Rodriguez's long road back to the majors seems to be coming to a conclusion and, if you believe him, A-Rod will be back in pinstripes by Monday.

The maligned third baseman begins his final push to rejoin the Yankees on Thursday night when he starts at third base for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as it hosts Louisville. The slugger, out all season after a second hip surgery in January, will round out his 20-day minor league rehab assignment by playing four straight days with the RailRiders.

He said Wednesday he is optimistic that after that he can return to the big league club next week in Texas.

"I am within striking distance of Monday now," A-Rod told Mike Francesa on WFAN radio. "That makes me excited ... like a ten-year-old boy."

After playing two games here for Double-A Trenton, A-Rod's move to Scranton puts him right on target to join a Yankees lineup that needs a lift. GM Brian Cashman has indicated that he would like to improve the club's offense if possible before the trading deadline.

"It's the plan that we talked about in Charleston (where the assignment began July 2 and 3) and we haven't deviated, not even one step with the exception of a little rain here and there," Rodriguez said after batting practice, infield, weightlifting and sprints at FirstEnegry Stadium. "So we're on schedule."

He told Francesa: "Feels pretty good ... going to play four (games) in Scranton and then hopefully strap it up."

There is no guarantee that he'll be with the Yankees for long with the Biogenesis scandal hanging over his head.

Asked about the rumor if he made a deal with Major League Baseball about the length of a possible suspension, A-Rod claimed that's just what it is — a rumor.

"That's not true," he said. "No deal that I have instructed anyone to do at this point. That's all we can really discuss on the matter."

Rodriguez has played 10 games thus far and is 5-for-28 with a home run and six RBI. Asked about how he is looking to perform in this next stretch, he answered "I have no idea. I feel good though."

He did not play in the Thunder's game on Wednesday but felt it a good sign that he felt well enough that he could have after playing four games in the previous four days, the first time he's done that.

"I'm encouraged that I feel like I can play and play well today," A-Rod said. "So after playing four straight games, seven- or eight-plus innings (in each), and being able to play today if I had to, that's a great sign."

During at least one of the next four games, Rodriguez said he will be the RailRiders' designated hitter.

A-Rod planning to return and retire to collect full salary before MLB suspension hits: Report

If you think Brian Cashman erupted after hearing Alex Rodriguez's tweet about getting the "green light to play games again!" on Tuesday, wait until the New York Yankees general manager finds out why A-Rod might be so eager to return.

According to The New York Daily News, sources close to the ongoing drama surrounding the scandalized Yankee third baseman, Rodriguez and his advisers are so concerned that Major League Baseball’s drug enforcers are so close to suspending him that they have sped up the timetable for A-Rod to return to game action.

Once he’s back playing in rehab games, the sources say, he could then claim he is physically unable to perform because of the serious hip injury he is recovering from, “retire” from the game, and still collect the full amount of his salary — $114 million over the next five years.

The Daily News quoted sources about the alleged plan for Rodriguez to cash out:

“It’s all about him getting his money and not losing it to suspension,” one source close to the situation told the Daily News. “He knows he’s never going to the Hall of Fame. All that’s left for him is to make sure he gets his money — all of it.”

One way to do that is for Rodriguez to return to game action, find he can no longer perform up to his standards, then retire before he’s hit with a suspension without pay. A player who retires because he is physically unable to perform, even if he’s later suspended, would still get the full amount of his contract.

Albert Belle suffered a similar hip injury that ended his career in 2001, and he was forced to go on a series of 60-day disabled lists in order to collect the remainder of his contract.

Now, a player who is deemed physically unable to perform is allowed by baseball to retire and still collect his money.

Sources told the Daily News they believe MLB will try to suspend Rodriguez, no matter his status. If he is given a lifetime ban, he would not be able to re-enter the game in any capacity.

 “It’s not going to have any effect on what or when MLB does something,” said a baseball source.

The Yankees, who are currently paying Rodriguez’s $28 million 2013 salary, could conceivably then try to collect insurance on the remainder of the contract, as the Orioles did with Belle.

After it was reported on Sunday that Rodriguez had been given medical clearance to begin playing in rehab games on July 1 as long as the Yankees felt he was ready to do so. Cashman began disputing that claim, saying only that the Yankees and their team of doctors, trainers and ultimately, Cashman, can clear Rodriguez for game action.

Then on Tuesday night, after A-Rod made the infamous tweet that Dr. Bryan Kelly, who performed hip surgery on A-Rod in January “gave me the best news — the green light to play games again!” and posting a weekend photo of himself with Kelly.

When the news reached Cashman, he blew up in an interview, saying, “You know what? When the Yankees want to announce something, we will. Alex should just shut the f--- up. That’s it. I’m going to call Alex now.”

Can't wait to hear what choice words he has for A-Rod when he finds out R&R suddenly means Return and Retire — with full pay.