[lisa mariner]

Spring Training is here and the countdown to Opening Day has begun!

This is our season long "yankee bashing" thread (all in good fun, of course!)

Here are a couple of sites where I'll be gathering news and notes on the Evil Empire...

LoHud Yankees blog

NYYFans forum

This post has been edited by lisa mariner: 24 January 2010 - 04:14 PM

[Lonnie]

lisa mariner, on Feb 14 2009, 11:44 AM, said:

Spring Training is here and the countdown to Opening Day has begun!

This is our season long "yankee bashing" thread (all in good fun, of course!)

Here are a couple of sites where I'll be gathering news and notes on the Evil Empire...

LoHud Yankees blog

NYYFans forum

Happy bashing, Lisa!

Lonnie

[lisa mariner]

Yankees Lining Up to Attend Rodriguez News Conference | NYTimes

Quote

There is no sign-up sheet for the post-practice field trip at Yankees’ camp on Tuesday, but there might as well be. When Alex Rodriguez addresses the news media under a tent down the third-base line at Steinbrenner Field, several teammates will be watching.

“There’s no question I’ll be there,” said the Yankees’ new first baseman, Mark Teixeira, who dropped off his Los Angeles Angels equipment bag in the clubhouse Monday. “I’m going to open my arms for Alex and be there for him. He’s not on an island. A lot of people think this is going to tear the team apart. I think it’s going to bring the team together.”


...

But for the Yankees, everything falls under the shadow of Rodriguez. He will hold a news conference at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, answering questions for the first time since his televised admission of steroid use last week. In that interview, with ESPN’s Peter Gammons, Rodriguez offered few specifics, falsely accused Sports Illustrated’s Selena Roberts of breaking into his home and left many lingering questions.

...

“Guys are just rallying behind Alex on their own,” Manager Joe Girardi said. “This is what they’re choosing to do, and I think it’s a wonderful thing. It’s not something that we’re banging on the drums saying, ‘Let’s have some support.’ Anyone that wants to go can go. It is their option.”


...

Rodriguez has a host of advisers, including the agent Scott Boras, the talent manager Guy Oseary, the publicist Richard Rubenstein and a company called Outside Eyes that specializes in media strategy and crisis management. His news conference is expected to be more controlled than Pettitte’s, probably beginning with a lengthy statement and including fewer questions from reporters.

...

There are several obvious follow-up questions from the Gammons interview, which was broadcast on Feb. 9. When Gammons asked Rodriguez if he took steroids from 2001 to 2003, Rodriguez said the timeline was “pretty accurate.” That left open the question of why Rodriguez qualified his answer. Did he use before or after the years Gammons cited?

Rodriguez was curiously vague when Gammons asked where he obtained the banned substance. He mentioned trainers, doctors and nutritionists but never really answered the question. He also was not asked if he injected the drugs or how often he took them.

The part of the interview that seemed most far-fetched — besides the false story about Roberts’s break-in — was when Rodriguez claimed not to know what substance he took. It is hard to imagine a player so meticulous in his workouts and diet not knowing what kind of drugs he was putting in his body.

[lisa mariner]

[lisa mariner]

I'll post some Yankee fan commente re: "Alex's Presser" a bit later.

Meanwhile, the Yankee circus continues - looks like Andy may be called back to court....

Pettitte talked to feds in Clemens probe | AP

Quote

Federal prosecutors have interviewed Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte as they investigate whether his former teammate Roger Clemens lied to Congress when he denied using performance-enhancing drugs.

Two people familiar with the case told The Associated Press that Pettitte was in Washington last week to meet with prosecutors. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Pettitte could be a crucial witness for any case against Clemens. The two trained together for years. Pettitte has acknowledged taking human growth hormone and told congressional investigators that Clemens informed him nearly a decade ago that he used HGH.

Prosecutors are weighing whether to bring perjury charges against Clemens for denying under oath to Congress that he took performance-enhancing substances.

Lawyers for Pettitte declined to comment.

Much of what investigators wanted to know Pettitte had already told Congress.

Word of his recent involvement in the case came as Yankees superstar third baseman Alex Rodriguez answered questions at spring training camp in Florida about his own past use of performance enhancers.

Pettitte, who was at the Rodriguez press conference, was asked later about his meeting with prosecutors. "I can't talk to you about that," Pettitte said.

Around this time last year, Pettitte acknowledged that he might be questioned by the Justice Department.

"I'm just prepared that it might happen," Pettitte said at the time. "There's nothing I can do. Until somebody tells me to go somewhere, I can't do anything."

[lisa mariner]

A 1000 words...



A-Rod spins steroid tale too tall to believe | Gordon Edes - Yahoo!

Quote

He wants us to believe he was stupid. I’m ready to make him first-ballot, Hall of Fame stupid.

Based on his latest version of how he came to test positive for steroids in 2003, the vote should be unanimous.

:::

According to A-Rod, in his first year as the highest-paid baseball player on the planet, just as he was entering the prime of a career already as dazzling as any his age had ever produced, he was persuaded by an unnamed cousin to drop his drawers an average of twice a month over the next three years and receive injections of a substance that was supposed to boost his energy. The cousin, he said, did the injecting.

Dumb and dumber? According to A-Rod, neither he nor the cousin knew what was contained in the substance, other than it had a street name of “boli” or “bolan” and was sold over the counter in the Dominican Republic. According to Sports Illustrated, Rodriguez tested positive for the anabolic steroid Primobolan.

:::

“All these years I never thought I did anything wrong,” he said.

But if A-Rod thought he was aboveboard, then why were he and the Cuz doing everything on the sly, instead of asking for help from a trainer or a doctor or even a fellow energy-boosting teammate, which could be found in abundance in the Texas Rangers’ clubhouse? Only last week, Rodriguez had described the “loosey-goosey” culture of the Rangers as reason to experiment.

“I knew we weren’t taking Tic Tacs,” Rodriguez said, leaving skid marks where he’d backtracked.

:::

Rodriguez leaned heavily on young and naïve, too, overlooking the fact that by 2001, when he first offered up his buttocks to his cousin’s needle, he already was a seven-year veteran of playing in the big leagues.

“That’s the facts he’s giving you,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said afterward. “That doesn’t mean it’s acceptable. I like the fact more when he carries it that he was stupid, rather than young and naïve.

“It was stupid. It was a bad decision that may cost him on so many levels. He understands that. He’s dealing with it now, for better or worse, but he’s dealing with it. He’s forced to deal with it.

“He’s suffering. The game is suffering. The Yankees are suffering.”

:::

If A-Rod, the game’s best player, says he’s not qualified to determine the difference between right and wrong, what about the truly young and naïve among us, the high school players who might have looked to him to set an example?

Don Hooton, whose son Taylor was a high school athlete using steroids when he took his own life, called Rodriguez the day after the ESPN interview to see if the player might be interested in advancing the cause of steroids education. A-Rod agreed, which is why Hooton was sitting on the podium.

“It’s a fact,” Hooton said to a small group of reporters after A-Rod’s session, “that 85 percent of our children never had a parent or coach or a teacher talk with them about the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs.

“So some of the statements he made about being a dumb kid, your kid [pointing at a reporter], your kid, and your kid are all in the same box. They don’t know any better. That doesn’t excuse it, but my son didn’t know any better, either, because nobody’s talking to these kids. We can use Alex to get this message out to kids.”

:::

Taylor Hooton, who took the shortcut of using steroids after being told by his high school coach he needed to get bigger and stronger, killed himself in 2003, the same year Rodriguez failed his drug test.

Let’s hope someone is smartening up. It might not even be too late for A-Rod.

Alex's teammates lookin' none-to-happy at the "presser"...

[lisa mariner]

Seems the Yankees have some very angry partial plan season ticket holders on their hands because some of them who previously had weekend plans were offered only weekday plans - or had their seats moved from behind the plate to the outfield. Apparently, the new YS has fewer seats than the old YS and despite the rise in prices, the Yankees were a bit overwhelmed at the number of fans who elected for full season plans which necessitated the partial plan holders revisions.
Supposedly, this is the letter the Yankees sent...
(they might want to find a new editor or at least update their spell-checker or maybe hire Zumby)

Quote

Good Morning,

Do (sic) to the overwhelming demand for season tickets, all plans were distributed subject to availability. In the event that the partial plan you requested was not available, you were assigned an alternative plan (subject to availability). From here you have the option to either accept or decline, if you decline (if the plan does not meet your needs or budget) you can go into your my Yankees account (under personal preferences) and mark down that you wish to decline and/ or enter the pool process for your preferred plan,

At this point you cannot change your seats or plans unless your (sic) interested in the $350 seats. If you accept then the full payment will be due on Feb 27th which you can pay online or by calling (718) xxx-xxxx. Because of the demand for all season tickets, we stronly (sic) suggest that ticket Licensees accept their initial seat assignments. The demand for many plans will definetely (sic) exceed the available seats locations and if you decline your assignment there may not be any availability in the alternative seat location and/ or plan that you request. If you have any questions or concerns I would suggest to call (718) xxx-xxxx and we can try to assist you.

Sincerely,

New York Yankees Ticket Operations
Yankee Stadium
161st Street & River Avenue
Bronx, NY 10451

Some pretty pissed off Yankee fans - can't say that I blame them....

Quote

FYI it isn’t some weekend holders, it is most. I don’t think I’ve spoken to a single person who had a Saturday/Sunday plan and was offered the same. Everyone I’ve spoken to was offered a weekday plan. I’m sorry, but this is very unfair. People can’t make weekday games for various reasons. To switch someone from a Sunday plan to a weekday plan is bs.


:::


Been a Friday night package holder for 7 years and have only gotten one email from them – last Fall – and nothing since.

I am not renewing, no matter what package they send me. It’s not about the money so much as the horrible customer service. I’m glad they are selling so many tickets so that they can pay for salaries. Too bad, though, that they don’t seem to care about rewarding people who were fans when the Yankees sucked.

Also, I think some of these people are buying the full plans with the intention of re-selling their extra tickets for a profit. Is that really right? Or legal?


:::


Anybody who had a partial plan last year and is waiting to hear from the Yankees needs to check out your online account immediately. I checked mine last night and saw that I was assigned to a weekday plan (I had a Saturday plan for the past 5 years) but I never got an email or postal mail informing me of this.

The worst part is that the invoice is due on 2/27… if I had not decided to check my account last night I probably would have missed the payment date and lost my seats.

Godd work Yankees, Inc.


:::


Yanks also dropped the ball with the $350 seats. They overshot the market with that price and just haven’t been able to get the sales they wanted. Rather than create a more market friendly price, they forced everyone into the cheaper/smaller plans and gave those in the already cheaper/smaller plans even less choices.


:::


I had been a season ticket holder since 1997 and I had the 60 game plan; they told me I needed to upgrade to a full season package to keep my subscription. When I said I could not afford it they cancelled my account and offered to put me in a pool for 41 game package. I said no and now I have lost my season tickets and I have no intention of ever stepping foot in the new yankee stadium. If I want to see the yankees I will see them out of town.

There is a better chance of me going to citifield than yankee stadium. I have had it.


:::


A new stadium with less seats was not needed. A new stadium based around luxury boxes and the rich was not needed. Yes,Yankee stadium was on the older scale of baseball stadiums and needed an upgrade, it did not need this much of an upgrade. Restaurants, martini bars, etc, im sorry. This is a baseball game not an amusement park. All I need is a seat and a hot dog. I dont need all this other stuff. This place was built for the rich which is evident by the upgrades of the seats (private bathrooms for the lower level crowd, their own parking gargage)and the large number of luxury boxes.


:::


I’ve been a Yankee fan for almost 50 years. I can’t remember ever feeling so disgusted with them. It will be a pleasure to see all those empty luxury boxes. I’d still like to know how anyone who doesnt come to LoHud even knew their seats assignments were sitting in their Yankee’s account?

To think they didnt even have the courtesy to send a letter or e-mail shows what a bunch of rank amateurs ran the Relocation process.Not to mention entire disregard for the fans who have supported them with thousands of dollars each year. I know how I’m going to respond. It will be a long while before I ever set foot in the House That Greed Built.

[Lonnie]

Wow, it looks like the Yankees are taking their fans for granted! Should be interesting to see what happens when they go into a period of losing seasons.

Lonnie

[lisa mariner]

NY Times

Quote

JUPITER, Fla. — Alex Rodriguez has a cyst in his right hip, so he may not play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. The Yankees said it was too soon to estimate how much time he would miss.

Rodriguez had a magnetic resonance imaging test on Saturday that showed the cyst. The Yankees said he would fly to Vail, Colo., on Wednesday to meet with Dr. Marc Philippon. Philippon is considered one of the world’s leading hip surgeons, and he has treated Mario Lemieux and Greg Norman.

Chris Ahmad, the Yankees’ team physician, discovered the cyst Saturday, and he consulted with Philippon, who could not see Rodriguez until Wednesday. Since the Yankees said Rodriguez had no “functional pain,” he was permitted to leave Sunday for the Dominican team’s camp. It is unclear if Rodriguez, whose hip has been stiff and tight in spring training, experienced more discomfort since then.

“We felt it was in everyone’s best interest — for the team and the player — to send Alex to Dr. Philippon, who is regarded as the leading expert in his field,” General Manager Brian Cashman said in a statement. “Alex has proven his durability throughout his career, and we will take every precaution and step necessary to ensure his health as we near the start of the 2009 regular season and beyond.”

Despite the cyst, Rodriguez went 1 for 3 in a 10-1 victory over the Florida Marlins in the Dominicans’ first exhibition game Tuesday. He sprinted to second on a double and did not seem to be favoring his hip. He has also participated in hitting, fielding and running drills for the last two days, and he ended his workout Tuesday by running sprints.

A spokesman for the Yankees declined to say whether it was a bone cyst or a skin cyst.

“If the cyst is on the bone, it’s most likely from wear and tear,” Freddie H. Fu, the chairman of the sports medicine department at the University of Pittsburgh, said in a telephone interview.

If it is a skin cyst, Fu said, it could be a reaction from an infection.

Either way, it is unlikely the Yankees will want him to risk further injury by playing in an exhibition tournament until possibly March 23.

[lisa mariner]

I always feel compelled to make this disclaimer...
While I can take great pleasure in rooting against certain teams (such as, and especially, the Yanks) I never root for injuries/illness for any team. I have always wanted my team to engage their competition when both are at 100% ... makes victory that much sweeter and defeat easier to bear.

That said, here's the latest...
ESPN.com

Quote

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez will have surgery to remove a cyst from his right hip and will be out 10 weeks, Rodriguez's brother told ESPNdeportes.com on Thursday.

Joe Dunand, Alex Rodriguez's older brother, told Enrique Rojas of ESPNdeportes.com during a phone interview that immediate surgery was recommended, and that rehabilitation would take about 10 weeks.

A source close to the situation told ESPNdeportes.com that the surgery is scheduled for Monday in Colorado.

There has been no confirmation from the Yankees regarding the scheduled surgery.

:::

The development also means that A-Rod will not be able to participate with the Dominican Republic team in the World Baseball Classic.

"It's a big blow for the whole family. Alex is destroyed," Dunand told ESPNdeportes.com. "We were all very excited to see him play with the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.

"But the most important thing is to have a successful surgery so that Alex may continue his career."

Stan Javier, general manager of the Dominican Republic's team at the WBC told ESPNdeportes.com: "I haven't received any information on the results of the medical exams performed on A-Rod."

Rodriguez felt tightness and stiffness in his right hip this spring and was examined by team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad on Saturday, the Yankees said. An MRI exam showed the cyst.

I have read reports elsewhere that Alex was actually experiencing problems with his hip last season.
Makes one wonder why it took so long to have it checked out....

[lisa mariner]

Stephania Bell | ESPN.com

The blogger (a physical therapist/orthopedic clinical specialist) reports the fact that Alex had the cyst aspirated today and upon further examination of his hip, the doctor(s) discovered that he has a torn labrum. She also writes that the condition likely has a "much less sinister explanation" than the one many are jumping to conclusions about (steroid use).

The Yanks (Cashman) seems to be down playing the injury/prognosis a bit ... saying they are hoping Alex can "play through it" and avoid surgery, at least for now. But even some Yank fans think that that could just be posturing - Cashman doesn't want every GM who may have a 3B to trade think that he is desperate, after all.

As an aside, certainly has been a rough month for Alex.
Here's the chronology as posted by Peter Abraham on LoHud...

Quote

Feb. 7: Sports Illustrated reports that Rodriguez tested positive for steroids and testosterone in 2003. A-Rod goes to the Bahamas and is photographed with assorted groupies.

Feb. 9: Rodriguez admits to using “a substance” while with the Texas Rangers from 2001-03. He also falsely accuses Sports Illustrated reporter Selena Roberts of breaking into his home.

Feb. 15: A-Rod calls Roberts to apologize for what he said.

Feb. 17: During a press conference in Tampa, Rodriguez says a cousin supplied him with an anabolic steroid obtained in the Dominican Republic.

Feb. 25: Rodriguez has that cousin, Yuri Sucart, pick him up from a game in Dunedin, Fla.

Feb. 26: The Yankees order Rodriguez to keep Sucart away from ballparks.

March 1: Rodriguez meets with MLB officials investigating his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

March 2: A-Rod joins Dominican team for World Baseball Classic and stages photo op with his ex-wife and two children.

March 3: Rodriguez tells reporters covering the WBC that he would like to have Jose Reyes playing for the Yankees. Some take this as criticism of Derek Jeter.

March 4: Rodriguez flies to Colorado to be examined by a hip specialist for a previously unreported injury.

March 5: The Yankees announce that Rodriguez has a torn labrum in his right hip but will try to play this season before having surgery.

[Lonnie]

Just in from the non-steroidal/injury front. Joba is stinking it up in Florida!

"Joba Chamberlain walked four of the five batters he faced Thursday and failed to get an out in the first inning of the New York Yankees' 6-0 loss to Canada's World Baseball Classic team. Chamberlain also allowed a single and was lifted after walking his final three hitters. He wound up being charged with five runs in his second shaky start this spring."

Boy, I bet they are eyeing Batista and Washburn and thinking that maybe they could pry one of these guys away by dangling Swisher...

Ok, maybe not, but a guy can dream, right?

Lonnie

[lisa mariner]

Quote

Joba Chamberlain walked four of the five batters he faced Thursday and failed to get an out in the first inning of the New York Yankees' 6-0 loss to Canada's World Baseball Classic team

And, what's funny about that is, Yankee fans didn't even notice (if you consider the LoHud blog comments as a sufficient sample size of Yankee fans anyway)...

From the time of the initial report yesterday morning (just before 11am eastern time) regarding the possibility of Alex needing surgery and missing 10 weeks until today's game thread, there were 2469 comments spread over about 10 blog entries (I kid you not, I read them) and maybe 3 or 4 mentioned anything about the actual game. It was all about Alex ... and the different reports that were flooding in "10 weeks" "3-4 months" "etc., etc., etc., with opinions running the gammit from "why didn't the Yankees do something sooner" to " he should tough it out and play" to he should have the surgery today" to "can't we just get rid of him"
The latest post is for tonight's game vs. the Tigers (that started just minutes ago) and has some updates on the Alex story - there are already 258 comments - very few to do with the game itself.

Peter notes some interesting information gleaned from an interview with Joe Girardi...

Quote

Things have changed since yesterday. The Yankees said then that the plan was for Alex to try and play and have surgery after the season. Now both Hal Steinbrenner and Girardi have talked about Alex needing to make a decision about having surgery.

Alex underwent more tests today and supposedly planned to throw and even hit in a cage out in Colorado. Then he will take a day or two to decide what to do, in consultation with the Yankees.

The sense I get from talking to people both in Tampa and elsewhere is that Alex will be having the surgery and it would be as soon as Monday. The Yankees are fearful of his trying to play and then having to come out of the lineup.

By having the surgery now, the team has a month to prepare for life without Alex and his rehab clock starts ticking. Essentially, March is a free month of rehab.

Joe Girardi is not making the call here. But consider his plight. He already has a catcher who will be able to catch only two out every three games. He also has a DH with two bad knees. Having a third baseman who needs to DH at times, or can’t play on turf, or can’t play four days in a row … you’re handcuffing him.

Here is the money quote:

Question: Is there a possibility Alex could have surgery in the next few days?

Girardi: “That’s a determination Alex and the doctors have to make. The organization will continue to discuss it with both parties. But yeah, there is a possibility.”

In the past, whenever Girardi has used the word “possibility” that was exactly what happened.

UPDATE, 6:47 p.m.: CC Sabathia is scheduled for 35 pitches tonight, about two innings.

Obviously, I don't know anything beyond what I've read about Alex's condition but...
sure seems to me that having the surgery now rather than later would be the most prudent thing to do. It makes no sense what-so- ever to risk further injury.

[lisa mariner]

Pre-order your copy now .... I did
(just click on the image below)

Quote

Through exhaustive reporting and interviews, Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts will explore A-Rod’s path to a self-destruction so profound it would rate as one of the most dramatic falls in major league history.

Building on her groundbreaking reporting in Sports Illustrated, Selena Roberts delivers the first biography of Alex Rodriguez and explores the full nine innings of his life, not just the one big strike against him--steroids. Roberts chronicles A-Rod as a plunge-in-progress, from his dalliances with strippers to the news that he tested positive for steroids during his 2003 MVP season-a story she broke for Sports Illustrated in February. Roberts goes behind the sensational headlines, probing traumatic events in his childhood to reveal a man torn by his obligation to his family and his insatiable hedonism, while revealing new information about A-Rod’s history of steroid use.

At 33, Alex Rodriguez is the highest paid player in the history of baseball, a once-in-a-generation talent who is about to break many of the sport’s most hallowed batting records-yet he is regarded as a mercenary by most fans. Called “A-Fraud” by his teammates, A-Rod is cheered when he’s on a streak and jeered whenever he slumps. The tabloids can’t get enough of his recent off-field misadventures, which include breaking up his 12-year marriage to party with Madonna. Friends worry that A-Rod has bought into a new lifestyle-that all the lies and contradictions in his life are finally catching up to him and contributing to an epic implosion.

Through meticulous reporting and hundreds of interviews, Roberts analyzes the elements of A-Rod’s freefall, from his strained relationships with teammates to his failure on the field in clutch situations, from his cold business decisions to his steroid use. An extensive look at Rodriguez’s shady real estate deals, deviant personal life and disintegration of his family, and including a chapter on A-Rod’s arrival for spring training where he is forced to confront his new life as a known steroid user, A-ROD is the definitive biography of one of baseball’s most talented-and tragically flawed-athletes.

[lisa mariner]

But, don't be too quick to order this....



CNBC.com

Quote

Any fan hoping to make fun of New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez can no longer get a No. 13 Yankees jersey with the word "A-Fraud" on the back.

MLB.com has banned the new A-Rod nickname from the personalization feature on replica jerseys on MLB.com. MLB.com spokesman Matt Gould told CNBC that the league does not allow fans to personalize products with anything that is deemed inappropriate, derogatory or profane.

Fans haven't been able to personalize their jerseys on the site with the word "steroids" since 2005, but as of this afternoon, fans can get A-Rod's drug of choice, "Boli," on the back of jerseys. They can also get "Sucart," the last name of A-Rod's cousin, who has been part of the story.

Critics of Rodriguez have taken a liking to the "A-Fraud" nickname since it was mentioned in Joe Torre's book, "The Yankee Years."

btw - I'm reading Joe Torre's book now and hope to have some commentary about it on my blog in the coming days/weeks...

[lisa mariner]

NY Times

Quote

According to a person in baseball familiar with the deliberations, the Yankees, Rodriguez and his doctors have discussed a limited operation before the season to repair the labrum without fixing the underlying condition. Other options for treating Rodriguez are allowing him to play with the injury this season or sidelining him for four months with surgery to correct the problem.

The limited surgery would probably sideline Rodriguez at least four weeks and may allow him to play most of the season. But he would still need a more involved procedure at a later time to fix what caused the tear.

“It would be like using a nail instead of a steel girder to repair it,” said the person, who did not want to be identified because the conversations were confidential. “Eventually, the nail would have to be replaced with the steel girder.”

At best, the person said, this so-called hybrid option would allow Rodriguez to play for one to three years before undergoing more invasive surgery to correct the problem.

General Manager Brian Cashman said Friday night that allowing Rodriguez to play through the injury would be like driving a car with a bad wheel that would wobble more as time and miles went by.

[lisa mariner]

the decision...

LoHud

Quote

UPDATE, 9:36 a.m.: Alex Rodriguez will have less invasive surgery to repair the labrum, try to play and then have a full repair after the season. A-Rod has an impingement, meaning bone is striking bone. The initial surgery will fix the labrum. The second will repair the bone deformity. The goal, Dr. Philiipon, will be a rapid rehab. “It’s a very good option,” he said. He said the rehab will take 6-9 weeks. Surgery will be Monday. Dr. Philippon said he’s 85-90 percent certain A-Rod won’t have a setback this season. A-Rod will stay in Vail for several weeks. Again, it’ll be 6-9 weeks before he plays in a MLB game. So late April possibly. Dr. Philippon said it’s 100 percent that A-Rod will need a second surgery. The larger surgery would have kept him out 3-4 months. They’ll gave to reshape the femoral head of the bone. Cashman said he thinks they made the right call based on the information.

[lisa mariner]

UPDATE...

Daily News

Quote

Alex Rodriguez underwent successful hip repair surgery Monday at a Colorado clinic.

The 80-minute procedure was performed by Dr. Marc Philippon, a specialist known as the "hip doctor to the stars."

"Alex is doing very well," Philippon said. "There were no surprises. It was exactly what we were prepared for."

A-Rod is expected to check out of the Vail Valley Surgery Center later Monday and start his rehab with range-of-motion exercises at the famed Steadman Hawkins Clinic.

If all goes well, A-Rod could be swinging a bat by the end of the week as he recuperates from arthroscopic surgery to repair his torn labrum.

Rodriguez is expected to be out for two months. He will continue to collect his $28 million-a-year salary while the Yankees play without him.

"It's better than him missing the whole year, but I don't ever think it's good news when you're going to miss a player for six to nine weeks," manager Joe Girardi said before the operation. "It could have been a lot worse."

Rodriguez will need a second hip operation when the season is over, but Philippon said the third baseman would "absolutely" be ready to go when spring training kicks off next year.

"There is no doubt in my mind that this was the best option for Alex and for the Yankees," Philippon said.

The surgery is the latest chapter in what's been a torrent of springtime drama for the Bombers' home run king.

[Huindekmi]

Everything you've ever wanted to know about A-Rod can be found here: Dickipedia

Quote

Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed A-Rod, is a Dominican-American professional baseball player and a dick.
...

[lisa mariner]

Alex Rodriguez: Confessions of a Damned Yankee | Details

Quote

This was the year he was going to put all the haters and gossip behind him and take his rightful place as sports' biggest celebrity. So much for that

:::

Pop stars and private jets may not have been the reasons Rodriguez tainted his baseball legacy, but there's little doubt they are part of the glamorous package that can make privileged men do desperate things. If Rodriguez is to recover, he must chase something far more elusive than a World Series ring. He's got to go back and find Alex, the kid from Miami via Washington Heights who existed long before A-Rod.

It reminds me of something he said that night in Miami: "You've got to put yourself in a position that, no matter who has what, the truth will be revealed. That's ultimately the place I want to be in."

At the time, Alex Rodriguez was talking about Michael Phelps and his bong. But he knew we were coming for him, too.