Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees have gone through a tumultuous spat in the last week or so, during with the Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the team's injured third baseman needs to "shut the f-k up."
The reason for Cashman's harsh words was a tweet from Rodriguez claiming his doctor had cleared him to play. The doctor, however, was A-Rod's personal physician and not a team doctor; furthermore, the Yankees do not want players divulging medical information.
From there, conspiracy theories abounded, alleging A-Rod is trying to rush back into rehabilitation games, only to declare himself unable to play, and then retire while collecting the massive amount of money owed to him before MLB suspends him for alleged steroid use.
During the controversy, the Yankees termed A-Rod's behavior bizarre, but on Sunday he expressed a sentiment that wasn't out of the ordinary for any injured ballplayer; A-Rod said he "can't wait to be back."
The relationship between the Yanks and Rodriguez seems to be in the process of getting smoothed over once again, as team president Randy Levine spoke to ESPN about A-Rod. "We need Alex back," Levine said. "How effective he'll be when he comes back, how good he'll be, we don't know. But we are desperate for his right-handed power, and he's better than any third baseman on this team right now."
Speaking on his road to recovery, A-Rod was candid but more measured, saying, "I feel like my swing is definitely getting back to form. (Defensively) moving better the last few days. Everything is coming along."
The Yankees have been racked with injuries this year to Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson, Derek Jeter, Eduardo Nunez, and Kevin Youkilis. After replacement players such as Lyle Overbay and Vernon Wells kept the Yankees afloat, they have struggled and the team's offensive production has plummeted.
"Obviously, it's no secret that we're struggling against left-handed pitching, that our whole offense is struggling, and that we've had very, very serious injuries," Levine said. "We need right-handed power. We don't have any right-handed power, none right now. Any semblance of A-Rod would help us. Even last year's A-Rod would be a big upgrade over what we have right now."
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