Though Alex Rodriguez is not expected to return any time soon from his second major hip surgery, he was present at Yankee Stadium on Opening Day.

Rodriguez’s name has popped up more frequently due to allegations he purchased performance-enhancing drugs from the Biogenesis clinic in Miami, Fla. Four years ago, Rodriguez admitted to using them during his three seasons in Texas but Monday he said that in conjunction with the player’s association he would issue a statement denying any use.

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  PHOTOS: Memorable moments of the rivalry between the Red Sox and Yankees

As for his recovery, Rodriguez said although missing spring training was disappointing his rehab is going well and that he expects to perform at a high level whenever he returns.

“I think it can be very high,” Rodriguez said. “When I found out, after the season was over, about the big tear in my left hip, it was a bit of a relief to realize and understand how you ended last year. I was able to go in and fix it, rehab and I think once I’m mended and I’m back to being 100 percent, there’s no reason why I can’t play at a very high level.”

In terms of the lowered expectations for the Yankees, Rodriguez also found that hard to believe but felt the team could be motivated by forecasts of a third place, or worse, finish in the AL East.

“I think this year we have a very special opportunity,” Rodriguez said. “This is my 10th year here in New York and this is the first time we’ve been predicted to finish in last place. That’s pretty crazy.”

While Mark Teixeira received a nice hand during pregame introductions, Rodriguez was not introduced.

“I don’t need to be introduced to feel like I’m part of this team,” Rodriguez said. “When I get introduced I want to be on the field and not look back.”

Mo shags fly balls

The pregame preparation for Mariano Rivera was just like any other day for the closer and that meant spending time in the outfield shagging fly balls.

It was the first time Rivera shagged balls since injuring his knee doing the same thing in Kansas City on May 3.

“It felt good,” Rivera said. “I didn’t go full strength but I will at some point.”

Yankees, Red Sox honor Newtown

Before the first pitch, pregame ceremonies featured joint honor guards of Newtown, Conn. police and firefighters as well as a moment of silence for the victims of the Dec. 14 massacre. The victim’s names were listed on the center field video board.

Both teams also wore a special ribbon on their uniforms. The ribbon was painted on the field in front of both dugouts, as it will in all Opening Day games throughout the major leagues.

“We cannot do much,” Rivera said. “We cannot change what happened. I wish we could but at the same time we’re trying to bring them a good moment. We’re trying to take the tragedy away from their minds for a little bit.”

“I think it’s important to say thank you,” manager Joe Girardi said. “The town of Newtown has went through so much during the last four or five months, six months, and you think about being a responder. Sometimes we don’t think about what they go through, and how important they are during a situation like that. I think it’s nice that we’re getting an opportunity to say thank you for all that you do, because they’re obviously going to do more as the future goes on.”

New clubhouse alignment

The Yankees have six players who did not spend any time with the team last year and as a result there was some shifting around in the alignment of lockers.

Opening Day catcher Francisco Cervelli now occupies Nick Swisher’s old spot in the center of the room. Reliever David Robertson has the space occupied by Rafael Soriano adjacent to Rivera.

Robertson’s old locker near the clubhouse door is occupied by Joba Chamberlain while David Phelps moved to Chamberlain’s old space along the row usually occupied by starting pitchers.

Follow Yankees beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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As for the actual participant, the response to Bobby Valentine’s comment that the play was lucky was met with indifference by Jeter.

“I could care less,” Jeter said to reporters in Tampa Wednesday morning. “I don’t know why he would bring it up.”

Jeter addressed his indifference toward Valentine’s attempts at tweaking by also defending the play and reiterating that the Yankees in fact practice those type of infield plays.

“I’m indifferent,” Jeter said to reporters in Tampa. “I mean think about it, we don’t practice it. We do. You guys have seen it. So what else can I say? I was out of position? No, I was where I was supposed to be.”

The flip play that threw Jeremy Giambi out at the plate during Game 3 of the 2001 ALDS in Oakland was deemed a lucky play by Valentine during a press conference on Tuesday.

“We’ll never practice that,” Valentine said. “And I think he’s out of position. And I think the ball gets him out if [Jeter] doesn’t touch it, personally. The Jeter-like simulation today is that idea of what the first baseman and third baseman [are doing] as the ball is coming in because they have to read and maybe change the position where the shortstop is when the ball is coming in from right.

“He does have to react to the ball. When you see the ball in flight, you have a chance at those positions to adjust. He was out. … It was amazing that he was there. I bet it was more amazing to say they practiced it. I don’t believe it, personally.”

Valentine also referenced Alex Rodriguez Tuesday. He praised retiring catcher Jason Varitek for beating up Rodriguez during a July 2004 brawl in Fenway Park, but Rodriguez seemed more interested in ignoring the topic than commenting on it.

“I’m not going to win many battles when it comes to words, especially against Bobby,” Rodriguez said. “But I will tell you this, I’ve got my new press secretary that should be landing in the next couple of days — Reggie Jackson — so I’ll let him handle that.”

Jackson participated in the rivalry during the late-1970s and the response to those comments might be handled differently on the field. But for now, indifference is the theme among Jeter and Rodriguez to the newest manager in the rivalry.

Follow Yankees beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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But the early leader for the 2012 “Worst Injury of the Year” is Dustin Penner, a wing on the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. Penner is married to Jessica Welch, a low-level actress you probably have never heard of.

Die-hard hockey fans may know her as the ex-wife of another NHL player, Richard Zednik. They were married for three years before a contentious divorce in which he gave her $1 million in cash.
At any rate, Welch made Penner a nice pancake breakfast, and his back froze to the point that he couldn’t stand up. He said, “I just leaned over to dip into some delicious pancakes that my wife made.
… It’s just like [the pain] wraps around you and squeezes … so it was disappointing. Hopefully it’s just an isolated incident.”

A-Rod pins one more

What’s Alex Rodriguez better at — choking in the postseason or finding muscular women to date? Rodriguez, who hasn’t hit above .273 in the Yankees’ last three playoff series, recently began dating former wrestler Torrie Wilson.

Yes, his girlfriend used to wrestle.

I should be careful here, because I’ve seen the recent photos of Wilson in a bikini and she’s got bigger biceps than I do. Wilson is ripped. Her abs look as if they were chiseled from granite. Wilson has posed for Playboy twice, but I wouldn’t Google that if you’re reading this at work.

–Jason Raj McIntyre covers athletes off the field and runs the popular sports blog, TheBigLead.com.
Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author, or any opinions expressed on its pages. Opposing viewpoints are welcome. Send submissions to letters@metro.us.

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“Your first reaction is why, especially with the year that we had, being one win away,” he said. “The first thing I did was look at my phone and there were 30 messages on my phone saying I had been traded. Then I turned on the TV and sure enough it was on.”

The Tigers are believed to have made the trade due to financial reasons, though Granderson said he has not found out for certain.

“I never really asked why, not to anyone that could answer the question,” he said. “I’m not sure what the answer would be exactly. They had to financially do some things and after I looked back at the number people that were gone after I got to accept that it was financial.”

Granderson’s last game with Detroit was a one-game playoff with Minnesota on Oct. 6, 2009. Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Raburn, Brandon Inge, Ramon Santiago and Rick Porcello are the only remaining Tigers that appeared in that contest.

Jorge’s in – the DH spot that is

Since the Yankees drew Detroit and its three right-handed starters as opposed to Texas’ four lefties, that means Jorge Posada will be the DH.

Despite hitting a career-worst .235, Posada was a .269 hitter with 14 home runs and 41 RBI off right-handed pitching. Those numbers are on par to his career average of .267 against righties.

“I thought I was going to be here,” Posada said. “I never thought of myself being out of it.”

Winner of the Game Three Derby: Freddy Garcia

Joe Girardi announced after Wednesday’s regular season finale that Freddy Garcia would start Game 3 in Detroit on Monday.

That means A.J. Burnett will become a reliever at least for this series. Burnett prepped for that role by facing Sean Rodriguez in the seventh inning by throwing five pitches.

The pitches were not as big of a deal, though, as how Burnett warmed up for his appearance.

“That’s something we got an idea about,” manager Joe Girardi said. “And I feel that he can do it if he has to do it.”

Healthy Alex

Alex Rodriguez was limited to 99 games and just 19 in the second half due to arthroscopic knee surgery and a nagging thumb injury after he returned.

Rodriguez sat out the final regular-season game with a sore knee, but according to the Yankees he would have played if it had been a playoff game.

“My feeling is he’ll be healthy,” Girardi said. “But if he’s not, that’s a big player out of our lineup or a big player that’s not at the top of his game. But my feeling, if last night was a postseason game, I’m playing him.”

In those 19 games after returning, Rodriguez was hardly at the top of his game. He produced a paltry .191 batting average with three home runs and 10 RBI

Rodriguez said that the knee is good and that his work with hitting coach Kevin Long involves a return to a short compact swing. When Rodriguez was struggling with his injured thumb, he said he was overcompensating by using too much of his body to generate force.

Follow Yankees beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher throughout the playoffs.

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Now is the time for that production to translate against Red Sox pitchers, who likely won’t face Rodriguez this series. Rodriguez has a jammed left thumb and was treated with a cortisone shot Tuesday.

“We do have some guys out, there’s no doubt about that,” Nick Swisher said. “Obviously when you’re in a situation, you want to be the guy to try and step up. Everyone in the lineup is stepping their game up a little bit.”

Swisher’s assessment is correct except for the 12 games against Boston. In those games, no regular is hitting better than .240, while Derek Jeter and Rodriguez are batting .189 and .194 respectively.

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The likely reason for Colon straying away from the pitch was command either in warmup tosses or while throwing in the bullpen before the game. It did not cause any alarms for manager Joe Girardi.

“It becomes a concern if he stays away from it for a long time because it’s an important pitch for him,” Girardi said. “He just felt that he didn’t have great command of it yesterday and in his last start he kind of went away from it.

“I think his thought process was pretty good. He didn’t have great command of it so he went with his other pitches.”

Before Tuesday, the fewest amount of two-seam fastballs thrown by Colon in a start had been eight in a 3-2 loss at Tampa Bay on July 19. That night Colon pitched much better than Tuesday, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing one earned run and five hits.

Thumbs down for A-Rod again

Alex Rodriguez’s left thumb was better than it was Tuesday, but not good enough to keep him in the lineup. He was not in the initial lineup and the team made their final decision after Rodriguez fielded ground balls and did tee and toss work in the batting cage.

Rodriguez fielded the grounders with his left thumb heavily wrapped. He also did some light running and stretching.

Remember the lefties

If the Yankees didn’t have injuries to Pedro Feliciano and Damaso Marte that might have three lefties as opposed to informally looking for other lefties. This year they have signed Randy Flores and J.C. Romero to minor league deals that didn’t work out. Last week they claimed Aaron Laffey from Seattle and promptly sent him to the minors.

Feliciano and Marte are slated to get some pitching in Thursday for the Gulf Coast League Yankees, a team that has this year’s first-round pick Dante Bichette Jr., who is batting .335.

Carlos Pena in the wings?

There were reports that the Yankees claimed Carlos Pena off waivers from the Chicago Cubs. Pena is the same type of fielder as first baseman Mark Teixeira, but with a .223 batting average. If the Yankees did claim him, general manager Brian Cashman declined to comment.

The Yankees would have a 48-hour window to work out a trade, or the Cubs could just let Pena go and the Yankees would have to pay what’s left of his salary.

If Pena does become a Yankee it would not be his first time in the organization. He spent four months in Triple-A with the Yankees five years ago and under the tutelage of hitting coach Kevin Long, Pena batted .260 with 19 home runs and 66 RBI.

Reports out of Chicago seemed to indicate that Pena was not going anywhere.

Follow Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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And last night,when Girardi called on Derek Jeter to sacrifice in the ninth, he opened himself up to just that. It seemed like an odd time to call for a sacrifice down by two, with two good base runners on and with Derek Jeter having three hits.

“You want to give yourself a chance with the big boys coming up,” Girardi said in reference to Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira. “We had two shots at, we ended up getting four shots, so it’s not a tough situation.”

Also possibly factoring into it was keeping Jeter from hitting into his 10th double play.

“That’s how we play,” Girardi said. “We sacrifice from time to time.”

A-Rod sits with thumb injury

Girardi assessed Alex Rodriguez’s return from the DL Sunday by saying his timing is not all the way back, but that he was not getting fooled by pitches.

One sign that Girardi will know Rodriguez is completely back will be when he starts seeing more line drives. Currently Rodriguez’s line drive percentage is at 14.6 percent, which is slightly up from a career-low 13.8 percent last year.

That second game had to wait because the Yankees made Rodriguez a late scratch with a sprained left thumb that he suffered fielding a Joe Mauer ground ball.

“I just jammed my thumb a little bit on that play where Mauer hit it,” he said. “It kind of swelled up a little bit. Hopefully it’s just a day.”

X-rays taken at Yankee Stadium were negative and he is day-to-day.

Rodriguez also said that he is scheduled to meet with MLB officials about reports of him participating in illegal poker games.

Shaking up the Yankees

The 5.9 earthquake that occurred at 1:52 p.m. was felt at Yankee Stadium, but the team said there was no structural damage. Girardi said he was working out and didn’t feel anything.

“A couple of our people talked about it, where they just felt it a little bit,” Girardi said. “I’ve never felt one, and I don’t want to. [Head athletic trainer Gene Monahan] said he felt it, and I was giving him a hard time about it.”

» Girardi also confirmed that Freddy Garcia will start the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader in Baltimore. Garcia pitched in a rehab game Monday and Girardi said that he usually only gets reports if something goes wrong.

» It is not often that a player from the West Coast gets more than one trip to New York, but this year 2009 World Series MVP Hideki Matsui has had three. He visited the Mets in June and went 7-for-13 last month at Yankee Stadium in a trip that included his second career five-hit game.

Follow Yankees beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.

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The instant Rodriguez returns, he will be joining a lineup that has been hitting at a high level during his monthlong recovery from knee surgery.

When Rodriguez was placed on the DL on July 10, the Yankees had a .258 team batting average. Through Tuesday, they are hitting .292, have scored 193 runs and hit 35 home runs, while stealing 39-of-45 bases.

The Yankees have won 21 of their last 32 games despite losing their cleanup hitter. Rodriguez will return on pace for 18 home runs and 70 RBI, though he was playing with a sore knee.

“It makes our lineup so much deeper,” Mark Teixeira said Sunday. “It makes our bench deeper. It just gives us more options late in games, or maybe if we need to rest a guy here or there.”

During life without A-Rod, every Yankee regular increased his batting average.

“A lot of guys have stepped up and swung the bats extremely well, but adding Al back, he can help out any team,” Derek Jeter said. 

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The slugger made his debut with Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre last night in what will be his final step before returning to the major league club.

Presuming he feels fine today he will play again in Scranton tonight and then is expected to play with the Yankees in Minnesota on Thursday.

Rodriguez hasn’t played since July 8 when he underwent an MRI and discovered he had a torn meniscus in his right knee. Surgery followed three days later.

The Yankees haven’t missed his bat in the middle of the lineup, however, going 22-11 in his absence.  

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Yankees manager Joe Girardi said yesterday that slugger Alex Rodriguez should be ready to return next week.

Rodriguez has been on the disabled list since July 7, when it was discovered that he had a tear in the meniscus of his right knee.

Rodriguez opted for arthroscopic surgery and was scheduled to miss six to eight weeks. That timetable appears to be speeding up slightly.

Girardi said Rodriguez will likely make a rehab start on Friday in Tampa. If the rehab appearances over the weekend go well he could return to the major league club Aug. 15. That game would be at Kansas City, with his home return the next week  against Oakland Aug. 23.

Rodriguez was batting .295 when he went on the DL, with just 13 home runs and 52 runs batted in.
The team was 18-9  heading into last night’s matchup with Anaheim  with Rodriguez out of the lineup. 

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The statement from Rubenstein read: “The story contains numerous factual inaccuracies, and Alex looks forward to cooperating with MLB’s investigation.”

The accusations were first published by RadarOnline.com and claimed the New York Yankees third baseman played in at least two games.

Major League Baseball has already started investigating allegations of Rodriguez’s participation in the high-stakes poker games, which purportedly included A-list celebrities like Tobey Maguire, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

Rodriguez was warned in 2005 by baseball commissioner Bud Selig that possible involvement with gamblers who might also bet on baseball games could result in a Pete Rose-type lifetime ban.

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And not for a good reason, either.

Rodriguez, who is expected to test his surgically repaired right knee on the field today, is facing a potential suspension as Major?League Baseball investigates his alleged involvement in illegal, high-stakes poker games,?according to online reports.

“We take this very seriously and have been investigating this matter since the initial allegation,” MLB ­said in a statement. “As part of the investigation, the commissioner’s office will interview Mr. Rodriguez.”

Rodriguez could be suspended if his attendance is confirmed because he has been warned about gambling in the past, ESPN
reported. 

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Rodriguez will need arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. It will keep him sidelined for four to six weeks. Rodriguez decided to have the surgery after flying to Miami to get a second opinion from Dr. Lee Kaplan, who will perform the surgery today.

Alex Rodriguez remained productive for the last few weeks, but there were subtle signs that something was amiss.

Rodriguez batted .359 in 16 games since June 18, the weekend in Chicago when the right knee issue was initially reported, but his power was lacking. He was in the midst of going 85 straight at-bats without a home run, putting him on a pace for just 24 this season.

“There’s no doubt we’re going to miss him,” manager Joe Girardi said after yesterday’s 1-0 win over the Rays. “But we need to find a way, as I’ve said several times this year, some people are going to have to step up and up to this point, this team has. We certainly look forward to getting a healthy Alex back into our lineup because we know what he adds to this team.”

“I didn’t know he had a torn meniscus,” said CC Sabathia, who pitched through the injury last year. “But you could tell something was wrong with him.”

Rodriguez could return a few weeks after turning 36 on July 27 if the 4-6 week timetable holds. This was the option Girardi preferred because of the upcoming schedule. By doing the procedure now, Rodriguez will miss eight straight games on artificial turf in Toronto and Tampa and sit out during a schedule that features five off days through Aug. 9 and a day-night doubleheader on July 30.
 
“I don’t feel like we’re losing him,” catcher Russell Martin said. “I just feel like we’re gaining him back later in the season when it counts.”
 
Rodriguez’s replacement at third base will be Eduardo Nunez. While Nunez has struggled defensively, he performed well filling in for the injured Derek Jeter. He hit .339 (20-for-59) with two home runs and seven RBI in 17 games.

Follow Larry Fleisher on Twitter @larryfleisher.

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Rodriguez’s swing had been off before hitting two solo shots for his first multihomer game of 2011.

The third baseman had produced just 14 hits in 82 at-bats since his average rocketed to .370 to go along with a 1,309 OPS following the Bombers’ win in Baltimore April 23. He hit only one ball out of the park and went 11 games without an extra base hit in that span.

The slump may have been caused by a mechanical issue that made Rodriguez seem uneasy in the batter’s box. As he waited for pitches, A-Rod’s front leg twitched nervously, possibly ruining the timing that generates power from the legs.

“[Hitting coach] Kevin [Long] and I have been working over the last week or so to really focus on my bottom half,” Rodriguez told reporters Tuesday. “I’m just having some synergy with the whole body. Today was much better.”  

Another possible theory could be hip-related, though Rodriguez does not plan on using it as an excuse. Rodriguez had hip surgery two years ago and was encouraged by Long to get it checked out just to be safe. After some convincing, Girardi confirmed yesterday his slugger will see a doctor.

“It’s not an excuse for poor performance,” Rodriguez said before last night’s late game in Baltimore. “It has nothing to do with a bad feeling or aching or anything. I’ve been actually working my tail off with Kevin and feeling better each and every day. Finally yesterday I got a little result.”

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