MLB

Yankees’ A-Rod still yapping on WFAN despite ceasefire

UNEASY TRUCE: Alex Rodriguez (pictured) and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman appear to have agreed on a rehab schedule for Rodriguez’s injured quad muscle that will have the third baseman playing a simulated game or rehab game by Aug. 1. (
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There is no peace in the Bronx — not even close — but there is a plan.

Another day of he said/they said at least produced a concrete timeline for Alex Rodriguez’s return to the Yankees, even as it left A-Rod unhappy once more and the Yankees poised to discipline their beleaguered third baseman for violating protocol regarding second opinions.

General manager Brian Cashman announced yesterday that, following a re-examination of Rodriguez and a conference call with the beleaguered third baseman, the Yankees and A-Rod are in agreement on a schedule that would have him back in either a simulated game or a minor-league game by Aug. 1 — and then back with the Yankees “really soon after” — barring any health setbacks.

Meanwhile, as a penalty for seeking a second opinion on his left quadriceps injury without going through the proper channels, Rodriguez is likely to receive a small fine from the Yankees.

Rodriguez contended in an interview yesterday with WFAN’s Mike Francesa that he alerted team president Randy Levine late Tuesday night that he was seeking a second opinion — with Hackensack Medical Center orthopedist Michael Gross, who declared Rodriguez to be fine after examining his MRI exam and speaking with him on the phone — but the Yankees’ position is Rodriguez did that only after setting in motion his consultation with Gross.

Rodriguez told Francesa he hoped to return to the Yankees’ lineup tonight and voiced his frustrations about the situation.

“I made it very clear to everyone I spoke with today that I’m ready to go,” Rodriguez said. “Obviously, I’m an employee. I have to follow my bosses.”

Earlier yesterday, Rodriguez released a statement that read, in part, “Enough doctors, let’s play.”

An early August return to the Yankees would align with the time, roughly, when Major League Baseball is expected to announce suspensions for Rodriguez and other players because of their alleged involvement with Biogenesis, the shuttered anti-aging clinic in South Florida. If Rodriguez chooses to appeal the suspension, as he is expected to do, then he could keep playing until an arbitrator ruled on his case — which might not happen until this winter.

Rodriguez met yesterday in Tampa with team orthopedic surgeon Daniel Murphy, Cashman said, and Murphy concurred with the July 21 analysis of team physician Christopher Ahmad that Rodriguez had a Grade 1 strain of his left quadriceps. Nevertheless, with four days having passed since the initial test, Cashman said, “There’s been clearly some improvement in Alex’s quad injury.”

The plan, Cashman said, calls for Rodriguez to start some “light conditioning” tomorrow, and then “expand to more functional work” from tomorrow through July 31.

At about 2:30 yesterday afternoon, Cashman said, the Yankees held a conference call featuring Cashman; Levine; head athletic trainer for player development Tim Lentych; Rodriguez; and attorney Jordan Siev, representing A-Rod, and went over the time frame.

“He said he was on board with it,” Cashman said of Rodriguez.

Siev’s law firm, Reed Smith, has worked with Rodriguez’s pal Jay Z, who now represents the Yankees’ Robinson Cano. Rodriguez told WFAN that he involved Siev, whose specialty is listed as financial services litigation, “to make sure everything is documented. No more mix-ups.”

Rodriguez, asked by Francesa whether he was still angry at the Yankees, responded, “I’d rather not get into that. I’m just frustrated I’m not on the field tomorrow.”

Major League Baseball’s system allows for a player to file a grievance if he feels that a team is preventing him from playing, and Rodriguez, who has missed most of this season because of his surgically repaired left hip, has told friends he believes the Yankees want to keep him off the field to collect insurance on his $28 million salary. Nevertheless, A-Rod said yesterday, “I haven’t even thought about a grievance. I didn’t even know I could do that.”

According to the Basic Agreement, the only penalty for seeking a second opinion without a team’s blessing is that the team wouldn’t reimburse the player for the attached expenses. Therefore, Rodriguez could fight even a small fine through the Players Association. Whether he would choose to do so would once again shed light on his terrible relationship with the Yankees.

More important, there’s a gameplan, yet another opportunity for Rodriguez and the Yankees to put aside their mutual hatred and work toward something both sides say they want: A-Rod playing in games for the Yankees.

Tabloid fodder

A look back at this week’s controversies involving Alex Rodriguez:

SUNDAY: A strained quadriceps muscle postpones Rodriguez’s scheduled debut Monday against the Rangers.

MONDAY: Brewers slugger Ryan Braun agrees to a 65-game suspension from Major League Baseball for violating the game’s drug policy. Braun had been tied to Biogensis and its founder Anthony Bosch, who also linked Rodriguez to performance-enhancing drugs.

TUESDAY: Rodriguez’s spokesman, Ron Berkowitz, says Braun’s agreement with MLB will not spur A-Rod to make a similar deal.

WEDNESDAY: Dr. Michael Gross, not affiliated with the Yankees, conducts

a media tour in which he says Rodriguez’s quadriceps appear healthy. GM Brian Cashman says A-Rod did not notify the team he was seeking a second opinion, a violation of the Basic Agreement with the Players Association.

YESTERDAY: Rodriguez and the Yankees agree to a plan in which A-Rod

would play a simulated game or minor league game by Aug. 1. Rodriguez then appears on WFAN and says he is an “employee” and has to “follow my bosses.”