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Even from Tampa, Alex Rodriguez has figured out a way to anger the Yankees.
While the Yankees have repeatedly said the third baseman has not been cleared to begin a rehab assignment, Rodriguez and his team have said he was set to start playing games in Tampa on Monday.
Rodriguez went to Twitter yesterday to say that over the weekend, the surgeon who performed his offseason hip surgery, Dr. Bryan Kelly, gave him “the best news — the green light to play in games again!”
Visit from Dr. Kelly over the weekend, who gave me the best news – the green light to play games again! http://t.co/RuzfXOJjHI
— Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) June 25, 2013
That was too much for general manager Brian Cashman.
“You know what?” Cashman told ESPN New York. “When the Yankees want to announce something, [we will]. Alex should just shut the f–k up. That’s it. I’m going to call Alex now.”
Since Sunday night, when Rodriguez’s team first floated the idea that he was going to play for Single-A Tampa on July 1, Cashman has been consistent in saying he had not been cleared to play by team doctors and therefore no date had been set for Rodriguez’s return to game action.
Instead, the third baseman continued to only be set for simulated at-bats, batting practice, as well as running and fielding drills at the team’s minor league complex.
Before last night’s dramatic 4-3 win over the Rangers in The Bronx, manager Joe Girardi talked about where Rodriguez was in his rehab.
“He is in [simulated at-bats] until they decide he is ready to go,” he said. “As soon as he is, we will let you know. He is not ready to do that, but he is making progress.’’
Even before this flareup, team brass has grown increasingly irritated with Rodriguez, who followed a miserable postseason by having a second hip surgery and then found himself in the crosshairs of an MLB investigation into performance-enhancing drugs.
Rodriguez denied any involvement in the Biogenesis scandal after records surfaced allegedly linking him to the now-defunct anti-aging clinic in Miami.
No matter what problems Cashman and the rest of the organization have with Rodriguez, he still has four years remaining on his contract and a divorce remains unlikely.
Earlier in the day, team president Randy Levine was careful in talking about Rodriguez during a press conference yesterday, some of his statements could apply to Rodriguez.
After saying the league’s investigation into Biogenesis “doesn’t weigh on our mind,” Levine admitted “it’s a factor.”
Like the rest of the front office throughout this process, Levine was careful not to indict Rodriguez in regards to the investigation.
“It may have an effect on certain players, it may not,” Levine said of the scandal, which also could include injured catcher Francisco Cervelli. “It’s a factor. Nobody is assuming anybody is getting suspended. We are in America and last I looked, everybody is innocent until evidence is presented against them.”
But Levine also hinted at changes that could be made to the roster next year as they try to get under the $189 million tax threshold next season.
“We’ve got a lot of free agents on this team,” Levine said of preparing for 2014. “There are a lot of other events that are going on and then hopefully we can accomplish both at the same time.”
Chances are, the Yankees won’t be able to rid themselves of Rodriguez anytime soon.
dan.martin@nypost.com