LAKELAND, Fla. — Through two minor league games, Alex Rodriguez has yet to hit the ball out of the infield. Cue the jokes.
A-Rod is in playoff form. He’ll fit in perfectly with the Yankees’ anemic lineup. He’s ready to be booed in The Bronx.
Only, the headline-grabbing slugger with the bloated contract and performance-enhancing drug allegations has had the equivalent of one game’s worth of at-bats in nine months, which he happily reminded reporters yesterday.
“Four at-bats, nine months, I’d like to get at least 25 at-bats before I ever start thinking about timing,” he said after his third scheduled rehabilitation game, with Single-A Tampa, was rained out. “It’s just good to see the ball and put the ball in play.
“It’s going to take me a half-dozen games or so, 10 games, to get better feedback of how things are going,” said Rodriguez, who has yet to play with the Yankees after offseason left hip surgery and has been linked to a Florida clinic that allegedly distributed PEDs to major league players. “But so far, so good.”
After playing three innings in back-to-backs games with Single-A Charleston on Tuesday and Wednesday, Rodriguez will have a two-day layoff before tonight’s game with Single-A Tampa at Brevard County, a Brewers affiliate, in Viera, Fla. at 6:35.
Tampa manager Luis Sojo said Rodriguez will also play tomorrow against Brevard County. Rodriguez worked out in Charleston on Thursday and took six simulated at-bats at Lakeland after yesterday’s scheduled doubleheader was postponed.
“We made the most out of it,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said his body feels fine, aside from the usual soreness, and he is looking forward to getting more at-bats under his belt. In the two games in Charleston, he struck out once and grounded out three times. But he loved the overall experience, if not the on-field results.
“For me, it was great to be under the lights again, playing baseball,” Rodriguez said. “It’s been nine months for me. It’s been a long time.”
He is expected to play five innings tonight and get three at-bats. His body is still adjusting to playing games after such a long layoff.
“No matter what kind of shape you are in, baseball shape is completely different,” he said. “I don’t care how hard you work in the offseason, when you get in cleats and are in spring training, you have soreness you never felt before. It’s a different type of conditioning. Baseball is an endurance game, an everyday game.”
Rodriguez said he “hopes” the return of established stars such as himself, Derek Jeter — who begins a rehabilitation assignment tonight with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre — and Curtis Granderson gives the Yankees the boost they need to return to the playoffs. Rodriguez is confident after wiping away the rust he can find his superstar form.
But nothing that happens at the major league level will alter his current plans.
“We all have a schedule, we all want to rush to get back as soon as we can, but we have to be smart,” he said.
Plus, there is that getting the ball out of the infield thing to master first.