Ken Davidoff

Ken Davidoff

MLB

Former flak’s testimony could link A-Rod to docs leak

Major League Baseball’s Park Avenue headquarters never is boring when Alex Rodriguez is on the 29th floor, fighting his 211-game suspension. On Tuesday, however, the most important action might have occurred downtown.

As The Post’s Rich Calder reports, a Manhattan federal judge ruled Rodriguez’s former public-relations guru Michael Sitrick must testify in the hearing. MLB alleges Sitrick worked in tandem with A-Rod to leak documents from Biogenesis (the shuttered South Florida anti-aging clinic, naturally) to Yahoo! Sports, in order to divert attention from Rodriguez and toward Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli and 2011 National League MVP Ryan Braun.

This decision by Judge Edgardo Ramos strengthens MLB’s chances of proving Rodriguez obstructed its Biogenesis investigation. Still, it needs Sitrick to actually come to New York and testify. Will he do that, and if even if he does, will he simply perform the private hearing equivalent of pleading the Fifth? We’ll find out, but there’s no disputing this constituted a loss for Team A-Rod.

Speaking of finding out, we might be finding out too much, as both Rodriguez’s attorney Joe Tacopina and MLB acknowledged the arbitration panel — independent arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, MLB COO Rob Manfred and Players Association general counsel David Prouty — reminded both sides to honor the process’ strict confidentiality rules. In any case, here are some other highlights from the day:

  • To answer the daily “Will A-Rod testify?” question, he hasn’t yet, but there were increasing indications Tuesday he would do so with the hope MLB wouldn’t impose any additional discipline down the road. Expect discussions on this front to continue.
  •  Yankees president Randy Levine, whose name has been front and center in the Team A-Rod talking points, testified for only about 10 minutes, under questioning from Tacopina. MLB didn’t cross-examine Levine, a sign there was little concern about Rodriguez scoring points here.
    The expected ground was covered: Whether Levine receives a commission for helping the Yankees void A-Rod’s contract; whether he receives a bonus if the Yankees get their 2014 payroll under the $189 million luxury-tax threshold; whether he urged MLB officials to give A-Rod a harsh penalty; and whether he instructed A-Rod’s hip surgeon Bryan Kelly to keep the beleaguered third baseman off the field. Levine denied all of these charges.
    He also was asked about alleged email communication he had with A-Rod concerning slumping Yankees players and whether they had gone “off the juice.” While Levine testified he didn’t recall such an exchange, he added he would have been joking had he used that terminology.
  •  Dan Mullin, the senior vice president of MLB’s department of investigations, testified Tuesday morning. Mullin has served as a large target of Team A-Rod, which has contended he engaged in sexual relations with a female employee from Biogenesis. A-Rod’s camp paid $105,000 to acquire the employee’s cell phone, which allegedly contained suggestive text messages from Mullin, but it wasn’t clear whether that purported evidence made its way into the hearing.
  •  No word yet on whether Horowitz will require commissioner Bud Selig to testify. MLB has contended the Oct. 17 testimony of Manfred should suffice as MLB representation.
  •  Hispanics Across America isn’t formally returning to the scene here until Thursday, when it is scheduled to hold a prayer vigil outside MLB headquarters. However, a ragtag group of eight people showed up late in the day waving the same sort of silly signs (critical of Levine, Manfred and Selig) and singing the same Spanish-language chants we saw and heard earlier. Oddly, the protesters insisted they were there representing themselves, rather than HAA; A-Rod greeted them as he left for the day through a side exit after riding the building’s freight elevator.
    Then again, oddities and outrageousness have defined this hearing. This day was odd, too, in that one side could claim a tangible victory.