Spring training games are about to begin, and that could mean rough treatment for Alex Rodriguez from opposing fans.
The three-time MVP is slated to play for the New York Yankees in their exhibition opener Wednesday against Toronto in Dunedin, Fla. It will be his first game since admitting that he used a banned substance while playing for Texas from 2001-3, but A-Rod is accustomed to hostile crowds.
“I’ve had good practice the last eight years,” he said Tuesday in Tampa, Fla. “No expectations. Hopefully I get three good at-bats and get some good running in.”
Yankees manager Joe Girardi wasn’t sure how Rodriguez will be received.
“It will be curious, I’m sure,” Girardi said. “I’m sure there’s going to be some people that are upset. I’m sure there’s going to be some people that support him, and there’s going to be some people in between. For Alex, again, he’s going to have to block out distractions and be able to play. I expect him to be able to do that, but we’re going to have to see how it goes.”
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“I think it’s an initial step on how he’s going to handle it,” Girardi said. “Alex is, obviously, a very popular player. Other times in road cities, he’s not so popular. He’ll have to get through that.”
Rodriguez expects to meet soon with investigators from Major League Baseball, which wants to speak with him before he joins the Dominican Republic for the World Baseball Classic. The Dominicans start workouts Monday.
“I’m just waiting to hear from somebody,” Rodriguez said.
Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, who didn’t run the previous two days because of right hamstring soreness, planned to play Wednesday. Jeter took part in all drills Tuesday, including sprints in the outfield and base running.
“He said it was a non-issue today,” Girardi said. “I’ll check with him and see how he feels.”
The Blue Jays will be without center fielder Vernon Wells, who expects to miss two weeks after an MRI showed he re-injured the left hamstring that kept him on the disabled list for a month late last season.
“I don’t think it’s that big of a deal,” Wells said in Dunedin. “It’s something that if I needed to get through it now, I could. But this time of the year, it’s just basically get healthy and get ready for the season.”
Wells, a two-time All-Star who batted .300 with 20 homers and 78 RBIs in 108 games last year, injured his hamstring during drills Monday.
ase scenario would limit him to starting at designated hitter when the regular season begins April 6 against Detroit.
“Looking back at last year, that’s what it was and that took four weeks,” Wells said. “This time, having had that injury and knowing what’s to be done, it shouldn’t be that long. Hopefully, my swing will be back where it needs to be in a couple of weeks.”
At Peoria, Ariz., Mariners lefty Erik Bedard passed a brief test in his comeback from shoulder surgery, allowing only a groundball single during a scoreless inning in an intrasquad game.
He then declared himself healthy and ready to pitch Friday in an exhibition game against the Dodgers.
Bedard threw 12 pitches, six to Bryan LaHair before he struck out the reserve first baseman to end his short morning.
“It was pretty good,” Bedard said of his first work against hitters since surgery Sept. 26 to remove a cyst from his pitching shoulder and cut away some tissue.
Bedard is one month ahead of the typical, six-month recovery time from that procedure.
At Port St. Lucie, Fla., Mets starter John Maine also cleared a hurdle, pitching in a game for the first time since September surgery to shave a bone spur in his right shoulder.
16 of 25 pitches for strikes.
“My arm feels great. My body feels great,” Maine said. “I just feel like it’s been such a long time. The mechanics are a little off and I was rusty a little bit, but other than that, and more importantly, my arm feels good.”
At Surprise, Ariz., Andruw Jones homered and doubled in his only at-bats during Texas’ intrasquad game, the team’s final tuneup before Wednesday’s Cactus League opener.
“We’ve been working on things to get the bad habits out of my swing and getting on a good pace,” said Jones, a former Atlanta star who is trying to find a spot in an already crowded Texas outfield.
Jones, who hit .158 with three homers in an injury-riddled 2008 season, is with the Rangers on a $500,000 minor league contract that includes a chance to earn an additional $1 million in performance bonuses.
But first, he has to make the team.
“I’m happy to see him swinging the bat and happy to see him running around playing defense,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “Tomorrow we start for real and we’ll see how things go.”
The Rangers said Kris Benson, signed to a minor league contract Saturday, will start against the Royals. The 34-year-old Benson hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2006.
ing the first week of games.
At Kissimmee, Fla., the Atlanta Braves completed a $2.5 million, one-year contract with outfielder Garret Anderson after he passed a physical.
The 36-year-old Anderson had spent his entire 15-year career with the Angels, where he made three All-Star appearances and batted .300 or better seven times.
“I have no idea what to expect,” he said during a news conference at Atlanta’s spring training stadium. “I went through three uniform changes, but Anaheim was always home. It will be different, but my chapter with the Angels is closed.”
In other news, Minnesota right-hander Boof Bonser will have exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his ailing pitching shoulder, which has kept him off the mound since the start of spring training.
There won’t be a timetable for Bonser’s recovery until the results of the surgery are assessed.
At Goodyear, Ariz., the Cleveland Indians held a dress rehearsal for the opener of their new 10,000-seat spring ballpark with a five-inning intrasquad game.
-hit line drive right at him to end the game.
Barfield, too, is being moved around this spring. The second baseman played third and will likely see action at all three outfield spots in the next few weeks.
Infielder Luis Valbuena, acquired in a December deal with Seattle, hit a two-run triple and has been one of the most impressive players in camp.
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