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NEW YORK -- Yankees manager Joe Girardi said this afternoon that injured third baseman Alex Rodriguez could return to the team and the lineup as early as Friday, when the Yankees open a series against the Orioles in Baltimore.Rodriguez had hip surgery in March, will have to have more hip surgery in the off-season and has not played yet this year. But continuing his rehab on the day on which a scathing new book about him hit the shelves, Rodriguez played seven innings in the field and went 1-for-6 with a home run and a walk in a game for the Yankees' extended spring training team in Tampa.
Girardi said Rodriguez would play seven more innings Tuesday, and the team would evaluate him after that.
"So much of it just depends on how he feels and whether he's ready to go," Girardi said. "When he feels he's ready, we're going to take him back."
Asked directly if that day could be Friday, Girardi said it was a possibility.
The only thing Rodriguez has yet to do in a rehab game is slide, but Girardi said Rodriguez has practiced sliding on a pad and that was probably sufficient. He also said the seven-inning stints are adequate preparation for a return -- i.e., they don't need to see him play nine innings before bringing him back.
The Yankees are interested to get Rodriguez back and find out what they can expect from him in 2009. The hip is not completely fixed, and there is some concern that it could limit his production until he gets the more extensive surgery done at the end of the season.
When Rodriguez does return, it should be a circus. Selena Roberts' new biography "A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez," which includes information about Rodriguez's history as a steroid abuser, his relationship with Madonna and word that he used to occasionally tip opposing hitters about which pitchers were coming while he played for the Texas Rangers, was released today. Girardi said Sunday that he didn't understand why such books exist, and he was asked today whether he worried that Rodriguez's return, whenever it happened, could be a distraction for the team.
"Our guys have been stand-up guys," Girardi said. "I think they've dealt with everything they've needed to deal with, and I don't foresee this being a problem for them."
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